# XP & Vista Dual Boot. Flashing Dash??? plz help!



## Firedomain (Mar 7, 2008)

Hey, i read around (after multiple failed attempts) on dual booting XP & Vista.

i did the usual recomended thing & installed XP first & then installed Vista on a seperate partition.... (i origionaly had a complicated set of partitions but in my frustration have removed all others for now)
once the XP (32bit Pro) installer is complete XP works fine... so i start on the vista (64bit Ultimate) installer & once thats all finished the comp restarts & does its usual flashing dash thing that comps do, then the dash moves down a line or 2 & just keeps flashing..... thats as far as i get!!! i have continuously tried this process over & over again with different partition setups & nothing seems to be getting it to work...... i run the vista disc & hit the repair button & it detects no startup problems!!!...... its not corrupt discs or anything either... as i have installed both windows on there own & they both work fine...

does anyone have any ideas???? anything at all..... i have been up for ages screwing around with this trying 2 get it to work properly......
im about to go & attempt a Vista + XP Dual boot (instead of XP + Vista) will post here again 2morrow if i have any luck or not..... till then please reply as much as u can.... im going mad without my comp running!!!!! everyone elses comps just 2 slow!!!!

Thanx in advance TPU crew


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## Deleted member 38767 (Mar 7, 2008)

I have hell trying this as I use Vista, but need a program, runing in XP for my work. Now I have Vista with XP on Virtual Machin 

Try installing on two different HDDs one at a time and then plug them both.


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## 3870x2 (Mar 7, 2008)

Here is an idea:  There is a bootloader called GRUB (google it).  Grub is an excellent boot loader that imbeds itself into the MBR, and lets you select which operating system to boot.  The bootloader that is usually installed by windows is only meant to boot dual operating systems very temporarily, and usually not different types of operating systems.  In fact, windows recommends that you DON'T boot multiple operating systems.  Grub is a free program, and should be pretty easy to handle.  Its always removable with the fixmbr command also.


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## 3870x2 (Mar 7, 2008)

yeah, 2 hard drives is a good idea also, if you have the resources, then you can choose from the bios which hard drive to boot from.  Make sure that you NTFS both of them.


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## Firedomain (Mar 8, 2008)

yer, i do have 2 HDD's but for what im wanting to do its just not practical to install them on seperate HDD's. as for GRUB, i got the impression after looking around that to have a GUI it needs some sort of linux installer disc or something... otherwise i'll only get the command lines.....? also my main concern.... how fast does GRUB load??? im only really interested in a bootloader if it looks good.... & is fast.... otherwise i'll work my way around configuring windows os selector. (there normal built in 1.)

after stuffing around with it again today it appears that my vista disc may have a problem after all.... i removed all partitions & tried installing vista & after the installer all i got was the flashing dash... i tried again & luckily it installed.... so after rearanging my partitions I'm having to reinstall it again... then i'll install XP, then load the vista disc & repair the boot then run easy BCD & add the XP partition to the boot file..... i'll post back here when i have some more news.....

(update: am finally getting somewhere!!!!! will post when i know if thigs worked out or not...)


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## Firedomain (Mar 10, 2008)

is all good now... i installed vista first then xp & the reran the vista startup repair utility & then used easy bcd to add xp to the list... now there both working & i have my 2nd hdd set up for backup images with acronis true image.

thanx for your help all the same guys.


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## 3870x2 (Mar 14, 2008)

GRUB is as fast as any, no wait or load times at all whatsoever.  Its pretty too!


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## BarbaricSoul (Mar 14, 2008)

I didn't have a problem setting up a dual boot on my system, but then again, I installed XP pro on both partitions and upgraded one to vista.


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## tizzle4shizzle (Mar 14, 2008)

im new here just going to try and help from what ive learned, past month gone threw xp,to vista back to xp about 20 times lol 

ok xp dumps info to the c drive all the time i guess? so install your xp first then your vista i think vista is smart enough not to dump like that ,but im searching that too 

the best way to dual boot gets costly ,ok so first purchase would be a hot swap kit for two drives  ,then if your drive you got now is big get yourself two hdd that have at least 120gig
put those in the hot swap cages leave the one drive in the pc and use that for a storage drive, install your os's on the drives then you should have a two os machine

all you do is shut down and swap the cage out then restart to get from one to the other


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## Firedomain (Mar 14, 2008)

ok, that sounds like a costly unnecessary solution.... anyway i have both os's installed & working as i said in my previous post..... i have a 500GB HDD split into 5 partitions. XP 15GB, Vista 30GB, Programs 15GB, Games 150GB & Documents 255GB. then i have my old 320GB HDD being used as a backup HDD with acronis true image making incremental backups of my documents partition, my xp partition & my vista partition (incase any unseen problems occur i can restore the images)

Thanx for your help all the same tizzle4shizzle.
& welcome to TechPowerUp!


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## tizzle4shizzle (Mar 27, 2008)

Thermaltake N0023SN Max 4 3.5" SATA HDD Rack - Retail 23.99     5 shipping

im getting this for my dual boot and the two 160 sata 2 drives and use my 500 seagate with 32mb cache as storage total cost  $150 drives being 125 of it they got a new hotswap out for sata no cages raidable too if you got 4 drives raid both os

this would be for noobs like me that cant keep up with all the mixup between the os dumping ....when you install something then says reboot to save the changes. itll dump right?

just wondering if i can just do it your way and use what u do , or just spend more on this pc and have an easier time of it .just turn on and go and not spend any time i dont have to backup and restore if needed cause of a dump (i still dont know what a dump is i do know it adds info to a drive?and would that be unstaible or gravy)


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## Firedomain (Mar 27, 2008)

ok.... im not 2 sure at all... i have multibooted for a long time now (only started again recently) but i've never had a problem at all.....

i have both hdd's in the case & when i turn it on it just starts up & asks if i want XP or Vista for 5 seconds.. if i hit nothing it'll just start Vista (u can set the time & default OS & u can rename the OS listings)

i'd find a duel boot situation a lot simpler doing it my way then using a removable cage (+ the fact that an empty cage looks like shit on a case...)


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## tizzle4shizzle (Mar 29, 2008)

with this hot swap solution just the extra hdd would be laying around no cages involved anymore with sata being in the same position for all drives. installs in 5.25? with a nice door that closes to give it a good look. vent in the door for cooling and lockable so no one can take off with the one in the machine. lol 

ive done dual boot before on the same drive and only had a problem when like a regisrty cleaner runs with out setting the preferences first to exclude the other drive 

ive just single booted since hearing about the dumping and heres a project i have gotten to yet install windows on d drive and leave c open and just see what goes in there after everything is on the os

i think that would be helpful to find that out but always forget to do it when installing


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## tzitzibp (Mar 30, 2008)

i have the exact set up you want to install. XP pro and vista 64ult.
I tried to set both up on the same disk, different partition, no deal...

you need a second disk... first install XP and then vista.... good luck!


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## Firedomain (Mar 30, 2008)

that funny... i'm running XP Pro & vista 64 ultimate, same disk, different partitions....
works fantastic......


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## tizzle4shizzle (Mar 30, 2008)

tzitzibp  why couldnt you get it to work explain pls
ive had xp on c partition then installed vista on the d partition same drive!

after you install vista xp wont boot till you fix it with EasyBCD 1.6.

was that your problem?


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## tizzle4shizzle (Apr 6, 2008)

so i dont know how to edit my post or i would but i re did the dual boot with partitioned my 500 to 
107, 88, 205, and 64 .. so installed first was xp on the 88 then without updateing xp went to vista install on the 107 , changed the lable of the xp boot with easybcd from older windows ... 

now this worked just fine even when you load xp it is on the c: drive and vista is on the d: drive , then boot vista and its on the c: drive and xp is on the d: drive ... i think this fixes the dumping issue

only thing i read so far is when you load xp it wipes the system restore points in vista and deleteing some other type of file (shadow copies?) but at this time its runs and feels fast

ty Firedomain you got me to install this setup again but with xp on first other time i was with vista on then installed xp i wouldnt suggest that build to anyone due to the vista would be on c: and xp on d: and wouldnt change back and forth like the setup i got now does(vista on c when it boots and xp on c when it boots)


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## Firedomain (Apr 7, 2008)

yer, that would b extremely convenient for me... i wanted em 2 both do that, but since i couldn't install xp first im stuck with vista on c & xp on h....... but im not really bothered, they both work fine & i'll probably b replacing xp with vista 32 soon anyway..... or possibly getting rid of both & just using 64 or 32 (needa do some testing 1st)

as for the editing, u need 2 b loggen in, then just click "edit" on ur post where "thanks" usually is...


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## tizzle4shizzle (Apr 7, 2008)

if you can get your hands on another xp and install it first then vista i would do it 

and vr 32 and 64 bit vista i would go with 64 mainly it does 32 bit no problem most the time except for anti viruse software i still havent found one that works lol and have been looking for about two months now


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## Firedomain (Apr 8, 2008)

#1 recommended for all time is kaspersky internet security... i would never recommend any other virus scanner. me & mates have used heaps & this is without a doubt the best i've ever used... + if u have a good look around its recommended #1 by stacks of ppl.

& the reason im looking at using vista 32 is coz a lot of software hasn't been cracked for 64 bit.... & without them my overall system performance is degraded over time...

+ i'd never use xp.. just coz its older now & is ugly & etc etc... i like having everything in 1 spot, coz i always use the sleep (s3) feature & hibernate when im done for the day... with more than 1 os it makes coming back 2 the computer a lot longer when i have 2 restart & go into a separate OS just 2 use a few utilities to increase performance (+ the fact that they cant do there job right coz they needa see what i use most 2 rearrange my hdd for better performance...)
& the fact that i have a webcam that wont work on x64 & a game control (ps2/3 style) thats software wont work on x64 so its features are limited.. + my old xbox1 remote that i modified for the comps software dont work on x64.... & my HDTV software always thinks it crashed whenever i close it, which makes it impossible to import my channel list & save it... so every time i open it i have to  re-import the channel list!.... the main 1 that shits me off is the xbox remote.. coz i could set that up 2 do absolutely anything at all!!!..... 

anyway... u get the point!... will still have a lot of testing before i decide anything...


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## tizzle4shizzle (Apr 8, 2008)

this isnt the spot to flame vista but the reasons i use a dual boot would be

1. all the games i have that were made before 9 months ago have major problems in vista
gothic3 is so laggy that it is un playable , Battle field vietnam -has multiple proplems im pretty sure vista rewrites the music and audible comands to be a different type of file BFV cant read many other games work fine but BFV is the main one for me 

2. ive got books and books on vista and still havent been able to share my files on another xp computer 

they made  vista to be easier to use or so ive heard but crap is vista harder then xp to figure out um yea

so i use my xp partition to play games and share on the network and find xp is mostly the os that is booted up 

vista watch tv , surf the web ,lol thats about all i use vista ultimate that i paid 300+ for .. 
the look and feel is awsome i love that i get to use all 8 gigs of dual channel ram but even that doesnt make the games run better in vista, 
     i do have one game , jerico that plays just the same on both. so for the newer games and programs it should be the one to switch to but i dont see xp going anywhere for at least another 5 yrs maybe longer (my opinion)
    vista isnt a bad program and to those that destroyed your copy lol yall going to be kicking yourself in a year or so after all the querks are takein care of


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## Firedomain (Apr 8, 2008)

lol, thats odd.... with both of em i have no problems with..... have 13 games installed & a few i haven't gotten around 2 & most of em i run on max settings.... all work fantastic... must b the games or something...

& i have my comp sharing things fine to the entire network (vista comps & xp comps)

i use vista for everything & haven't booted into xp for at least 2-4 weeks.....

i am getting annoyed something chronic with the 64 bit compatibility occasionally.....

(my apologies, i'm wasted! :s)


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## tizzle4shizzle (Apr 8, 2008)

ok so my vista can get the files off of a xp machine but the shared folders from the vista show up on the xp but say i dont have access to them and contact the network admin 

you know how to fix that?

xp its just three clicks on a folders share properties and vista has tons of options in the share area on a folder and network settings


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## Firedomain (Apr 9, 2008)

all i can think of trying 1st would be to go into network & sharing center & make sure ur computer is part of the same domain name under network discovery (usually mshome or workgroup) also chack to make sure password protected sharing is off (untill u have things working)... i do remember having a fair few problems with the networking with another xp comp ages ago... dont remember how i fixed it up....

also if you go into the properties of the file ur sharing, go into the sharing tab & click advanced sharing, then click on permissions & ensure that "everyone" is in the group or user names.... umm....... then maybe do a google search for some more solutions..........


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## tizzle4shizzle (Apr 14, 2008)

ok got the network good enough i just had to reset the share properties on the xp hard drive (i had changed drives but it was still in the share list ) 

still cant share vista folders but i just drop the files i need from the vista in the shared hdd on the xp 

OK back to dual boot the most resent way i posted isnt so good
1. gotta keep installing jave everytime i reboot.
2. mouse wheel doesnt work in my game now it did though 
3. found xp files in the vista c drive

  thats just with vista i still only have updated the xp 
so i could imagine what kind of problems would be going on if i went back and forth all the time and really setup the xp 

im with ya '  im going vista on this machine and free up another 88 gigs of hdd 
 think i need another machine now just to game on the xp OS 
(still cant get gothic 3 to play smoth in vista)

or just hot swap. hmm


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## Firedomain (Apr 15, 2008)

just outta curiosity, what xp files appeared on the vista partition (guessing c
because as u'd know i was/am duel booting & i wanna check my files & see if the same ones are there (cant do it at the moment, coz my comp blew up....)


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## Titus (Apr 18, 2008)

Hi 

Since two weeks i'm on dual boot on my last rig.
I'm on XP Pro SP2 ( an Nlite version i made starting my XP Pro MCE discs ) on the first partition of an HDD and on the first partition of a second HDD i put Vista 64 ultimate.
After XP install, i launched vista boot pro 3.3 and type in it the primary OS.

And rock and roll


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## tizzle4shizzle (Apr 29, 2008)

the files were from like 10 digit names hmm started with f ,letters and numbers but were so crazy cant really remember what they were but they wer in the c of the vista boot in c: or around bitlord in c: cant remember but couldnt delete. 

it was after the updates and almost all programs installed ,

almost had it  , hot swap is looking alot better for my use

vista is nice but xp is functional.
so im back to xp till -hot swap,or i can figure out how to do this with one drive and keep the files where there supposed to be, Hmm??? ive tried it every way and ive had the file problem every time,raaaah lol 

just a note the files were small as heck and probly wernt doing anything wrong but im picky.  couldnt remove them until i reformated the disc!!!! vista security there i beleive but they were created by xp go figure?


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## Firedomain (Apr 29, 2008)

what if you install xp 1st & give it the C: drive, then install vista & let it have the next letter....
when i 1st started duel booting, i was hoping i would b possible to install 1 to c, then after i install the other, i'd remove the assigned c letter from the xp partition & was hoping i could replace vistas letter with c... but since by then its already installed i couldn't

(so basically, in xp vista's partition letter would be removed, so the drive is inaccessible & vice versa when vista is loaded. was hoping either way the OS would run on C:.... i'm sure i've seen it done... just dont remember how!!!!!)


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## tizzle4shizzle (May 4, 2008)

only two ways ive found

xp first then vista makes it so each os is on c or so it thinks :vista files in xp

vista then xp , vista takes c and xp takes d : xp files in vista

this could have been directly related to programs i was installing but in my mind it should have worked

now i need to sink more into this just to use my $300+ copy of vista(hot swap to make it easier on me i just dont have the time to keep dinkin with this rig)

btw i dont think that video card is salvageable but kudos for trying to fix it


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## Mussels (May 4, 2008)

when i dual boot them, i simply use two hard drives. disconnect the other OS drive before installing, and use the mobo to choose what OS to run - most boards that support AM2 or Core 2's allow you go hit a certain key (usually F8) at boot to choose a boot device.


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## Firedomain (May 7, 2008)

cheers mussels. i didn't even think about that!!!.... would b convenient that it wont slow down the boot up at all & if i needa i can still boot into the other OS


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