Dual Boot (question)

[zaki1990]

Hi guys,

I currently have my pc setup on dual boot. I have my Hard Drive seperated into 2 Partition, 1 for vista and the other for xp.

I used this guide to setup the dual boot:

-> How to Install Windows Vista on a Separate Partition and Dual Boot It With Windows XP « Sabahan.com

What i want to know is if i reinstall xp from scratch on the same partition, will it still enable the boot menu ?

[Mak213]

No. XP would re-write the MBR and you would lose your Vista install till you could set up the BCD to have Vsita and XP again.

[zaki1990]

So in this case is their a way to reinstall xp and keep my vista intact ?

[Mak213]

Yeah. Install XP. But after you do you will need to get EasyBCD. From there you will have to go to the XP Boot.ini. To do this go Start>Run>msconfig>boot.ini tab. From there write down your boot info.

Then use the Vista disc. Get the BCD boot manager back. Then boot into Vista. Get EasyBCD loaded. From there add XP to the Vista Boot loader and you are all set.

EasyBCD can work from within XP but that process is much more tricky. The way i just stated is the easiest.

[zaki1990]

Thanks for the help Makaveli213, I did what u said except a little different.

I did not use EasyBCD at all.

I simply saved my boot.ini settings from xp then reinstalled xp and booted up and my boot manager was gone.

So then i rebooted with the vista disk and preformed quick repair and it got me back my boot manager.

[Mak213]

I use EasyBCD only cause it was easier for me when i went this route. I didnt have a dual boot previously.

It is goo to see that your XP installs had the same boot setup that the BCD after being restored still worked.