Solution to installing Vista in separate Primary Partitions

[Guest]

I'm not sure if this information had been posted but I thought it might be
helpful to some.

If you want to install Vista into a separate primary partition and do not
want vista's boot menu, here's how you can get around it.

1. Assuming you already have XP installed in your hard disk.
2. Use "Partition Magic" to create a new primary partition if you do not
have one.
3. Set the new primary partition to "active".
4. Boot vista and when asked where to install in, point to the new primary
partition.
5. After you complete the installation, you will find that you can't boot
back to XP.
6. Go to http://gag.sourceforge.net/ and download GAG 4.6, a boot manager.
7. Create the boot disk and boot up from the disk. You can create boot
selections for XP and Vista.
8. If you have 2 primary partitions with say XP and Linux, you can still
use the same method to create a 3rd primary partition, make it active, and so
on.

Hope this information will come in useful to you guys and gals.

 

[Mark D. VandenBerg]

Why not simply use BootMagic, the boot manager that comes with
PartitionMagic?

 

[Guest]

here is a solution if you instal vista and then want to add on xp



Ok, i know that everyone does not like how there is no boot.ini file
anymore. But its probably all for the best, you can use the cmd line tool
even beter. So, here was my (resolved) problem. I installed vista beta 2. I
completly wiped out windows xp (on purpose), so my only drive had only 1
partition with only windows vista on it.
I ran into a few compatability issues when conecting to my university
internet (problems with tls compatability) and seince my university doesnt
plan on fixing it, for the time being i still wanted to use xp.
SO

I used the build in partition maker to first
shrink the size of my current partition,
and second
format the empty space as ntfs

then i installed windows xp (from boot)

Now, that made it apear that windows vista was gone, as it would notbe
posible to put in into windows xps boot.ini file

i could get vista ack up by puting in the dvd and repairing it

i could get xp back up by puting in the xp cd and repairing it

it was clear the only option was to use vistas boot manager.

(i used microsofts help site on it to kinda help me through this)

SO, i will tell you how to ADD xp (or anything else really) to your vista
booter.
(most credit goes to microsoft as i will copy and pasta alot)

1. Open a Command Prompt window with elevated privileges.

The Command Prompt window must have elevated privileges, even if you are a
member of the Administrator group on the computer.

1.


Click the Start button, point to All Programs, and then click Accessories.

2.


Right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run Elevated. (aka run as
administrator)


Next, see what you have to work with

type in
"bcdedit /enum all"

This will pop up all the bits of things you can add and use (hopefully you
will see something like "windows legacy os" or "earlier version of windows"
that is the one you will be interested in

right now, make note of the identifier (copy it)
you will need it later, it will be somehting like "{

8602c25-5097-11da-99de-000802209f1b}

after
you know what you want to add, you need to copy your current

configuration

to do this
tpye in

"bcdedit /copy {current} /d AnyName" and obv you can change
"anyname" to "whateveryouwant"

now here is the quicy
part

we need to add our {8602c25-5097 etc} to apear
after our {current} configuration
so, we need to add the
option for windows xp to apear below the windows
vista

to do this
"bcdedit /displayorder
{current} {instert your big number here}" where that umber i had you
copy earlier
is suposed to go in the second
bracket

after that you can do a happy dance, cross
your fingers, pray i didnt forget to tell you anything, and reboot your
computer

btw, if something aweful hapens and your
computer explodes or anyhting its not my fault. I will let it be my
fault if you email me and hire me to do it for
you

good luck!

 

[Guest]

Solution if have vista first, then want xp


Ok, i know that everyone does not like how there is no boot.ini file
anymore. But its probably all for the best, you can use the cmd line tool
even beter. So, here was my (resolved) problem. I installed vista beta 2. I
completly wiped out windows xp (on purpose), so my only drive had only 1
partition with only windows vista on it.
I ran into a few compatability issues when conecting to my university
internet (problems with tls compatability) and seince my university doesnt
plan on fixing it, for the time being i still wanted to use xp.
SO

I used the build in partition maker to first
shrink the size of my current partition,
and second
format the empty space as ntfs

then i installed windows xp (from boot)

Now, that made it apear that windows vista was gone, as it would notbe
posible to put in into windows xps boot.ini file

i could get vista ack up by puting in the dvd and repairing it

i could get xp back up by puting in the xp cd and repairing it

it was clear the only option was to use vistas boot manager.

(i used microsofts help site on it to kinda help me through this)

SO, i will tell you how to ADD xp (or anything else really) to your vista
booter.
(most credit goes to microsoft as i will copy and pasta alot)

1. Open a Command Prompt window with elevated privileges.

The Command Prompt window must have elevated privileges, even if you are a
member of the Administrator group on the computer.

1.


Click the Start button, point to All Programs, and then click Accessories.

2.


Right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run Elevated. (aka run as
administrator)


Next, see what you have to work with

type in
"bcdedit /enum all"

This will pop up all the bits of things you can add and use (hopefully you
will see something like "windows legacy os" or "earlier version of windows"
that is the one you will be interested in

right now, make note of the identifier (copy it)
you will need it later, it will be somehting like "{

8602c25-5097-11da-99de-000802209f1b}

after
you know what you want to add, you need to copy your current

configuration

to do this
tpye in

"bcdedit /copy {current} /d AnyName" and obv you can change
"anyname" to "whateveryouwant"

now here is the quicy
part

we need to add our {8602c25-5097 etc} to apear
after our {current} configuration
so, we need to add the
option for windows xp to apear below the windows
vista

to do this
"bcdedit /displayorder
{current} {instert your big number here}" where that umber i had you
copy earlier
is suposed to go in the second
bracket

after that you can do a happy dance, cross
your fingers, pray i didnt forget to tell you anything, and reboot your
computer

btw, if something aweful hapens and your
computer explodes or anyhting its not my fault. I will let it be my
fault if you email me and hire me to do it for
you

good luck!

 

[Guest]

Mark D,
Be careful if you do that I just did and lost XP. I then tried to load PM8
in Vista and it told me that PM8 was not compatable with Vista. I will not
swear that it was the problem that lost XP, but it was the last thing I was
doing, when XP wouldn't load.
XP's partition went "hidden".
Fortunetly i got it back.
Just a word of caution
Brian

 

[Mark D. VandenBerg]

Ah, no, you load it in XP, first, then hide the XP partition and activate
the Vista partition, then load Vista, then go back into PM by booting to it
and reactivate the XP partition.

Or did you not try it this way.

 

[Guest]

Reply to Mark D. VandenBerg:

Boot Manager from Partition Magic 8.0 needs a fat 32 primary partition to
install to. Gag 4.6 doesn't.

To Briab Guy:

PM 8 cannot be installed in Vista. You can install in XP. Alternatively,
what I did was make a bootable windows 98 CD, with PM 8 DOS utility burned in
the CD, using it to boot up to either hide XP or Vista partition, as well as
to set XP or Vista partition active.

In this way, you don't need to use Vista's boot manager (confusing to use
bcdedit.exe), and use Gag 4.6 instead.

To lordgreggreg:

In place of bcdedit.exe, use "VistaBootPro", which is windows based and free.

That's all.

 

[Mark D. VandenBerg]

Good information. I must confess I am not familiar with Gag 4.6.