Dual boot XP + Vista

[Disturbedguy]

Hey all

I know its possible to dual boot from one HD1 but I was wondering if it is possible to Dual Boot from two separate HD's?

The reason I ask, is at the moment I am using XP which I obviously know pretty well and like but with me studying MCSA at Uni and more and more people switching to Vista, it makes sense to me to get used to Vista so in the future I can help people on Vista based machines as well as on XP based machines.

The reason I am asking about 2 HD's is basically preference, Id rather have the OS's on two separate HD's rather than on a partitioned HD.

So is this possible?

[Rishi]

Provided your first HD has the boot-loaders and BOOT.ini on it it should boot either

I think your BOOT.ini would look like this (maybe not 100% correct):

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XP on primary drive" /fastdetect 
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Vista on backup drive" /fastdetect

Where the "rdisk" has changed

[Disturbedguy]

Ah cool so it is possible to boot from a second HD, would I have to edit the Windows Boot.ini file or would it be done automatically.

Either way, this wont be happening until after christmas when I get my new upgrade.

On a side note, ill be running an AMD based system (preferably AMD Quad Core) can anyone recommend a motherboard?

i was thinking about the abit fatal!ty motherboard.

[Rishi]

I'm not 100% if it will be done automatically but that code snippet I added should work on a basic two hard drive with OS installed on primary partitions. So if it doesn't you can always edit the boot.ini

But I am sure it is possible, I see no reason why it wouldnt be. Just do a quick backup of important stuff and give it a blast

[Disturbedguy]

Thanks Rishi

well when i get my new hardware ill be formatting my HD anyway so i will be backing up..

now i need the money to afford what I want lol..

[d3fiant]

just kick off the vista install from within XP and tell it which HD u want to use, it will install the new BCD bootloader that Vista uses on the drive with the master boot list replacing the old XP bootloader, and it add the entry for XP itself. Once ur up and running use VistaBoot Pro (freebie) which is a nice gui to manage the BCD, otherwise its horrible command line

Thats the easiest option imo

[Disturbedguy]

ok you lost me with the BCD lol...

So if i start the install from within XP, i then select the drive i wish to install onto from in there..it will then add a new boot.ini with the entries for XP?

What are BCD and VistaBoot Pro?

Id like what will give me the best result if possible.

Thanks

[d3fiant]

boot.ini and the old methods of boot management are gone, Vista introduces BCD which is a sort of boot database, it completely does away with the old method. So if you install XP, then install Vista as a second OS, Vista will remove the older method and install its new BCD database including a reference to the XP install. You can then use programs such as VistaBootPro, its a gui to the BCDEdit command from MS which allows u to edit the boot up options much in the same way boot.ini worked.

However both ur XP and Vista builds will be accesible without any tinkering after the vista build, the tools merely allow u to change the default OS, selection names and wait times that used to be in boot.ini, otherwise u will have to use the bcdedit command line util to make changes which before would be done by editing boot.ini

So build XP as per normal, then insert Vista DVD while in Windows and go through the steps to install it on another drive. Both will be accesible at startup, however if you want to change order, boot delay or the names in the list then use VistaBootPro in either XP or Vista

Appologies if Ive over complicated that

[Disturbedguy]

nope that made perfect sense thanks matey

First time thinking of doing anything dual boot wish, i knew how it would be done on one drive but wasnt sure about multiple drives, then when you talked about the other stuff I was like lol

Now all i need to do is decide on which version of Vista to go for and my new hardware.

Thanks d3fiant

[d3fiant]

well thats a cost issue for u m8, I bought an OEM copy of Home Premium 32bit with a 99p PS2 mouse from scan for about £76. I then upgraded from 2GB to 4GB mem so grabbed a warez copy of 64bit ultimate to if it was worth the extra cash should I buy it, it was not. Home Premium is fine, 32bit vs 64bit is down to you. Dont choose Ultimate if u simply want the video desktop, this can be 'tweaked' within H.P

[Disturbedguy]

heheh good job i posted this, i was thinking of the ultimate edition lol..

thanks mate