Dual boot

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • dilbert
    Senior Member
    • Oct 2004
    • 887

    Dual boot

    I'm thinking of trying out Vista, but I can't give up XP, mostly because of one program, plus the fear of what else might not work. I just bought Creative Suite last year and heard CS2 is not compatible with Vista and Adobe does not plan to release a patch for it.

    So here is what I was thinking.

    Partition my hard drive.
    It's 300GB, how should I partition it?
    What software should I use to partition it?
    Install Vista
    Let's pretend money is not an issue. What versions are people running, and have the been disappointed they didn't upgrade further?
    When Windows starts up, instead of picking between XP or Vista, can it just go to Vista by default unless I interrupt it and select XP?

    I have Office 2007 installed. Will it need to be installed on Vista too? If so, does Microsoft allow for that?

    Any other tips from those braves soles that went earlier than me are greatly appreciated.

    Thanks
    Cliff
    PathLabTalk
    Square Wheels Cycling
  • JakeS
    Senior Member
    • Jul 2005
    • 1975

    #2
    Why don't you try out VMware?

    You can get your self a free "BETA" copy, its v6 and it will last until

    5/29/07

    Which should be enough time to try out vista.

    Comment

    • Vile
      Senior Member
      • Jul 2002
      • 2779
      • 3.6.x

      #3
      Originally posted by dilbert
      I'm thinking of trying out Vista, but I can't give up XP, mostly because of one program, plus the fear of what else might not work. I just bought Creative Suite last year and heard CS2 is not compatible with Vista and Adobe does not plan to release a patch for it.

      So here is what I was thinking.

      Partition my hard drive.
      It's 300GB, how should I partition it?
      What software should I use to partition it?
      Install Vista
      Let's pretend money is not an issue. What versions are people running, and have the been disappointed they didn't upgrade further?
      When Windows starts up, instead of picking between XP or Vista, can it just go to Vista by default unless I interrupt it and select XP?

      I have Office 2007 installed. Will it need to be installed on Vista too? If so, does Microsoft allow for that?

      Any other tips from those braves soles that went earlier than me are greatly appreciated.

      Thanks
      I am currently dual booting XP Pro and Vista Ultimate (although most people are pleased with Home Premium) on my laptop, for similar reasons. Many sites out there recommend you use a minimum of 20 GB for Vista to get the full experience, so if you have the space to spare, I'd give it a bit more than that. I split my HD and created the Vista partition using Partition Magic.
      The only reason I did 20 GB on mine, is because I'm only using that partition for the OS and program files, I have another "Data" partition for everything else, so you can make this larger or smaller depending on your needs.

      The boot menu can be modified to set XP or Vista has the default one during startup, so this is a very easy one to take care of.

      These guides show you how to install Vista after XP has been installed (and vice versa)




      This guide shows you how to set the default OS during boot menu after you are running Vista + XP:


      As for Office, you will have to reinstall it. IIRC, only the Home and Student version gives you three licenses, so unless you have this one, you technically can't use one that's already been installed + activated.

      As for VMWare, it's a great tool to use for testing purposes, but if you plan on actually using Vista on a normal basis, I would highly recommend installing it normally as you'll get a much better experience/performance

      Just make sure you backup your important data before doing any of this, just in case...
      Last edited by Vile; Sat 28 Apr '07, 7:28pm.
      Webmaster / Administrator
      www.MegaGames.com
      www.MGForums.com

      Comment

      • filburt1
        Senior Member
        • Feb 2002
        • 6606

        #4
        Originally posted by dilbert
        I'm thinking of trying out Vista, but I can't give up XP, mostly because of one program, plus the fear of what else might not work. I just bought Creative Suite last year and heard CS2 is not compatible with Vista and Adobe does not plan to release a patch for it.

        So here is what I was thinking.

        Partition my hard drive.
        It's 300GB, how should I partition it?
        What software should I use to partition it?
        Install Vista
        Let's pretend money is not an issue. What versions are people running, and have the been disappointed they didn't upgrade further?
        When Windows starts up, instead of picking between XP or Vista, can it just go to Vista by default unless I interrupt it and select XP?

        I have Office 2007 installed. Will it need to be installed on Vista too? If so, does Microsoft allow for that?

        Any other tips from those braves soles that went earlier than me are greatly appreciated.

        Thanks
        I'm running Photoshop CS2, a beta version of Dreamweaver CS3, and Office 2007 all on Vista Business with no problems.

        There are some annoyances with Photoshop CS2 on Vista, all due to GDI+ no longer being hardware-accelerated. Nothing show-stopping at all.
        --filburt1, vBulletin.org/vBulletinTemplates.com moderator
        Web Design Forums.net: vB Board of the Month
        vBulletin Mail System (vBMS): webmail for your forum users

        Comment

        • dilbert
          Senior Member
          • Oct 2004
          • 887

          #5
          Thanks all for the great replies.

          It looks like I can run all of Vista (according to the Upgrade Advisor).

          If I set it up as dual boot, and then later want to remove XP, is that possible? I need to be able to VPN into work, and they do not support Vista yet.
          Cliff
          PathLabTalk
          Square Wheels Cycling

          Comment

          • Vile
            Senior Member
            • Jul 2002
            • 2779
            • 3.6.x

            #6
            Originally posted by dilbert
            Thanks all for the great replies.

            It looks like I can run all of Vista (according to the Upgrade Advisor).

            If I set it up as dual boot, and then later want to remove XP, is that possible? I need to be able to VPN into work, and they do not support Vista yet.
            Yeah, you'll have to modify the partition (and boot.ini) but other than that, you should be fine.
            Webmaster / Administrator
            www.MegaGames.com
            www.MGForums.com

            Comment

            • MRGTB
              Senior Member
              • May 2005
              • 5454

              #7
              Yeah, you can edit the boot.ini to choose which version of windows you perfare to boot from first. As the default will always be the newest version by default (that being Vista). But you can change that to XP instead in the boot.ini. To boot up XP instead first by default

              Comment

              • Floris
                Senior Member
                • Dec 2001
                • 37767

                #8
                About programs installed on one operating system. For obvious reasons you can't use them on another operating system. You have to install it for each operating system. You can't use the installed office2007 from XP on Vista. You will have to install it on both systems. I'd double check with the license agreement if they permit you to dual boot and install it twice.

                Comment

                • dilbert
                  Senior Member
                  • Oct 2004
                  • 887

                  #9

                  This is sounding more and more complicated.
                  OK, here's a new one.
                  If I have a full version of XP Pro, and I install Vista as a dual boot, do I need a full version, or do I qualify for an upgrade?
                  Cliff
                  PathLabTalk
                  Square Wheels Cycling

                  Comment

                  • Floris
                    Senior Member
                    • Dec 2001
                    • 37767

                    #10
                    I've upgraded to vista using upgrade-vista
                    And I told it to not upgrade my xp, but install it aside of xp.

                    When i boot now I am asked to go to vista, or older windows.

                    Comment

                    • dilbert
                      Senior Member
                      • Oct 2004
                      • 887

                      #11
                      Thanks Floris.
                      Cliff
                      PathLabTalk
                      Square Wheels Cycling

                      Comment

                      widgetinstance 262 (Related Topics) skipped due to lack of content & hide_module_if_empty option.
                      Working...