Dual booting Vista vs virtual machine

[Guest]

I have ordered the DVD of Windows Vista Beta2, 32-bit, although 64-bit is
included. I have been exploring whether to use the Vista dual boot feature
so I can retain XP on the same computer, separate partition, or use
third-party software, such as BootUS, which is an alternative. Now I am
looking at a virtual machine from VMWare company, which has a 30-day
evaluation copy available. I have an external hard-drive and Acronis True
Image to image my current XP edition so that I can experiment a little with
the beta.

But what is the best alternative for loading the beta: Vista dual boot,
third-party (BootUS), or a virtual machine? I'm not in a position to load
onto a second, internal hard-drive.

 

[Guest]

I tried it with Acronis OS Selector installed and the program didn't
recognoze Vista as an Operating System. I created a separate partition,
logical drive, for Vista and installed on that and the boot options come up
at start up, "Windows" for Vista and "Earlier Operating System" for XP Pro.