VistaBootPro

[Guest]

Have a question about this bootloader: If I were to use it to dual boot XP
and Vista, would I still lose the restore points and the shadow copies in
Vista every time I boot into XP?

I have found the restore points in Vista useful sometimes, and would,
therefore, like to keep them. I currently have an XP and Vista dual boot set
up in my single HD, using Vista's built-in bootloader. Partition C is for
XP, Partition D is for some apps for XP, and Partition E is for Vista. So on
which partition should I install VistaBootPro? On the Vista partition, I
guess?

Is the current beta version of VistaBootPro(3.1) stable?

Would like to hear from those who have tried this app!

Many thanks in advance!

 

[Jane C]

Yes, you would still lose your Vista restore points. VistaBootPro does not
hide each OS from the other. It just simplifies editing the Vista
bootloader, with the ability to backup and restore it if it goes AWOL.

 

[Guest]

Have a question about this bootloader: If I were to use it to dual boot XP
and Vista, would I still lose the restore points and the shadow copies in
Vista every time I boot into XP?

I wouldn't think so if you set up XP on a different drive and tell them both
which drives to create restore points. I have Vista on C: and XP on I: and
they each only create restore points on their own individual drives.

I have found the restore points in Vista useful sometimes, and would,
therefore, like to keep them. I currently have an XP and Vista dual boot set
up in my single HD, using Vista's built-in bootloader. Partition C is for
XP, Partition D is for some apps for XP, and Partition E is for Vista. So on
which partition should I install VistaBootPro? On the Vista partition, I
guess?

You can install it on either or both. It worked on either one for me as long
as it knew where to find Vista.

Is the current beta version of VistaBootPro(3.1) stable?

It worked great for me, even fixed my pathing for me. I'm going to throw a
third OS at it this weekend (Linux) and see how it handles that. I don't
expect problems.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies! However, I am getting conflicting responses! So do
I still lose my restore points in Vista every time I boot into XP with the
VistaBootPro or not?

I know I could try, but still would like to know ahead, because if I still
would lose restore points in Vista with the bootloader of VistaBootPro, there
is NO reason for me to even try that! As I've said, I am currently using
Vista's built-in bootloader, dual booting XP and Vista! The drawback, of
course, is that I am losing the restore points in Vista every time I boot
into XP!

Another thing I need to clafiry is that I do not have multiple HD's in my
system. I only have a single hard drive with multiple partitions on it!

Would like to hear more info on this!

Thanks again to those who replied!

 

[Guest]

My experience was that it doesn't matter whether if Vista is on a different
partition on the same drive or on a different physical drive. When WinXP is
booted it will find all of the restore points on the system. The ones made by
Vista will be judged to be corrupted, and they'll be lunched. If you want to
keep this from happening you have to hide the Vista installation from Windows
XP BEFORE the first reboot into WinXP. The strategies for accomplishing this
include the use of BitLocker (limited availability among the Vista versions)
or the use of third party partitioning software with features for hiding
operating systems from each other. This, in turn, complicates the
configuration of the system and increases the likelihood that Murphy will be
able to have his way with it.

Frankly, if you absolutely MUST have both of these operating systems on the
same physical system, I think the best solution would be either a swappable
primary OS drive (pull one drive out, stick the other in) with data kept on a
separate physical drive, OR to use one OS or the other in a virtual machine
-- with the provision that, if you run WinXP in a VM you don't allow it
access to the Vista host installation.

Do you really need to run bother operating systems on a single computer? If
so, just study up on the techniques. It's doable, just kind of a pain in the
butt. I'm simply not willing to put a third party partition manager in charge
of my operating systems' most basic functionality. The only reason I wanted
WinXP at all was to support certain hardware (most of it USB connected, which
meant that I couldn't run it in a VPC VM). And there was NO WAY I was going
to use WinXP as the host and run Vista in a VM. Yes, I tried it. Vista in a
VM on a Dell Precision M70 with 2 gigs of RAM was DOG SLOW. And one of my
major reasons for liking Vista was its responsiveness.

For me (and I realize that YMMV) NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE!

;-)

Good luck, though.

 

[Gary VanderMolen]

The only known workaounds for the Vista restore points problem
are listed here:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/dualboot.html

 

[Guest]

Once again, thanks to those who have replied!

Yes, I have to have XP on my machine, because I've got some software that is
NOT compatible with Vista. Tried them in Vista. They won't be compatible in
Vista in the distant future, either. So I have to have XP in my system.

If I still lose restore points in Vista with the the bootloader of
VistaBootPro, I shall forego it and stick with the built-in bootloader of
Vista.

One thing I hope for is that Microsoft will come up with a patch to solve
this problem, as many people might be affected by this. The reason why
people are dual booting XP and Vista is, like in my case, the software or
hardware compatiblity issues with Vista.

Thanks again!