Windows 7 - Installed Vista dual boot, think I screwed up!

Asked By Don

23-Feb-08 02:18 PM

Hey gang,

I think I have messed up here. I just installed 64 bit Vista Ultimate,
retail full version,  in what I thought was a dual boot environment.
I added a new sata hard drive, and installed Vista on it.

Now, I do not get an option when I boot to choose wich OS to boot to, it
only boots into Vista.
Under Vista, it shows as my C drive, I see the partion on the other hard
drive my XP Pro is on, however under Vista it shows as drive E?

Dangit, I thought I had read enough to know what I was doing here, but
apparently I did something I should not have.

I would sure appreciate any help here, my XP Pro is my main OS and I
desperately need to be able to get back to it.

Thanks,


Don

23-Feb-08 02:44 PM

Download and install VistaBootPro or EasyBCD and add a legacy OS entry.
Both are free and you can Google for the sites.  Depending on your setup,
you may have to duplicate the ntdetect.com, boot.ini and ntldr files to the
other drive and modify the boot.ini to point to the correct drive and
partition for the XP system

23-Feb-08 02:48 PM

You made a good choice.

That's how I installed mine. If you don't have dual boot, it usually means
that the Vista installation did not see your XP drive (was it unplugged?) if
so that's just fine. You should be able to boot from bios to the drive you
want.

Go to your bios and set XP hd as first boot. That means, if you don't touch
anything XP will boot first.

Usually on boot screen you ave an option to choose boot from (usually F10
check your manual ) on most boards.

I hit the F10, get a drive menu and choose the XP drive  to boot to XP. If I
don't do anything Vista will boot first.

If worst comes to worst, use VistaBootPro on your Vista drive to create a
start menu.

Vista boot Pro can be found http://www.vistabootpro.org/


--
Lance Frca {497083/1008563} MVP Shell/User
www.zardoc.com
XP-Vista Trucs et Astuces et autres

23-Feb-08 02:57 PM

Thanks John,

Using Vista Boot Pro, I added a legacy os, named it XP, chose the drive that
Vista shows it is on - E - , then tried rebooting.
It gave me a choice upon boot, but when I choose XP, the system just
restarts.

Can you elaborate a little, on duplicating those file you mentioned? Not
sure I fully understand what to do there.

Also, when I do manage to get XP to boot, are my partitions going to be as
they were in XP before, ie the main partion will be C, rather than E like
Vista shows it resides in?

Thanks,

Don

23-Feb-08 02:59 PM

Thanks, I will go into bios and give that a try and advise.

Don

23-Feb-08 03:12 PM

Awesome I finally was able to boot back to my XP Pro, with all parition
letters intact as they should be.
Many thanks Lance!!

I changed the hard disk boot priority, to the disk XP was intalled on as the
first, and it booted right up into XP.
When I restard, I hit escape to enter boot menu, choose the hard disk that
Vista is on, and it boots into Vista.

Whew, I was nervous there for a few minutes, again, many thanks!!

Now, what would be best way, to get it to just give me an option between
Vista and XP upon booting?
I sure don't want to scredw anything up, I can live with it like it is if I
need to.

Btw, no I did not have my main drive that XP is on unplugged when installing
the Vista Ultimate full version on the new drive.

Many thanks again,

Don

23-Feb-08 03:15 PM

Copy the three files onto the root of your other OS.  You can edit the
boot.ini file and change rdisk if necessary.  You could also give
information as to your drives and what boot files are on each.  As a way of
getting to your XP system if necessary, you can use VistaBootPro to restore
the XP boot process from another section.  You could then install it on XP
and just restore back and forth until you get the BCD fix to see the ntldr
process




The drive letters are already defined in your registry, so the drive letters
will stay the same if the new drive had already been added, otherwise it
will be assigned the next drive letter per the enumeration formula.

23-Feb-08 03:19 PM

Glad to see you have it working

23-Feb-08 03:24 PM

Now follow the instructions in this kb article so that XP does not wipe out
your Vista recovery files (system restore, backups, previous versions, etc)
every time you boot XP.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926185

23-Feb-08 05:19 PM

Colin, He's not in a dual boot situation so each drive is individual.

You would have to do this if Vista was the boot manager.

Don, Choose which ever OS you want to boot first.  For me it's Vista. It's
running nice and smooth with SP1.

Have fun.


--
Lance Frca {497083/1008563} MVP Shell/User
www.zardoc.com
XP-Vista Trucs et Astuces et autres

23-Feb-08 05:34 PM

Thanks Lance, that is how I will do it then.

Don

23-Feb-08 06:06 PM

Hey Lance,

Just to make sure I understand, they way I have mine set now, I will always
have to go in and select which drive to boot from correct, rather than
having it give me the option of which OS to boot to during bootup?

That is no big deal for me, just wanted to make sure, it is working great as
is.

Many thanks again,

Don

23-Feb-08 08:50 PM

I have gone one better and posted my own detailed notes and instructions to
this group in a new thread.

23-Feb-08 08:51 PM

Whether the systems are on partitions on the same drive or on different
drives is immaterial.

23-Feb-08 08:52 PM

Please see the attachment in my latest post.  It is not necessary to go
through what you are doing.  Microsoft's recommended procedure makes that
unneccessary.

24-Feb-08 06:43 AM

Thanks Colin, that certainly helps me understand what I need to do, to keep
my Vista restore points from getting deleted. I do have Vista Ultimate, and
understand I could use the Bitlocker feature as well.

Ok, so in regards to booting into XP or Vista, let me clarify where I am
with that and what it is doing.

I have three sata hard drives.
Drive 1 = XP OS ( 2 partitiions)
Drive 2 - XP Data and Apps ( 2 partitions)
Drive 3 = Vista ( 2 partitions)

Currently, I have my hard disk boot order in bios, set for drive 1 first,
which automatically boots into XP, which is fine as it is still going to be
my main OS for a while.
To get into Vista, during boot, I hit escape to get into a boot menu, then
select boot from hard drive, then select Drive 3, then  it will go ahead and
boot into Vista.

It is really not that bad a deal, but after doing a few times, I find myself
wishing I could just select which OS to boot into rather than going through
the above steps.

I have tried the Easy Bcd program, and also Vista Boot Pro, but for some
reason can't seem to get it to work. Perhaps I am not understanding exactly
how to do it.
Any other tips for my simple mind would certainly be appreciated.



--
Don

24-Feb-08 11:53 AM

The registry edits in the procedure I gave in the attachment allows you to
use the computer in a normal dual boot setup without risking anything in
Vista when you boot XP.  It is the resolution for that issue.  Use it and
you will not have to use the escape key or special boot managers or anything
else other than the traditional boot menu Windows sets up for you when you
install a second OS on a computer.

24-Feb-08 11:57 AM

Hmnm, I must have missed something there, I will read again and see if I can
understand what I need to do.
I had thought, when I installed Vista on the new third hard drive, it would
automatically give me that option during boot, but it didn't.

I'll check it out and see what I can do , thanks.

--
Don

24-Feb-08 01:35 PM

Do not use the escape key technique to install Vista and you will have a
boot options menu showing "Older Version of Windows" and "Microsoft Vista".
If you run Vista setup from the XP desktop and simply select your desired
partition for installation your disk drive lettering will align between the
two systems.  If you set the XP drive as the boot drive and then boot the
system with the Vista dvd you will get variation of the drive lettering (no
real problem) and will have the boot menu after you install Vista on the
second drive or partition.

You may only have to create one registry key in order to protect the Vista
volume from XP so there probably is no need to use any special techniques
when installing Vista to have a safe system.

24-Feb-08 02:32 PM

No you won't Don. If the first drive is XP in the bios, by default it will
boot into XP without requests. If you want Vista then you must use the boot
menu.

Vista bootmngr when used with XP can be a real hassle. Because if you decide
to get rid of Vista Xp will not boot anymore if Vista was using botmngr for
both drives.

Having 2 different O/S boot on two different drives with bios boot,
eliminates Bootmngr and loosing system restore options without having to
hack the registry.
--
Lance Frca {497083/1008563} MVP Shell/User
www.zardoc.com
XP-Vista Trucs et Astuces et autres

24-Feb-08 03:15 PM

Adding a registry entry is not a hack.  It is, well, adding a registry
entry.  It is simply adding a new definition to the database for the OS to
use in configuring Windows.  That's what regedit is for.  A Windows hack is
quite something else again.

The BCD store (what you are referring to as the botmangr) is written to the
root of the XP drive when adding Vista to an XP system.  Removing the BCD
store does not cripple XP.  Anyway that's where VistaBoot Pro is so handy.

24-Feb-08 05:47 PM

Yes, but I have already installed Vista.

I installed it, by booting from the Vista DVD, selecting the new hard drive,
formatted it from there, and installed Vista onto it.

I do not get a boot menu, now that Vista is up and running showing " Older
Version of Windows", and " Microsoft Vista" to choose from.
It just automatically boots into XP, unless I hit escape to hit my bios boot
menu, and select that third hard drive to boot from. Based on what I had
read beforehand, I had expected to get the boot menu option to boot into
either OS, and was surprised I did not.

When I am in XP, the Vista partition shows as " L " partition, which is
fine. When I am in Vista, that same partition shows as "C" partition.

I think I understand what I need to do to protect Vista's restore points,
just not sure if I am able to get the above boot menu to show or just be
happy leaving it as it is .




--
Don

24-Feb-08 05:49 PM

Thanks Lance, I will have to re-check, but I think even without the boot
menu, doing it as I am in the bios, I still am losing Vista restore points,
I will go check this and advise.

--
Don

24-Feb-08 05:57 PM

Ok, I am in Vista now, and have just checked.
As I suspected, no I do not have any restore points. Whenever I boot into
XP, and come back into Vista, even though I am using the bios to boot from
the drive Vista is on, it still apparently deletes Vista's restore points.



--
Don

24-Feb-08 06:05 PM

You can use VistaBoot Pro to write the BCD store to the XP drive and then
you should have a standard boot menu.  VistaBoot Pro is free and uses a GUI.

24-Feb-08 06:07 PM

You would continue you to lose VSS files if for some reason the Vista volume
is visible to XP when XP boots up.  If you can see the Vista drive in XP's
My Computer then Vista is obviously not hidden.

24-Feb-08 06:09 PM

Ok, I will give it another shot then. I tried it once, and either was doing
something major wrong or just not understanding quite what I was supposed to
do, never could get it to do it.

Thanks,



--
Don

24-Feb-08 06:16 PM

Just installed Vista Boot Pro.
When I launch it , the first thing I get is a warning message as follows:
installed on a hidden drive. You may experience minor problems using
VistaBootPro and/or making changes to your BCD registry".
It then takes me to the backup registry options menu.

Think it is safe to go ahead and try to use this ?

Thanks for your help on this.



--
Don

24-Feb-08 06:18 PM

The BCD will get written to the system drive when executed from either
system.  If you want the BCD relocated you will have to make the drive first
in boot priority and the partition you want an active primary partition on
the drive.

24-Feb-08 06:23 PM

Use VBP's System Bootloader tab and choose Windows Vista Bootloader and All
Drives.

24-Feb-08 06:26 PM

Augh, I confuse too easily! :)

Ok, so if I am booting primarily from the drive my XP resides on, then I
will want to install the VistaBootPro program, onto XP and run it from
there, instead of installing and running from Vista, is that correct?



--
Don

24-Feb-08 06:38 PM

Ok, I will give that a try and advise.

Thanks,

--
Don

24-Feb-08 06:47 PM

I tried that exactly as you suggested Colin, and it made no difference.
Still boots directly into XP, then I go into bios boot menu, choose the
third sata drive my Vista is on, then it boots directly into Vista.

Thanks for the help, probaby something small I am missing - I installed
VistaBootPro and run it from my Vista install, should I install it and run
it from the XP install instead?




--
Don

24-Feb-08 07:02 PM

Sure.  Won't hurt.

The ideal thing would be to simply do a fresh install of Vista from the XP
desktop but I can understand that you might not want to do that.

In any case, even if you leave everything set up like it is, you should
still make the registry entry in XP.  It doesn't matter how you installed
the operating systems, you would still hide Vista from XP the same way.

24-Feb-08 07:27 PM

Dang, still did not work.

I installed VistaBootPro in Windows XP.

Installed Vista Bootloader  using system bootloader tab, selected C drive,
which is what my XP is installed, and still just boots directly into XP, no
boot menu option to choose XP or Vista.

I just can't seem to get this to work properly in that way.



--
Don

24-Feb-08 07:32 PM

Btw, when I launch VistaBootPro in windows XP, it first gives me a message
that the bcd entry is missing or corrupt, recommends I repair it first.



--
Don

24-Feb-08 07:33 PM

If you reinstall Vista, try it from the XP desktop.  Otherwise, just make
the registry change and go with what you have.

24-Feb-08 07:43 PM

The ironic thing is, when I first opened up my Vista box, and inserted the
64 bit dvd into the drive, autoplay started it right up, and I got some
error message, don't remember the exact wording, to the effect that it could
not be run from the desktop, and instructed me to boot from the dvd to run
setup. I had planned on booting from the dvd anyways, so it was not a big
deal at the time. I have the full retail version of Vista Ultimate.

No, I seriously don't want go through and install Vista again. I will play
around with VistaBootPro a little more, then just give up if I don't get it
and continue as I am doing. Just hope I don't screw something up :).

Thanks for all the help,



--
Don

24-Feb-08 07:49 PM

If you run VBP from the XP partition the way you have changed boot priority
'on the fly', you will overwrite the XP boot process.  You would be able to
reverse it later, if you actually can get back into VBP on that drive.  Have
you copied the files I recommended earlier?

24-Feb-08 07:58 PM

Not yet, I don't think I quite understood exactly how to do it, I will
re-read again and see what I can do.

I now have managed to get the choice to load either Vista or XP, but only
after hitting escape to enter my bios menu and choosing the Vista hard drive
to boot from, can't seem to get it to do it from my first hard drive, the
one XP is installed on.

I reckon I better quit messing with VBP while I am ahead before I screw
something up...



--
Don

24-Feb-08 08:11 PM

When you have the legacy entry set up via VBP using your default boot
process, which you said was Vista, you can set the legacy drive letter to C
or you can copy the three files to the Vista drive then change the boot.ini
if necessary.  If you gave the information you have in Disk Management from
Vista it would be easier to help.  When you set up the legacy drive you did
not have it pointing to the partition with the ntldr file on it.  You can
add the files where you have it pointed or repoint the legacy entry.

24-Feb-08 08:32 PM

Actually, I just realized you are probably talking about Vista x64 and that
will not install from an XP desktop.  Sorry about that.

24-Feb-08 10:45 PM

The funniest thing is that we are discussing this on 2 threads. LOL

Colin, I thought that since you seem to be quite savvy with O/S talk and
since I am French and don't always find the right words, I thought that
saying a reg hack would have been understood by you because I often see this
type of term used.

I meant BOOTMGR

So let's call it a registry modification.

Now, let's make this clear.

1.. System is powered on
2.. The CMOS loads the BIOS and then runs POST
3.. Looks for the MBR on the bootable device
4.. Through the MBR the boot sector is located and the BOOTMGR is loaded
5.. BOOTMGR looks for active partition
6.. BOOTMGR reads the BCD file from the \boot directory on the active
partition
7.. The BCD (boot configuration database) contains various configuration
parameters( this information was previously stored in the boot.ini)
8.. When windows vista is selected, BOOTMGR transfer control to the
Windows Loader (winload.exe) or winresume.exe in case the system was
hibernated.
9.. Winloader loads drivers that are set to start at boot and then
transfers the control to the windows kernel.
10.. There is not msgina.dll in windows vista ( the shell draws the login
screen)
With XP it was called NTLDR with boot.ini file

With Vista it's called bootmgr with a Boot Configuration Database. to pay
with boot configuration, you need to run in admin mode command bcd.exe

Imagine, if we didn't have have VisatBootPro, imagine were we would be if if
BCDwas gone!!

Now Don, the reason you have this issue, is because your XP drive was
plugged. That is one amongst many reasons that experienced users prefer to
use bios option than Vista boot manager.

As you can see from my pic, BCD store only shows Vista, but can't see XP
because I unplugged the drive when I installed Vista.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now for those who have installed Vista while XP was plugged in and have the
Volume shadow copy issue and restore points can't be seen,

Copy this command into notepad. for each drive that you want to change,
modify the letter of the drive that you wish to be offline. In this case if
it were J, then E in my reg tweak would be J. This command works for XP and
Vista.

In your case Don, I imagine that since you have three drives and two are for
XP the third drive  would be E for your Vista drive (check to make sure in
XP). The command would be E in this case to fix your issue. If this is the
case, paste what is between the two lines into notepad and save as
Offline.txt press enter. Then rename the .TXT extension to .REG and click
OK. Now double click on the reg file and you have just created a hidden
Vista E drive from XP.

BTW Clint, you did some nice work in your article and is is very nice. Just
one thing, as you can see the reg key has quotes and a back slashes before
and after DosDevices. Double slash if you create an auto Reg tweak and
single slash if you modify directly from the registry (don't forget to leave
the quotes)
___________________________________________________________________________________
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices\Offline]
___________________________________________________________________________________

--
Lance Frca {497083/1008563} MVP Shell/User
www.zardoc.com
XP-Vista Trucs et Astuces et autres

24-Feb-08 10:54 PM

Colin, please check my last post with a pic included.

Thanks,
--
Lance Frca {497083/1008563} MVP Shell/User
www.zardoc.com
XP-Vista Trucs et Astuces et autres

24-Feb-08 11:59 PM

XP is my default boot drive, it is installed on my first sata hard drive,
and that is the boot order I have selected in the bios, which is what I
want.
I want it to boot into XP by default, I only want to boot to Vista, by
making the selection to do so.

Ok,while in Vista, below is what is shown under computer:

Vista = C
XP = E

I did not list the other partitions, as I did not think they would be
relevant.

Obviously, when booted into XP, the drive letters are different, XP then
becomes C, and Vista becomes L.

Thanks,



--
Don

25-Feb-08 12:00 AM

Yes, that is corret, I am running 64 bit Vista Ultimate.

Thanks,

--
Don

25-Feb-08 12:04 AM

Thanks Lance,

I just got back in from having to run and take care of something
unexpectedly, I will try and take this in as soon as I can , looks like some
good info there.



--
Don

25-Feb-08 07:15 AM

Information is not drive letter.  Information is what is in the parentheses
for each partition on each hard drive.
Do this from what ever system you boot to when you have your boot priority
the way you want to leave it. (it is not necessary to have the XP drive as
the 0 drive to have XP your default system, in fact if you have your boot
manager on the Vista drive, and add the legacy entry from there, you will be
able to remove the XP system more easily once you make that decision in the
future)
Let the system boot default the way you have the drives set up with the XP
drive as the 0 drive.
Using VBP add or edit the Vista BCD.  Add a legacy system entry pointed to C
Reboot.  Select the legacy entry.  What messages if any do you get.
Alternative.  Run startup repair from the Vista DVD (also with the system
set up with the XP drive as your 'system' drive.
It makes NO difference which drive you have as your system drive (first in
boot priority {0} and active primary).  You must have the Vista boot manager
on it, it must contain a legacy system entry and you can use VBP to set the
timeout and default system.  The legacy entry must point to the ntldr and
boot.ini and ntdetect.com must also be on the root of that partition.
Good luck.  At one point you had the legacy entry but was pointed to the
wrong drive letter.  Change the drive letter.  C probably would have worked
but with no info it's a guess.
You have all the information you need to do it.  IT IS EASY and SIMPLE.
Adios

25-Feb-08 08:09 AM

Thanks for taking the time to explain further John.

I will read carefully and see what I can do with the information when I can,
and let y'all know how I make out.



--
Don

25-Feb-08 10:03 PM

On Sun, 24 Feb 2008 05:43:35 -0600, "Don"


First you have to copy hidden file Bootmgr.exe plus hidden folder Boot
from the root directory in the system partition of the Vista drive to
the  root directory in the system partition of the XP drive. Then run
EasyBCD.

26-Feb-08 07:27 AM

Thanks Andy, I may give that a try. At this point, I am almost afraid I am
going to do something that makes windows unbootable for me, John also gave
me a lot of good information I need to try as well.
Perhaps I will work up the nerve and try some of this again :).

I appreciate the help,




--
Don

29-Feb-08 07:58 PM

Allright gang,

I am back in town now for the weekend.

I have printed out, Colin's excellent " gray or white" paper, on how to hide
my Vista volumes from my XP install. I was just going to use Vista 64 to
play around with for a while, and restore points were not that big a deal
for me, but am finding myself liking it more and more and booting more into
it, than XP.

I have also printed out the great feedback from John and others, on how to
get a boot menu to show up when my system is first booting up from the XP
partition, I hope to get it to where I can choose to boot either into XP Pro
or Vista 64, rather than having to go into my boot menu in bios and select
the appropriate hard drive to boot from. ( this one especially makes me
nervous, always afraid I will screw something and make my system
unbootable).

Tonight, is time for my wife and I . :)

Tomorrow, I shall try to tackle both of these, will advise how I make out.

Thanks again, to all that have offered help in these two areas.



Don

01-Mar-08 01:43 PM

Ok gang,

I just can't seem to get this. I typically can get things figured out,
especially with the help of such knowledgeable folks, but this one has me
somewhat stumped. It is really not that big a deal, I can still boot into
Vista 64 bit by using the boot menu in my bios, was just trying to make it
easier by having a selection of either XP or Vista when it is first booting
up. I thought for sure by printing out all this information, reading and
following carefully, I could get it.

First, thanks to all for the advice, I am sure I am missing a very simple
step, but I just don't know what it is. I will try and summarize, what I
have done so far. I also understand, if no one wants to try and help any
further,  as I am sure I have all the information I needed, just can't seem
to make it come together.

My system, by default, boots into XP Pro, which is what I want. XP pro, sees
it's partition as drive C. When I boot into Vista, which I have on it's own
hard drive, it too see's it's partition as C.

I tried using VistaBootPro. When I launch it from within Vista, I first get
an error message that " there is no vista installed, or it is on a hidden
partition". I can click ok and get to the menu screen.
From within XP Pro, when I launch VistaBootPro, I get an error message, that
the bcd is either missing or corrupt, and have to hit ok over and over a few
times before getting to the menu screen,

I tried adding a legacy entry, from within both Vista and XP Pro, made no
difference at all. It still behaves the same way, boots into XP Pro by
default, I can hit escape during the boot process, access my bios boot menu,
choose the hard drive Vista is installed on to boot from, then Vista boots
just fine. I just would like to have a menu option, choosing one or the
other, and be done with it.

If anyone thinks of anything I may have missed, feel free to let me know,
again, I understand if no one wants to bother with this one any more.

Thanks,

--
Don

01-Mar-08 03:46 PM

Don, you have spent so much time fighting the computer that you really would
have been better off flattening the computer, installing XP first and Vista
second.  You would be done in a couple of hours and no issues.  You would
have a nice boot menu and everything would be flying right along for you.

01-Mar-08 03:53 PM

Not really, I have spent lot more time playing on it that fighting it, have
been out of town most of the week though.

I had XP Installed first thought, before installing Vista.

I can live with it like it is, eventually I will go only with Vista, just
thought if there was a way I missed ya know....



--
Don

01-Mar-08 05:23 PM

You installed Vista second but by manipulating the BIOS, not by using the
normal method of simply booting with the Vista dvd and installing that way.

01-Mar-08 06:01 PM

Not at all Colin,

Here is how I installed Vista: ( XP was already installed )

I added a new sata hard drive.

I booted from the Vista 64 bit dvd, formatted the new hard drive, and
installed Vista onto it. Not sure why I didn't get the boot menu after
install...

Don

01-Mar-08 06:07 PM

Well I'll be a son of a drunken sailor, I got it!!  :)

I installed Easy BCD again, thought I would give that another go. Installed
it to my XP installation.
When I launched it, I got an error message, stating it needed to fix
something in the boot record, and could not find my Vista install, it asked
me to point to the drive letter Vista was on, which I did and pressed ok. I
then got a message it had been fixed or repaired.

I also installed it in Vista, then, I added the legacy Windows XP entry, and
pointed to the drive letter that XP showed on whilst I was in Vista. At
least, I think this is somewhat close to what I did :).

I then rebooted, and voila! There she was!! A choice, between my ever
reliable XP Pro install, or Vista! Tried them both, and they work as they
should! I increased the timeout from the default 5 seconds to 30. Yay!!!!


Thanks again to all, for the patience and help!

Now, to hide my Vista from XP so my restore points don't get blown out.
Colin, would it be better to use your procedure, or use the built in
bitlocker in Ultimate?

--
Don

EVGA 780i MB
Intel Core2 Duo E6600 @ 3.3 ghz
Zalman 9700 NT Heatsink/Fan
4 gb PC 8500 Corsair Dominator Ram
BFG 8800 GTS 640 mb video card
Soundblaster XFi Extreme Music Platinum
CoolerMaster 830e Case

01-Mar-08 06:41 PM

With your history here I would not recommend you risk bitlocker.

01-Mar-08 06:48 PM

Use the registry entry.  Only use BitLocker if you have a business need for
it.  It is not meant to be used for the purpose you need.  A much less
intrusive way is to just edit the registry key.  As long as you don't hide
the XP system volume from itself, mistakes are benign.

01-Mar-08 06:49 PM

Ok then, thanks I guess....
I will not trouble any more.


Don

01-Mar-08 07:08 PM

Thanks Colin.

--
Don

01-Mar-08 08:21 PM

John:
I tried the registry entry that Colin wrote and it is easier to do than
setup BitLocker. Have a great day.

--
Dennis Pack
XP x64 SP2, Vista Enterprise x64
Office Professional Plus 2007

01-Sep-08 12:59 PM

http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/aspnet/31709611/installed-vista-dual-boot.aspx



Hi

I am at this same point.. I installed XP on a 36 raptor SATA 2, had 74 raptor plugged into SATA 3, installed xp first (clean install), then installed Vista ultimate 64. These are on 2 different HHD.. I had this b4 but was on 2 36 raptors..36 is to small for Vista.

Got it all done could only boot from bios to what ever OS I needed.. No boot menu.

So called Microsoft for help.. I am still at this point, they put on Vistabootpro we worked at it for over 12 hrs..and still not working..

Ok so I found that link above.. I read it all.

Problem is I have same problem as Don, I read all of what Colin said and others but so much to read got confused.

This is what I have now: I see the boot menu. I can boot to Vista, when I try to boot to XP I get 2 window in there: 1. Windows (Default) 2. Windows XP Professional (I put this one in at the VistaBootPro) and is doesnt work at all.. the other #1, says when I try it: <Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe says to reinstall it copy of: (How)

I am willing to reinstall all over if You:

Could start this setup again step by step so I can follow it easily..

However, I had the same problem. 2 hard drives, 2 OS, XP Pro 32 and Vista Ultimate. Installed XP first with SATA's plugged in to install Vista when XP was finished..

Thanks

Sherrie