Dual Boot Windows XP and Vista

There are times when I need to use XP. You may have your own reasons for use of both systems, or you may just have a licenses for Vista and XP and want to use them both. It doesn’t matter if you already have Windows Vista installed or Windows XP installed.

Just use either of the following guides titled Install Vista after Installing XP‖ or Install XP after Installing Vista‖.

Before you begin, please note: it is easier to install XP
first – if you are starting from scratch.

Create Partitions for Your Installations

You either need to install each operating system on a different physical disk or you will need to partition your drive before attempting a dual boot. Each partition should be a primary partition. Google will point you in the right direction if you don’t know how to partition your drive.

Install Vista after Installing XP

Installing Vista is really easy if you already have Windows XP installed. Simply boot from your Windows Vista installation disc, select the disk or partition you wish to install Vista on (make sure you don’t install Vista on the XP partition), and Windows will take care of itself. After installing Vista, you will be presented with a boot screen offering you to boot to Windows Vista or an earlier version of Windows (XP.)

Install XP after Installing Vista

1. Simply boot from your Windows XP installation disk,
select the disk or partition you wish to install XP on
(make sure you don’t install XP on the Vista partition),
and Windows will take care of itself
.
2. Now boot from your Vista installation DVD. Click
Next on the regional settings screen and click on
Repair Your Computer. Select the Vista install and run
the Startup Repair.

3. The next step is to tell Vista that XP exists by adding
an entry for XP to the Vista boot manager. In Windows
Vista, click Start and type Run. Right click on the
shortcut and select Run as Administrator…

Run the following commands in the same order they
are presented here:
bcdedit /create {ntldr} /d ―Windows XP‖
bcdedit /set {ntldr} device boot
bcdedit /set {ntldr} path \ntldr
bcdedit /displayorder {ntldr} /addlast
Now reboot your computer and you should have the
option to boot to either Windows XP or Windows Vista.



If you do have suggestions, feel free to comment below..