dual boot

[Richard LeBlanc]

I have a new Acer PC with the OS pre installed. Does anyone know if it is
possible to dual boot using the pre installed windows Vista and install
vista on a new partition and how to go about it?

Richard

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

Go to start orb, type: diskmgmt.msc Highlight the largest partition, click
the Action menu, all tasks/"Shrink Volume" Only you could know if that's
enough. A new drive added would be better, of course. You would need a Vista
setup disk. Only you could decide how you want to get that. You will need
another Product Key to get it to update.

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[AlexB]

The answer is YES. You've got a Vista OS now, you can install another Vista
on a different partition. I will be very easy. it typically takes close to
40 min or less. Vista takes care of all drivers. You don't have to worry
about anything. It is good to have another partition clean but if it is not,
Vista will take care of it also. All your important file swill be collected
to Windows.old folder.

Your second Vista will become the primary Vista so to speak. It will be the
default OS by default unless you changed it in CMOS.

It is not a sound idea on average to have two OSs on one machine unless you
have special needs. I cannot even thing of a situation that will require it.
What happens is you will have time barely for one OS and the other one will
fall in disrepair, no updates will be installed. When you sign in there
perhaps once in a quarter the other Vista will have a very hard time to
bring you up to date.

I think the existence of two OSs on one machine may be useful only in cases
when your default developed problems so sensitive that you cannot do repairs
even in safe mode. Then you go to the other OS, endure all updates,
sometimes close to 15 (a real case for one of my XP partitions) and from
there you can change any dll or system driver without being punished.

I do have two partitions on 3 machines but it happened historically. I do
use some of them in dual role.

 

[Scrat]

Multi-booting Microsoft OS's is a kludge. Why not consider this: buy
yourself a TRAYLESS SATA mobile carriage and insert hard drives like
floppies.

I've been sold on the "mobile carriage" concept for a decade. The downside
was having to keep buying entire carriages just to get another tray.
Eventually, you could buy the trays separately but you still had to buy a
tray.

Tada! Enter the *trayless* mobile carriage. Insert hard drives like floppies
and just that easily. In fact, the first time I inserted a hard disk I said
to myself: "Uh oh. This is WAY too easy. I betcha the hard disk isn't
seating completely in the carriage. WRONG!

This is the way to go. Hard drives like floppies. Less than US 30.00.

m

 

[Richard LeBlanc]

Thank you for the replies. I have been running dual boot with XP for several
years. There was no problem getting a key at no cost for the second boot ,
although, I was questioned. I have been using a program called Pinnacle and
version 9.1 was rather unstable on my old PC. I had to do quite a few
formats to get it going. Uninstall just didn't work. I have since upgraded
to Acer and Vista. I purchased Pinnacle 11 which was for Vista. Some of the
swipes weren't working so I uninstalled. There seemed to be no way to get it
to re install. Pinnacle is now sending me a new disk but if that doesn't
work I will likely set up with dual boot again. When I do have to reboot, I
have only a few systems to install.

Richard