Running Vista x64 and XP on the same machine

fallforward · 12th March 2009

Thank you in advance to anyone that takes the time to reply.I enjoy reading this forum a great deal.

I have a Quad Core pc with 8GB RAM running Vista x64 on which I do my video editing. I run Pro Tools 7 on my G4. I would like to run both on my PC because my PC is super fast (it's newer) But Pro Tools will not run on Vista 64 Bit. I don't want to downgrade to XP completely. I have been looking at the various programs that let you run multiple OS concurrently. (VMware and the like) It would be awesome to run XP and Vista on the same machine, but I am skeptical about the performance. I have searched the forums a great deal, and most of the posts I have seen are referring to running Windows on a Mac with this software. I need to run USB ports so VMware looks like the way to go.

Is there anyone out there running Vista and XP on the same machine with VMware or something like that?

Thanks Guys/Gals!
Robby

Altitude909 · 12th March 2009

Just dual boot it.

there are some excellent free managers out there

fallforward · 12th March 2009

Should I partition the Hard Drive, or run seperate ones?

Altitude909 · 12th March 2009

I would partition your system drive (or use separate drives)

take at look at this:

GAG, the Graphical Boot Manager

Little more flexible than the windows boot manager

Mavvok · 13th March 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altitude909

I would partition your system drive (or use separate drives)

take at look at this:

GAG, the Graphical Boot Manager

Little more flexible than the windows boot manager

another option would be to install vista then xp then one of the linuxes and use grub.

Altitude909 · 13th March 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mavvok

another option would be to install vista then xp then one of the linuxes and use grub.

I'm not sure you will be able to install xp after vista

kraznet · 13th March 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altitude909

I'm not sure you will be able to install xp after vista

Be very carefull!! If you install XP after Vista it will hose your system . I've tried this a few times and it's never worked . You end up with neither OS working .The only relaiable way is to install Vista after XP . There maybe a foolproof way of doing the reverse but it's never worked for me . If you do experiment make sure you image your Vista install first in case it messes up .

Regards
Kraznet

fallforward · 13th March 2009

Thank you for the link that program looks better than the built in boot manager!

As for the warning, I am going to use a seperate (internal) hard drive. Do you still see that becoming an issue? Because I will be installing XP after Vista.

Thanks again for all the help here!
Robby

ngarjuna · 13th March 2009

The issue of one OS "disappearing" is usually a matter of whichever one was installed most recently taking over the MBR (master boot record). There are manual fixes for both possible situations (if XP or Vista x64 takes the MBR over forcefully). In fact, this is rather likely to happen if you aren't using a third party boot loader (which isn't really needed although it can keep the install process a bit simpler I guess). Just don't panic; google for instructions for recovering the MBR after a Windows <XP/Vista> install and you'll find the few things you need to do.

I run a dual boot Vista x64 / XP x86 system and have for almost two years now I guess. Once I had a problem with XP taking over the MBR (I think it was when I installed service pack 3). I googled it, followed the instructions to restore the Vista boot loader and voila, I was back in business.

NWSooner · 14th March 2009

Setting up a dual boot system is really pretty easy.

How to dual-boot Vista with XP (with XP installed first) - step-by-step guide with screenshots

How to dual boot Vista and XP (with Vista installed first) -- the step-by-step guide with screenshots

Multiple hard drives is fine, or multiple partitions of one drive. Don't worry about "hosing" your system. As the poster before me said, if you install one OS after the other one all that happened is the MBR got stomped on, and that's easily fixed. (See the links above.) Both OSes coexist just fine.

The only thing to keep an eye out for is the drive letters. By default you'll end up with one of the partitions (or drives) as C: and the other as something else. The OS works fine, and programs will work fine, but sometimes you might run across some older software that won't allow you to choose an installation location and hard-codes C:\Windows into the path, or at least defaults to C:\. If you're installing onto a partition or drive where, say, F:\ is the boot partition you'll want to keep an eye out for that and make sure you install programs into the correct directory.

LickHunter · 14th March 2009

Definitely partition the hard drive. Depending on which partition you use at boot-up, it will seem like you are using two independent pieces of hardware. Just make sure you have a big enough C: hard drive.

12th March 2009	#1
fallforward Gear addict Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 426 Thread Starter	Running Vista x64 and XP on the same machine Thank you in advance to anyone that takes the time to reply.I enjoy reading this forum a great deal. I have a Quad Core pc with 8GB RAM running Vista x64 on which I do my video editing. I run Pro Tools 7 on my G4. I would like to run both on my PC because my PC is super fast (it's newer) But Pro Tools will not run on Vista 64 Bit. I don't want to downgrade to XP completely. I have been looking at the various programs that let you run multiple OS concurrently. (VMware and the like) It would be awesome to run XP and Vista on the same machine, but I am skeptical about the performance. I have searched the forums a great deal, and most of the posts I have seen are referring to running Windows on a Mac with this software. I need to run USB ports so VMware looks like the way to go. Is there anyone out there running Vista and XP on the same machine with VMware or something like that? Thanks Guys/Gals! Robby

14th March 2009	#10
NWSooner Lives for gear Joined: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,085	Setting up a dual boot system is really pretty easy. How to dual-boot Vista with XP (with XP installed first) - step-by-step guide with screenshots How to dual boot Vista and XP (with Vista installed first) -- the step-by-step guide with screenshots Multiple hard drives is fine, or multiple partitions of one drive. Don't worry about "hosing" your system. As the poster before me said, if you install one OS after the other one all that happened is the MBR got stomped on, and that's easily fixed. (See the links above.) Both OSes coexist just fine. The only thing to keep an eye out for is the drive letters. By default you'll end up with one of the partitions (or drives) as C: and the other as something else. The OS works fine, and programs will work fine, but sometimes you might run across some older software that won't allow you to choose an installation location and hard-codes C:\Windows into the path, or at least defaults to C:\. If you're installing onto a partition or drive where, say, F:\ is the boot partition you'll want to keep an eye out for that and make sure you install programs into the correct directory. Last edited by NWSooner; 14th March 2009 at 01:57 PM.. Reason: HTML got hosed

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12th March 2009	#2
Altitude909 Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,294	Just dual boot it. there are some excellent free managers out there

13th March 2009	#8
fallforward Gear addict Joined: Mar 2009 Posts: 426 Thread Starter	Thank you for the link that program looks better than the built in boot manager! As for the warning, I am going to use a seperate (internal) hard drive. Do you still see that becoming an issue? Because I will be installing XP after Vista. Thanks again for all the help here! Robby

13th March 2009	#9
ngarjuna Gear nut Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 75	The issue of one OS "disappearing" is usually a matter of whichever one was installed most recently taking over the MBR (master boot record). There are manual fixes for both possible situations (if XP or Vista x64 takes the MBR over forcefully). In fact, this is rather likely to happen if you aren't using a third party boot loader (which isn't really needed although it can keep the install process a bit simpler I guess). Just don't panic; google for instructions for recovering the MBR after a Windows <XP/Vista> install and you'll find the few things you need to do. I run a dual boot Vista x64 / XP x86 system and have for almost two years now I guess. Once I had a problem with XP taking over the MBR (I think it was when I installed service pack 3). I googled it, followed the instructions to restore the Vista boot loader and voila, I was back in business.

14th March 2009	#11
LickHunter Gear interested Joined: Mar 2009 Location: California Posts: 7	Definitely partition the hard drive. Depending on which partition you use at boot-up, it will seem like you are using two independent pieces of hardware. Just make sure you have a big enough C: hard drive.