removing xp dual boot two drives

  • Thread starter Thread starter dwolf
  • Start date Start date
D

dwolf

I was just reading a thread on removing XP.. I just want to map out my
configuration and make sure I do this correct.
I have two hard drives. Xp is on the original. the new second internal has a
clean install of Vista. The first thing I'm going to do until I am
completely ready to let XP go is follow the directions posted here to hide
Vista from XP.. When I'm ready I will like to remove XP from the original
drive and then use it for more drive space in Vista.
Another possibility since in reality I don't really need more space would be
to disconnect the original XP drive..
I would like advice on both scenarios.

Thanks joel
 
I have to admit, having used the 'hide' technique on a single hard drive
with two separate partitions, that this didn't work. I may be wrong but I am
a little doubtful if hiding your Vista drive from XP will do much good. If
you are not using Vista Ultimate, in which case your alternative option
would be Bitlocker encryption, you next best bet would probably be a third
party boot manager.
Again I can't comment on third party boot managers because i haven't used
one. I simple used Bitlocker, originally, to solve the problem. Now, of
course, I have simply dispensed with the XP partition and installed XP onto
a virtual machine (VMWare to be precise), which has obviously solved the
problem completely.
One thing you should beware of is that Vista puts the boot records on the C:
drive, therefore if your XP drive is the C: drive and you erase it or remove
it, the chances are you will not 'immediately' be able to boot into Vista
again. This isn't a problem because you simply use the Vista DVD startup
repair option to repair the boot files, then you should be able to boot into
Vista again.


--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
 
John--


Bitlocker encryption is also in Enterprise. MSFT tells me that cost was the
consideration that kept it out of Business where it ethically should have
been included but of course ethics doesn't always share a nexus with
marketing at the Redmond campus.

Good point on alternatives and the boot records placed on the XP drive; I
don't think a lot of people are aware of the XP Drive:\"Vista" Boot folder
which is XP Drive Letter\Boot and it's hidden by default while the
bootsect.exe folder is located on the Vista DVD.

Vista boot located on the XP drive on a dual boot contains the fixntfs
utility (ntfs boot code replacement), the memtest folder and for antiquity's
sake a fixFAT utility as well.

I wish there was more documentation on the practical use fo fixNTFS and the
use of bootsect.exe and bootrec.exe althought the latter is described
somewhat in a KB or two. I continue to work on integrating these and
understanding their uses and the switches and components of BCDEDIT.

See also:

How to troubleshoot scenarios in which the rollback phase was unsuccessful
after you upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927523/en-us

Installing previous versions of Windows on top of Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555852/en-us

How to manually start the removal process to remove Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/312569/en-us

Miguel Jimenez's Coding Blog
http://blogs.clearscreen.com/migs/archive/2006/03/07/2908.aspx

"Removing Vista dual-boot to restore XP and related stuff
I've been playing with the new Window Vista February CTP for a while, and
it's so awesome stable and sleek that I decided to install it on my home's
desktop machine. While in the playground, Vista was installed in Dell
Inspiron 8600 using an external USB 2.0 disk drive, and it worked really
fine keeping Windows XP on my primary partition and creating a lovely
dual-boot menu to choose between Vista and XP, or my Legacy Pre-Longhorn
Operating System as they called it.

So with my decision I wanted to removed all Vista stuff and menus from my
laptop. It was hard to work it out, but here is what you have to do:

To remove the Boot Manager loader from your primary partition, use the
BootSect.exe utility found in the Boot folder of the Vista DVD
Use option /nt52 to restore the ntldr loader
Use option /nt60 to restore the BootManager loader
Editing the menu options in the Boot Manager when starting your computer is
no longer available through the file boot.ini
You have to use the BcdEdit.exe tool to acomplish this task"

On Bootrec.exe

How to use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment to
troubleshoot and repair startup issues in Windows Vista/(Bootrec options in
the Win Recovery Environment--my subtitle):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927392/en-us

On Bootsect.exe:

Windows Vista no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the
Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529/en-us

How to troubleshoot scenarios in which the rollback phase was unsuccessful
after you upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927523/en-us

"Use Bootsect.exe to restore the Windows Vista MBR and the boot code that
transfers control to the Windows Boot Manager program. To do this, type the
following command at a command prompt: Drive:\boot\Bootsect.exe /NT60 All"

Windows Vista no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the
Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933179/en-us

"Use the Bcdedit tool to configure the hard disk partition on which Windows
Vista is installed
a. At the command prompt, type cd %windir%. Note the drive letter that is
displayed at the command prompt. This drive letter indicates which drive is
associated with the active partition on the hard disk. Typically, this is
the C drive.
b. Type Drive:\boot\Bootsect.exe -NT60 All, and then press ENTER.

Note Drive is the drive in which the Windows Vista installation media is
located. Typically, this is the computer's DVD drive (the E drive).
c. Type %windir%\system32\Bcdedit -create {ntldr} -d "Description for
earlier Windows version", and then press ENTER."

CH
 
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