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Can't start Vista after installing XP
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Posted Message
ertchel
Suspended due to non-functional email address
_ 		25. June 2007 @ 16:27 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
Can't start Vista after installing XP

QUESTION:
Okay, looks like I really messed up. I got a new Vista computer but I wanted to be able to run XP some of the time, because I have a couple of applications that wouldn't run in Vista. So I thought I'd be clever, since I have lots of disk space, and just install XP to dual boot with Vista. But after I installed XP, I could boot into XP but not Vista. Now I didn't intend to get rid of Vista altogether. Is there hope or do I have to start all over to get Vista back? - Dennis L.

ANSWER:
It always goes a lot more smoothly if you install operating systems for a multi- boot configuration in chronological order, with the earliest installed first. Unfortunately, you couldn't do that because Vista was already on the machine. Vista uses a new startup method, where boot information is stored in a Boot Configuration Database (BCD) store. It doesn't recognize boot.ini, which is the file XP uses for booting the OS. When you installed XP, the XP Setup program overwrote the Master Boot Record and boot files.

But all is not lost. You can restore the Vista MBR and boot code from the Vista installation DVD. When you do that, you'll be able to boot into Vista - but not XP. However, you can restore that ability by creating a new entry in the BCD boot file to point to the XP operating system. Then you'll be able to choose the OS you want from a boot menu at startup. You can find Microsoft's step by step instructions for both processes at
h*tp://www.wxpnews.com/I74EMA/070626-Dual-Boot
[ + quote]
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