[mikee]

I was wondering how to dual boot xp and vista when vista is the first os on the drive. and if they are in dual boot is it possible for them to share the same my documents folder (on second hard drive)

[atomic tofu]

check this..

Dual boot problems with Vista and XP - TechNet Forums

[mssssee2]

It's not very applicable to install two or more windows in a single hard drive, cause under normal circumstances there may become serious problems, you should separate the drive in two or more partitions and set up windows in each partition. If you would like to use Vista and xp at the same time try using virtual pc 2007, but you must have a perfect system that is endurable enough.

_________________
Mike from Greece, 14

[mikee]

i did seperate it into 2 partitions but when I went to set up xp on the new partition after the first reboot it started normal then froze with a bunch of garbage on the screen right after it said boot from cd

[Mak213]

It is best to install XP first then install Vista. To do it the other way will give you problems as you have seen.

[EricB]

I got sick of the vista bootloader. I run MCE 2005 90% of the time. yet if I restart the computer and leave, it will boot to vista.

I installed vista with all of the other Hdd Disconnected. you can go this route after an xp install. now connect those drives back up

now if I want vista, I either set the bios to boot to the other hdd (for a continuous boot) or I hit esc to get a boot menu (for a temporary boot)

your documents won't have a problem with this

[D.Arbib]

I have totally given up trying to dual boot between XPpro/SP2 32 bit and Vista Ultimate 64 bit

I am now in the process of building a new desktop which will have plug-in hard drive bay. One HDD I plug in will have the full Vista Ultimate 64 bit and the other HDD will have the normal XPpro/Sp2 setup (which I will be transferring from my current computer.

Incidentally, some time ago I tried dual booting with two physically separate drives between 32 bit and 64 bit XPpro and had very similar difficulties and no sensible help from M$.

[UA_Iron]

Originally Posted by D.Arbib

I have totally given up trying to dual boot between XPpro/SP2 32 bit and Vista Ultimate 64 bit

I am now in the process of building a new desktop which will have plug-in hard drive bay. One HDD I plug in will have the full Vista Ultimate 64 bit and the other HDD will have the normal XPpro/Sp2 setup (which I will be transferring from my current computer.

Incidentally, some time ago I tried dual booting with two physically separate drives between 32 bit and 64 bit XPpro and had very similar difficulties and no sensible help from M$.

It's not that hard. I have two separate harddrives for each OS. If you dont then use Partition Magic to make another partition.

And yes, XP should be installed first. And yes, that bootloader is annoying. I would prefer not to boot into vista 64 - I have to stand there and babysit the startup - thats annoying.