Using XP as a dual boot along with Vista

[NEED XP]

Hello every one, I just recently purchased an Acer Aspire M100 desktop
which has Vista home premium. My question is, does any one know if XP can be
installed as a dual boot on this pc, and if it's possible what type of driver
issues can occur? I'm asking these questions on this forum because the Acer
"help" center didn't give me any definent answers. Any help, or info will be
greatly appreciated thanks.

 

[John John (MVP)]

I don't know about the driver issue, you will have to find out for
yourself if drivers for Windows XP are available. Did you try the Acer
support website to see what was available?

As for installing XP the best way to do this would be to stick a second
hard disk in the machine then install XP on it. While you install XP
you should disable the Vista hard disk, this will avoid potential errors
during the XP installation and it will ensure that your Vista
installation remains undamaged and available if the XP experiment fails.
You can disable the Vista disk in the BIOS or by temporarily pulling
the power connector to the disk. After Windows XP is successfully
installed you can connect or enable the Vista disk again and boot to
Vista, from the up and running Vista installation you can easily add XP
to the boot menu with the use of VistaBootPro.

If you don't want to use two hard disk then, unless the hard disk
already has an available free partition, you will have to resize the
current Vista partition and create a new one for XP, that can be a
pretty messy operation for the uninitiated. After you create the new
partition and install XP you will have to go into the Vista Recovery
Environment and use the /FixBoot command to repair the boot sector. You
should carefully consider the potential problems posed by this method,
the two hard disk method is much easier and safer to try.

John

 

[David Webb]

There are some major issues to overcome in order to dual boot with Vista and
WinXP.

They are:
1) Obtaining WinXP System drivers for your system.
2) Finding a Dual boot setup procedure.
3) Loss of System Restore points in Vista when WinXP is installed.

For item 1, you'll need to do some research to see if this desktop is a good
candidate for WinXP. Whether trying a dual boot configuration or a clean install
of WinXP, you'll need to have all drivers, which may include SATA drivers, if
required. In many cases of newer systems, the hardware devices were developed
for Vista only and there are no WinXP device drivers available. During the early
transition period, some systems were sold with WinXP installed and the mfg
offered an upgrade to Vista when it was released. This type will/should have
WinXP drivers available.

For item 2, see the procedure in the following link.

How to dual boot Vista and XP (with Vista installed first)
http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp

Note, you will need a Vista installation DVD or a rescue CD in order to repair
the Vista bootloader and then complete the dual boot section with the EasyBCD
utility.

For item 3, see this article for detailed info including some workarounds:

No restore points are available when you use Windows Vista or Windows Server
2008 in a dual-boot configuration together with an earlier Windows operating
system
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926185

Good luck!

 

[mikeyhsd]

why not make use of virtualization , run VPC2007 and install the xp into it.




(e-mail address removed)



Hello every one, I just recently purchased an Acer Aspire M100 desktop
which has Vista home premium. My question is, does any one know if XP can be
installed as a dual boot on this pc, and if it's possible what type of driver
issues can occur? I'm asking these questions on this forum because the Acer
"help" center didn't give me any definent answers. Any help, or info will be
greatly appreciated thanks.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hello every one, I just recently purchased an Acer Aspire M100 desktop
which has Vista home premium. My question is, does any one know if XP can be
installed as a dual boot on this pc, and if it's possible what type of driver
issues can occur? I'm asking these questions on this forum because the Acer
"help" center didn't give me any definent answers. Any help, or info will be
greatly appreciated thanks.

Oh, yes, it's certainly possible.

Normally, the older OS must be installed first unless you wish to
acquire and use some 3rd-party partition and boot management utility.
(In which case you have to follow the instructions provided by whatever
3rd party solution you select.) However, this KB Article (not for the
faint of heart or technically-challenged) explains how to repair the
Vista boot process after installing WinXP:

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

MS-MVP John Barnett's Guide is considerably more user-friendly:
http://vistasupport.mvps.org/install_windows_xp_on_machine_running_vista.htm


Before proceeding:

First and foremost, if the specific computer model in question was
designed specifically for Vista, there may well be no WinXP-specific
device drivers available to make the computer's diverse components work
properly. If this proves to be the case , installing WinXP in a virtual
machine would be your best option, anyway. Consult the computer's
manufacturer about the availability of device drivers. Secondly, adding
another OS might void any support agreements and, sometimes, even the
warranty. Again, consult the computer's manufacturer for specifics.

Dual-booting is no longer necessary in a great many situations. Why
not download a Virtual Machine application, such as Microsoft's
VirtualPC 2007 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp?) or
Innotek's VirtualBox (http://www.virtualbox.org/) and run Win2K and your
legacy applications within a virtual computer. Both are free and work
with Vista.

NOTE: Microsoft does not support the use of VirtualPC 2007 on Vista
Home editions, but several people have reported that it works. Your
results may vary.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

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