81. Install Windows XP On A Machine Already
Running Windows Vista
Dual booting any Windows operating system has
always had to follow a set plan; and that plan,
simply put, was the oldest
operating system must be installed
first, followed by the newest
operating system.
This has been the time honoured tradition until
the release of Windows Vista.
Because Windows Vista has a totally different boot
loader to previous versions of Windows, it is now
possible, with a little help from a third party
shareware application called
VistaBootPro
(alternatively you could use the freeware
application called
EasyBCD)
to actually install Windows XP on a machine that
already has Windows Vista installed. For this
article we will be using
VistaBootPro.
The instructions below show you how to create a
dual boot system between Windows Vista and Windows
XP.
For simplicity we are going to use the scenario
whereby your PC already has Windows Vista installed.
If this is not the case, it is a simple matter to
install Vista first onto your PC and then follow the
steps outlined below.
Preliminaries
To create a dual boot system you require
two separate partitions on your hard drive,
or else two separate hard drives.
Now as most PC manufacturers' allocate all the space
on a single hard drive for the use of Windows Vista
it means that before you can proceed to install
Windows XP you are going to have to shrink
the main partition and then create a new
partition from the available free space. So
to do this proceed as follows.
Partitions
1/ Boot your PC to
Windows Vista.
2/ Click the Start button and
then Right Click on the
Computer option.
3/ From the Drop down menu that
appears, select Manage followed by
Disk Management.
4/ In the Disk Management
window, Right Click on the
Primary partition (coloured blue) of the
hard drive graph at the bottom of the Disk
Management window and, from the
drop down menu, select the Shrink
Volume option.
5/ The Shrink Volume wizard will
now appear.
6/ As you go through the wizard you will be asked
by how much you wish to shrink the main partition.
Assuming you also want to be able to install
programs on the XP partition, try allocating between
10 to 15GB (or
more if you have the space) for the XP partition. If
you are using Vista Home Premium or above, you
should also ensure that the final Vista partition is
no lower than 40GB, preferably
more.
7/ After you have shrunk the main primary
partition by the required amount you will be left
with the primary partition (containing Vista) and a
section of unallocated or
free space. It is in this unallocated space
where you now will create a
partition in which to install
Windows XP.
8/To create a new partition,
Right Click on the unallocated
space and, from the drop down menu,
select Create.
9/ Follow the Create Partition wizard
through and allocate all of the unallocated space
for the new partition.
10/ Once the new partition has
been created, Close the Disk management
window and Reboot your PC.
11/ This Reboot changes the
configuration settings within
Windows Vista. In order to complete the finalisation
of your new partition as soon as your PC has booted
to the desktop reboot your PC
again.
12/ As the PC reboots quickly
insert the Windows XP CD into your
CD-ROM.
13/ XP will now begin the installation
process. Continue to install XP making certain that
you install it to the New partition
you created.
14/ Once XP has been installed
and the PC has rebooted you will no
longer have access to Windows Vista (this is because
the Vista bootloader has been over
written by XP's boot.ini file)
Instead you will boot directly to Windows XP.
15/ At this point proceed as if you were only
installing XP. Set up your Internet
Connection, Firewall, Anti \virus etc and
then download any available updates.
Some updates you will not be able to download until
XP has actually been activated but, for the present,
activation of XP can wait.
VistaBootPro
16/ Once you have updated XP
with the few available updates, download
and install the third party
shareware application called
VistaBootPro.
You don't have to use VistaBootPro, you can,
alternatively, use the freeware application.
EasyBCD.
17/ VistaBootPro requires .NET Framework
2.0 for it to run, so make certain, when
prompted by VistaBootPro setup, that you install the
.NET Framework 2.0 prior to installing VistaBootPro.
18/ Once VistaBootPro has been installed
open VistaBootPro. You will be prompted to
back up your BCDedit files, but you
can ignore this.
19/ Once VistaBootPro is open, Click on the
Boot loader tab and then Select the
Reinstall the Vista boot loader
option, and Press OK.
20/ The Vista boot loader will
now be installed.
21/ After the boot loader has
been installed, Click on the Diagnostics
option on the main toolbar and
Select the Run Diagnostic option.
22/ After the diagnostic program
has run (which should take a few seconds) you will
default back to the Manage OS Entries
page.
23/ On this page you should see Two entries:
- Earlier Versions of Windows
- Microsoft Windows Vista
The Earlier versions of Windows
option is where Windows XP will be.
You can change the wording of this option by
clicking on the Earlier Version of
Windows and then putting a check mark
in the rename selected operating system
option. A new dialogue box will
appear where you can type the
new name. For simplicity it is
better to rename it to
Windows XP or something similar.
24/ All that is left to do now is Restart
your PC.
25/ When the PC restarts you
will be presented with a menu giving you the option
to boot into either Windows XP
(Earlier Version of Windows) or Microsoft
Windows Vista.
26/ Select the operating system
you want to boot to and Press Enter.
27/ Your selected operating system should now
appear on your screen.
28/ Finally, you have 30
(Thirty) days before you need to activate
your copy of Windows XP. Make sure
XP is working as it should be before activating the
operating system; even if this means delaying
activation for 10 to 14
days. Once you have activated XP,
remember to visit the Windows update
site to download any remaining updates for Windows
XP.
Additional Note
Windows XP does have a problem with
Windows Vista's shadow copy feature. This
basically means that, when you boot into XP, all
system restore points and
shadow copies on Windows Vista will be
deleted. To remedy this situation
see the following knowledgebase article.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926185/en-us