How to Dual Boot XP and Vista with XP Installed First
Author: Raymond7 Oct
Yesterday I’ve created a step-by-step tutorial on “How to Dual Boot Vista and XP with Vista Installed First“. Today I am going to show you how to dual boot XP and Vista with XP installed first. It’s a different scenario than yesterday. This time is you already have Windows XP installed which takes up 100% of the hard drive and you want to install Windows Vista on the same hard drive.
Configuring dual boot when you have XP installed first is way much easier than Vista installed first. Just follow the steps below on how to dual boot XP and Vista with XP installed first.
First things first, you need to re-partition or shrink your current XP partition to have free space for Vista installation.
1. Boot up your computer with Vista DVD. At the part where it ask you for product key, press SHIFT+F10 simultaneously. It will bring up command prompt.
2. Type DISKPART
3. Type LIST VOLUME
4. Select the volume where XP is installed by typing SELECT VOLUME 0. If somehow the XP volume is other than 0, then just change the number at the end.
5. Type SHRINK and it will automatically shrink your XP partition. Close command prompt and continue with Vista installation. You should install Vista on “Unallocated Space” when you get to the part where it ask you where do you want to install Windows.
Note: If you get an error message that says “Access is denied” when shrinking your partition with diskpart, boot up with Hiren’s BootCD and use either Partition Magic, Acronis Disk Director Suite, Paragon Partition Manager or any disk partition tools that you like to resize your XP partition. Minimum Vista hard disk requirement is 20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space.
Once Vista is installed and the system reboots, you’ll be presented with a boot menu with two options: “Microsoft Windows Vista” and “An Earlier Version of Windows”.
Booting to an earlier version of windows will boot up Windows XP. If you want to change the name “An Earlier Version of Windows” to Windows XP,
I found out that I can’t manually edit boot.ini file in Windows Vista. It gives me the error message “Access is denied“. I also tried going to Startup and Recovery from System Properties but there is no Edit button which allows me to edit boot.ini.
There are 2 free utility I found which is able to edit Vista boot manager.
1. EasyBCD
- Click Change Settings button, select Earlier Version of Windows from Entry-Based Settings drop down menu. You can change the text that says “Earlier Version of Windows” at Name. Click Save Settings.
[ Download EasyBCD ]
2. VistaBootPRO
- Click Manage OS Entries button, select “Earlier Version of Windows”, check Rename OS Entry and type the name that you want it to display and click Apply Updates.
[ Download VistaBootPRO ]
There you have it. Now you can have both XP and Vista in one hard disk.
P/S: If you’re looking for dual booting Windows Vista and XP with Vista installer first, click here.
[tags]dualboot, easybcd, vista, xp, windows[/tags]
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27 Comments to “How to Dual Boot XP and Vista with XP Installed First”
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Tnx :D
Raymond, I dnt know what I would have been without u . . .Thnx a million man
Very nice tutorial. Greatly appreciated Raymond.
HI raymond i please tell me how to install windows98 on xp installed first?
HI raymond please tell me how to install windows98 on xp installed first?
do i have to do a clean install? cuz i wanna keep my files!
Hi, thanks for the information! It really is better and easier to follow than anything else i’ve read so far.
Quick question though… If you have 2 Sata drives… Windows xp installed first on the primary drive (and the other drive is just a data drive that can easily be wiped clean) how do you install Vista Ultimate Retail Full Version on that 2nd drive and then Dual Boot to both XP and Vista?
That’s the one piece not covered. I’m guessing i would not need to “shrink” the XP Partition if i install vista to the other HD, just not sure how to approach this.
Lastly, by following your instructions, if one of the drives is removed, either the XP or the Vista drive… will the other/remaining drive still boot normally or is there something special you’d have to do.
Thanks again!
When using a second hard drive the steps should be the exact same. Instead of the install options being Disk0: Partition 1 and Disk0: Unallocated Space the options will read Disk0: Partition 1 and Disk1: Partition 1 (or Unallocated depending on your disk.)
And of course if you are using an empty disk you wont have to mess around with partition resizing.
I installed vista ultimate the way u described and now i cannot get to my xp install at all and i can’t even run the xp repair program to reinstate my xp boot. when i installed vista when it got done it didnt even show an earlier version of windows in the boot option menu. i have tried to add it manually with no luck at all. any ideas
Thanks! This tutorial is great…I was wondering, is it possible to merge the 2 disks back together after Vista is installed, or would it be too much trouble?
If this were to be done, would you need new drivers installed for the vista partition?
I am a Network admin and was having MAJOR prob trying to get a triple boot working and your tute helped alot THANK YOU and many props
Thank you for this! Works for me.
Hi, i need help for this dual boot
i have try it with xp installed first and then try to install vista. but failed.
Here are my tests:
80GB disk
C: 30 GB FOR XP primary partition NTFS
D: 30GB FOR VISTA logical partition NTFS
E: 20GB FREE SPACE NTFS
Well after succesfully installed xp i then go on vista installation.
i restart with vista dvd on boot drive and enter the vista installation,,, choosing correct drive and then after finishes the first part of vista installation and the auto restart setup restarts the pc ………
then it couldnt load at all either vista or even xp or even appear any choosing operatings systems start up menu.
i had to reboot with vista dvd on drive again , and enter on startup recover menu within the vista dvd.
i add these command lines as you wrote:
bootrec.exe /fixMBR
bcdedit / create {ntldr} / d \”windowsxp\”
bcdedit /set {ntldr} device boot / fixboot
bcdedit /set {ntldr} path \\ntldr
bcdedit /displayorder {ntldr} /addlast
and then restart the computer and yes the problem is been resolved BUT ONLY for once.
yes the choosing operating systems menu appears but only for one time.
If i shutdown or do a new restart within vista or xp, since i manage to enter the operating system,
i then cannot load windows again blank screen appears after the first bios loading page.
i have to re-enter all commands lines:
BOOTREC.EC /FIXMBR……ETC
within the vista setup menu and boot again with vista dvd on drive.
That is while trying these command lines nothing seems to been saved. after restart or shutdown all are gone and i have to re-enter the commands.
Now i have test the other method.
vista installed first and then xp.
well after boot with vista dvd and finishes the first part of setup and the setup do a restart,,,, nothing appears at all…..blank screen….and i cannot conitnue at all…
the command line bootrec.exe….etc doesnt working here…
Finally if i do another thing all working great…
if i format drive c as primary partition FAT16 OR 32
and make it bootable even not install any operating system at all,,,,,
DRIVE C:FAT16-32 2GB
D: NTFS LOGICAL PARTITION FOR XP 20GB
E: NTFS LOGICAL PARTITION FOR VISTA 20GB
F:…. REST SPACE NTFS OR EVEN use it for linux…..
and then try to install xp all working great…
i then boot with vista dvd and succesfully finishes installation….
and then the choosing operating screen appears correctly without having to mess with the bootrec.exe……..
and even beyond that if i try to continue installing operatings systems on the other free partitions it successfully works great!!!
So why if i make the drive c primary and bootable i then can only dual boot xp and vista aftewards.
Thanks
and please help to solve this puzzle
Tutorial looks solid, but I’m a little apprehensive: I have an acer travelmate 5720 that came with vista pre-installed.. After a few days of copying and installing files from old PC i managed to create a blue screen of death scenario, meaning I had to format and reinstall with the included recovery disks, which happened to install xp pro on my system. To cut it short, i don’t have a vista install disk perse, but rather the acer backup disk (with vista on) I made before the crash. Although im loving the xp performance, I miss vista. Would I be able to create the dual boot setup with just the acer recovery disk? Thanks
Hey Raymond,
Thanks for the tips!
I have followed your tutorial and it worked like a charm, however having XP installed first, is there any chance that I can delete XP and using Vista as my permanent OS?
Thanks
Thanks…
I got XP installed. It has linux installed with wubi. It is dual-boot. I’d like to install vista (or 7). Is this possible?
@qwerty
Yes it’s possible, granted that you have enough disk space for another partition, and that your system meets minimum reqs for the OS.
Just use drive manager to create another partition on your disk (Make sure to leave enough working room for your primary OS!) and install the O.S. to that Partition.
Hi, I foolishly tired to duel boot XP on a separate HD than the one Vista was on, Figured i could go into and select HD’s to get vista or XP (kinda like going into select boot from CD). I installed XP it is working fine now, but the only HD that is hooked up is the one with XP. When I plug my vista into the slave IDE cable it wont even load XP anymore. So, I just go back into my XP. Here is the thing I already have vista installed on my first HD. So, what I am thinking is the BIOS has xp boot loader set up, and vista’s boot loader is gone. Now I need to fix the vista boot loader, but what I am afraid of is that xp boot loader won’t be there anymore so ill be back with vista and xp wont work. Any ideas? i know this is long and repetitive.
raymond, Does this work for XP and Win 7?
I can’t run 50% of my old XP programs like Pinnacle v10.
I’d love to be able to dual boot. But, will my XP media center disks (emachine) be able to supply drivers for my new Win 7 (eMachine)?
Thanks!
Hugo
Raymond,
Can I dual boot XP Media Edition & Win 7 Home Premium on a (emachine) Will XP have the drivers for the newer (emachine) components?
Thanks
Hugo