I have a Dell Inspiron 530 running on Vista 64 bit. I need to add a dual
boot to either Vista 32 bit or XP in order to set up a VPN connection. I
have a 2nd internal hard drive as well as an external hard drive. Which is
the best way to set up a dual boot with Vista 64 bit and either Vista 32 bit
or Windows XP?

Either scenario -Vista 64 with Vista 32 or Vista 64 with XP- is possible.
Vista 64 and Vista 32 is easier to set up.

Installing a Windows system to an external drive is not easy, not supported,
and cannot be recommended. Use the 2nd internal hard drive.

If that 2nd HD is otherwise empty:

From power off, start the machine and put the DVD in the HD. Boot from the
DVD. Install as usual but make sure you specify the 2nd HD for the
installation.

The installer will set up the Vista boot manager. On machine startup, you
will be offered a menu with OS choice.

If the 2nd HD is not empty, you might have to take measures before the
install to get it ready. The facilities for that preparation are provided on
the DVD for most circumstances. Let us know. Someone can advise.

Good luck.
Tom Ferguson


"thindave" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:E6FB49EF-6957-40C4-9E6F-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have a Dell Inspiron 530 running on Vista 64 bit. I need to add a dual
> boot to either Vista 32 bit or XP in order to set up a VPN connection. I
> have a 2nd internal hard drive as well as an external hard drive. Which
> is
> the best way to set up a dual boot with Vista 64 bit and either Vista 32
> bit
> or Windows XP?
>