Dual Boot, System Drives

[Dennis]

Greetings.

I have searched all over the web for an answer to my question, with no
luck. Maybe I am using the wrong search terms, there are a bazillion
articles, posts, storys, etc about dual booting.

I need to dual boot Windows Vista and XP Pro. I got there no problem,
with each OS on their own physical drive. However, when I am booted to
Vista, the OS and Program Files folder etc, are in the C:\ Drive.
Fine. When I boot to XP, the System drive, with the OS and Program
Files folder etc is H:\.... NOT FINE. In both cases the other OS drive
is visible. Everything seems to function OK. But some of the apps I
use will ONLY install to C:\Program Files etc. This is NOT good. There
are numerous ways to "hide" a drive in the explorer, but this does not
stop either OS from accessing the drive. I have read that both OSs are
smart enough to not do this, but that has not been my experience.

In short, I am just not comfortable with the other OS system drive
visible, and some of my apps will not even work that way. In the past
I have been able to dual boot with older OSs, the active OS drive was
always C:\, with the other OS "invisible".

Am I going to have to use a third party software to accomplish this? I
am fine with that, as long as it is reliable. Partition Magic/Boot
Magic no longer works with Vista. Does anyone know of a third party
app that will accomplish the end result I want? Or perhaps an
installation method not requiring a third party app?

Thanks in advance....

Dennis

 

[peter]

When I setup a dual boot with XP and Vista I already had XP installed on one
drive.
I disconnected that drive and installed Vista on the 2nd drive.This required
me to set the boot drive in the BIOS each time I booted up...my BIOS allowd
me to push F12 to display a Boot HD screen.
But when I booted into either OS the system drive was always listed as C...
I am sure there are other ways but this worked for me.It also made it easier
when I decided to use just one OS and stop dual booting.
peter

 

[Dennis]

When I setup a dual boot with XP and Vista I already had XP installed on one
drive.
I disconnected that drive and installed Vista on the 2nd drive.This required
me to set the boot drive in the BIOS each time I booted up...my BIOS allowd
me to push F12 to display a Boot HD screen.
But when I booted into either OS the system drive was always listed as C...
I am sure there are other ways but this worked for me.It also made it easier
when I decided to use just one OS and stop dual booting.











- Show quoted text -

Peter

I suspected I might have to go this route, but I was unsure how to go
about it. I had read somewhere that I should not install an OS one one
drive, with the other drive disconnected. I believe it was because it
would cause Vista boot loader problems. Your solution take that out of
the picture, assuming I have the Bios boot option.

I will see if my bios gives me that option (F12 or whatever).

I used EasyBCD for my boot menu. But in the end, there is not much
difference in your method.

Thanks,

Dennis

 

[mikeyhsd]

when you install vista by booting from the dvd it has the nasty habit of stealing the "C" drive designation.
if you install from within another OS , it then takes the expected drive letter of the drive/partition installed on.


(e-mail address removed)



Greetings.

I have searched all over the web for an answer to my question, with no
luck. Maybe I am using the wrong search terms, there are a bazillion
articles, posts, storys, etc about dual booting.

I need to dual boot Windows Vista and XP Pro. I got there no problem,
with each OS on their own physical drive. However, when I am booted to
Vista, the OS and Program Files folder etc, are in the C:\ Drive.
Fine. When I boot to XP, the System drive, with the OS and Program
Files folder etc is H:\.... NOT FINE. In both cases the other OS drive
is visible. Everything seems to function OK. But some of the apps I
use will ONLY install to C:\Program Files etc. This is NOT good. There
are numerous ways to "hide" a drive in the explorer, but this does not
stop either OS from accessing the drive. I have read that both OSs are
smart enough to not do this, but that has not been my experience.

In short, I am just not comfortable with the other OS system drive
visible, and some of my apps will not even work that way. In the past
I have been able to dual boot with older OSs, the active OS drive was
always C:\, with the other OS "invisible".

Am I going to have to use a third party software to accomplish this? I
am fine with that, as long as it is reliable. Partition Magic/Boot
Magic no longer works with Vista. Does anyone know of a third party
app that will accomplish the end result I want? Or perhaps an
installation method not requiring a third party app?

Thanks in advance....

Dennis

 

[Dennis]

Peter

I suspected I might have to go this route, but I was unsure how to go
about it. I had read somewhere that I should not install an OS one one
drive, with the other drive disconnected. I believe it was because it
would cause Vista boot loader problems. Your solution take that out of
the picture, assuming I have the Bios boot option.

I will see if my bios gives me that option (F12 or whatever).

I used EasyBCD for my boot menu. But in the end, there is not much
difference in your method.

Thanks,

Dennis- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Just a followup, my Intel DG965WH board allows me to select a boot
drive (F10). Both my drives are Raptor 150GB, so they appear as the
same. Hopefully, they are always in the same order at the boot screen,
so I know which to select. Also, I was unable to boot to the XP drive
when selected. I suspect that is because of the boot loader editing I
did with EasyBCD.

More expirementing to follow, I guess.

It still would be nice to use a boot menu instead of the F10 method,
however.

Ideas still welcome.

Dennis

 

[Timothy Daniels]

when you install vista by booting from the dvd it has
the nasty habit of stealing the "C" drive designation.
if you install from within another OS , it then takes the
expected drive letter of the drive/partition installed on.

How does one install "from within another OS"?

*TimDaniels*

 

[Timothy Daniels]

I had read somewhere that I should not install an OS one one
drive, with the other drive disconnected. I believe it was because it
would cause Vista boot loader problems.

One should not install a Windows OS with an earlier Windows OS
visible to the installer - causes boot loader problems for the earlier
OS.

One should not start up a WinNT/2K/XP clone *for the first time*
with its "parent" OS visible to it - the clone gets confused with
identical file names.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Dennis]

One should not install a Windows OS with an earlier Windows OS
visible to the installer - causes boot loader problems for the earlier
OS.

One should not start up a WinNT/2K/XP clone *for the first time*
with its "parent" OS visible to it - the clone gets confused with
identical file names.

*TimDaniels*

Tim

I used the following method for my dual boot install:

http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp

It worked good, with the exception of the drive letter situation my
original post referred to. So I am confused by your statements:

"One should not install a Windows OS with an earlier Windows OS
visible to the installer - causes boot loader problems for the earlier
OS."

"One should not start up a WinNT/2K/XP clone *for the first time* with
its "parent" OS visible to it - the clone gets confused with identical
file names."

The method I used DID require using the Vista boot CD to repair the
bootloader. Is this what you are referring to?

Anyways, I am still tempted to try Peter's suggestion using the bios
boot menu. I am just hanging on for a more "elegant" solution.

Thanks,

Dennis

 

[Dennis]

Tim

I used the following method for my dual boot install:

http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp

It worked good, with the exception of the drive letter situation my
original post referred to. So I am confused by your statements:

"One should not install a Windows OS with an earlier Windows OS
visible to the installer - causes boot loader problems for the earlier
OS."

"One should not start up a WinNT/2K/XP clone *for the first time* with
its "parent" OS visible to it - the clone gets confused with identical
file names."

The method I used DID require using the Vista boot CD to repair the
bootloader. Is this what you are referring to?

Anyways, I am still tempted to try Peter's suggestion using the bios
boot menu. I am just hanging on for a more "elegant" solution.

Thanks,

Dennis

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Point well take about apps that are written with hard coded install
paths to C:\Program Files, or to the root, etc. None the less, I have
never found an alternative application that will do what these
particular apps do for me.

Anyway....I thought I would share my final solution, perhaps it will
be of use to someone else. This is a combination of experimentation,
and suggestions on this and other forums. Peters suggestion, (first
reply), was the starting point for this. This only works for two
physical drives, not for 2 partitions on a single drive.

Disconnect one of the drives. Install Vista on the connected drive.
Disconnect the drive with the Vista installation, reconnect the other
drive. Install XP. I'm sure the order wouldn't matter, if there is
already an installed OS on one of the drives.

After both operating systems are installed, boot the computer to the
Vista drive, using the bios boot menu to select the correct disk. In
my case this involved hitting the F10 key; it may be a different key
with other motherboards. Most modern motherboards support this, mine
is an Intel DG965WH. If this is not an option, I believe the XP drive
could be disconnected for the next step. It looks as if EasyBCD would
support adding the XP OS, without it being physically connected, as
long as you know the path to the drive.

Once Vista is booted, download EasyBCD from http://neosmart.net This
is a free, safe to use Vista boot loader editing tool. Follow the easy
instructions to add the XP installation to the boot menu. Upon
rebooting, you will have the choice of both OSs. Once booted to either
OS, the active system drive will be C:\. The other system drive will
still be visible, but at least it will not be C:\. For further safety,
you can hide that drive using gpedit, or TweakUI.

There should be less risk to the other operating system with this
setup. Maybe I am just paranoid!

Dennis

 

[mikeyhsd]

with lets say XP running, insert the Vista dvd in the drive and begin the installation.,



(e-mail address removed)

when you install vista by booting from the dvd it has
the nasty habit of stealing the "C" drive designation.
if you install from within another OS , it then takes the
expected drive letter of the drive/partition installed on.

How does one install "from within another OS"?

*TimDaniels*

 

[mikeyhsd]

just for info, you might find that VistaBootPro is easier to use and it also works from both xp and vista.



(e-mail address removed)

Tim

I used the following method for my dual boot install:

http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp

It worked good, with the exception of the drive letter situation my
original post referred to. So I am confused by your statements:

"One should not install a Windows OS with an earlier Windows OS
visible to the installer - causes boot loader problems for the earlier
OS."

"One should not start up a WinNT/2K/XP clone *for the first time* with
its "parent" OS visible to it - the clone gets confused with identical
file names."

The method I used DID require using the Vista boot CD to repair the
bootloader. Is this what you are referring to?

Anyways, I am still tempted to try Peter's suggestion using the bios
boot menu. I am just hanging on for a more "elegant" solution.

Thanks,

Dennis

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Point well take about apps that are written with hard coded install
paths to C:\Program Files, or to the root, etc. None the less, I have
never found an alternative application that will do what these
particular apps do for me.

Anyway....I thought I would share my final solution, perhaps it will
be of use to someone else. This is a combination of experimentation,
and suggestions on this and other forums. Peters suggestion, (first
reply), was the starting point for this. This only works for two
physical drives, not for 2 partitions on a single drive.

Disconnect one of the drives. Install Vista on the connected drive.
Disconnect the drive with the Vista installation, reconnect the other
drive. Install XP. I'm sure the order wouldn't matter, if there is
already an installed OS on one of the drives.

After both operating systems are installed, boot the computer to the
Vista drive, using the bios boot menu to select the correct disk. In
my case this involved hitting the F10 key; it may be a different key
with other motherboards. Most modern motherboards support this, mine
is an Intel DG965WH. If this is not an option, I believe the XP drive
could be disconnected for the next step. It looks as if EasyBCD would
support adding the XP OS, without it being physically connected, as
long as you know the path to the drive.

Once Vista is booted, download EasyBCD from http://neosmart.net This
is a free, safe to use Vista boot loader editing tool. Follow the easy
instructions to add the XP installation to the boot menu. Upon
rebooting, you will have the choice of both OSs. Once booted to either
OS, the active system drive will be C:\. The other system drive will
still be visible, but at least it will not be C:\. For further safety,
you can hide that drive using gpedit, or TweakUI.

There should be less risk to the other operating system with this
setup. Maybe I am just paranoid!

Dennis

 

[Timothy Daniels]

One should not install a Windows OS with an earlier
Windows OS visible to the installer - causes boot loader
problems for the earlier OS.

One should not start up a WinNT/2K/XP clone *for the first time*
with its "parent" OS visible to it - the clone gets confused with
identical file names.

*TimDaniels*

Tim

I used the following method for my dual boot install:

http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp

It worked good, with the exception of the drive letter situation my
original post referred to. So I am confused by your statements:

"One should not install a Windows OS with an earlier Windows OS
visible to the installer - causes boot loader problems for the earlier
OS."

[.......]

The method I used DID require using the Vista boot CD to repair
the bootloader. Is this what you are referring to?

Yes. The APC method of repairing the MBR for Vista
after installing XP is not a standard Microsoft procedure,
and Microsoft therefore says to install Vista last. Much of
the recent questions on the XP and Vista newsgroups involve
installing XP after Vista (many people want to go back to XP)
BECAUSE Microsoft doesn't describe how to do it. So
thanks for the link. BTW, the article started out with;
"Scenario: You want to install Vista on your PC alongside
your XP installation, on the same drive." Of course, what was
meant was "You want to install XP on your PC alongside
your Vista installation, on the same drive."

Anyways, I am still tempted to try Peter's suggestion using the bios
boot menu. I am just hanging on for a more "elegant" solution.

Using the BIOS to reset which HD gets control at boot time
*is* elegant in that it is simple and effective and straight forward
in concept and you don't have to make any decisions at boot
time if you don't want to change which OS gets booted.. If you
can afford a dedicated HD for each OS, it is what I would
recommend.

*TimDaniels*