[720p]

I have managed to get a key & installation file thanks to users here. I would like to dual boot my Vista x64 with windows 7 x64 but have run into a problem.


I have two hard disks with two partitions each. c & d are the primary partitions on each disk. I want both operating systems to be installed as c.


Disconnecting the first drive, installing on the second & then modifying the boot.ini won't work after vista days.


I have installed Windows 7 while in Vista but it has installed as d.


I need your help on how to remove it and redo it correctly. bcdedit scares the hell out of me. (even with gui tool)


I also think installing Windows 7 has moved the boot partition from disk 1 to disk 2.


I don't know how to proceed. This is my htpc & I need to have it working 24/7.

 

[jhhoffma]

I don't think you can do that, nor would you want to as it would potentially cause massive conflicts. The Drive letter is assigned at the partition level and drive letters. It would be much easier to have them as separate drive letters.


However, if you have to have it running 24/7, I wouldn't recommend dual-booting with a beta OS. Doesn't make much sense to me, even if Win7 is very good.

 

[720p]

But I used to have several pcs with 2 or more operating systems, 98, xp, vista, 2000, etc. and all had c as their main drive.

The pc I'm typing from now has XP x86 and Vista x64. In XP my xp is installed on c and see the Vista drive as d. If I boot into Vista my Vista is installed on c and sees the XP as drive as d.

I want to do this with Vista & Windows 7 but they have got rid of the simple boot.ini I was used to.

I know it doesn't make sense to run Windows 7 on htpc that's why I want to dual boot. I will be using Vista for htpc duties and Windows 7 for testing. Once I have everything working I will switch to 7.

 

[720p]

Anyone else?

 

[Derek K.]

you could just do what I do and swap ide cables.

 

[720p]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Derek K. /forum/post/15551736


you could just do what I do and swap ide cables.

How would I choose which OS to boot at start up without resorting to the bios?

 

[carrera1]



Quote:
Originally Posted by 720p /forum/post/15551721


Anyone else?

I setup a dual boot with Vista x64 and Windows 7 x64. It is easy. Assuming that Vista is already installed all you need to do is start the install of Windows 7. When you get to the part where you can select "Express" (I think that's what they called it) or "Custom", select "Custom". You will then be presented with the option of which hard drive to intsall Windows 7. Select the non-Vista one. You cannot have two C drives. Once the install is completed each time you start up the boot manager will present you with the option of which OS to run. I have not had any issues with it and it is certainly cleaner/faster than swapping cables or whatever.

 

[720p]

carrera1, it did install like you say. I want to redo it the proper way with two C drives. With Vista and an older system like XP/2000/etc. this was possible, and this is like I have all my pcs. With Vista/7 I have no boot.ini to play with. bcdedit is down right scary but if noone replies till the weekend I'll have to give it a go.


This is what it will look like:


HD1:

Partition 1: Vista

Partition 2: Data1


HD2:

Partition 1: 7

Partition 2: Data2


Vista:

C: Vista OS

E: Data1

D: 7 OS

F: Data2


7:

C: 7 OS

E: Data1

D: Vista OS

F: Data2

 

[Prelector]

First, don't install Windows 7 from within Vista. Boot off the Windows 7 DVD, and install, as if from scratch. Like was mentioned, select Custom, and then select the partition you want to use for Windows 7. This part of the install looks very similiar to Vista.


Windows 7 will replace the old "vista" bootloader with a new one, but both OSs will be in there. You might have to play with your drive letter assignments in Windows 7 after it finishes the install, but that won't hurt anything as long as you do it first.


This is EXACTLY how I installed it to dual-boot Vista Business (existing OS on my production business laptop) and Windows 7 as the new dual boot OS.


Key thing to keep in mind is that Windows 7 is NOT a brand new OS. It's, basically, Vista, with some kernal tweaks and service default tweaks. They just renamed it Windows 7 to dump the stigma of the Vista name (though personally I like vista).

 

[720p]

Prelector,


I see where I made my first mistake. Installed from Vista.

It didn't let me play with the letter C and installed 7 as D.


When you boot into Vista Business what is your OS driver letter?

Same for Windows 7?

Is it C on both occasions or is it C for Vista Business and D for Windows 7?

Please check for me.


Also I have found a program called EasyBCD. I think this is the way to go with vista/7 bootloaders.

 

[jhhoffma]



Quote:
Originally Posted by 720p /forum/post/15532552


I know it doesn't make sense to run Windows 7 on htpc that's why I want to dual boot. I will be using Vista for htpc duties and Windows 7 for testing. Once I have everything working I will switch to 7.

I don't know if EasyBCD will help you do what you want or at least make it easier to boot to where you need to, but it's worth a shot.


And I wasn't saying dual-boot doesn't make sense on an HTPC doesn't make sense. I was saying that doing beta-testing on a critical machine (24/7) operation doesn't make sense. Too much can go wrong and poof, there goes the neighborhood.

 

[720p]

Good. Looks like EasyBCD is confirmed. Thanks jhhoffma. Will proceed as planned. W7 here I come.

 

[Prelector]



Quote:
Originally Posted by 720p /forum/post/15552939


Prelector,


I see where I made my first mistake. Installed from Vista.

It didn't let me play with the letter C and installed 7 as D.


When you boot into Vista Business what is your OS driver letter?

Same for Windows 7?

Is it C on both occasions or is it C for Vista Business and D for Windows 7?

Please check for me.


Also I have found a program called EasyBCD. I think this is the way to go with vista/7 bootloaders.

Booting into Vista Business, OS volume (default volume) is C:, Data volume is D:, DVD is E:, and new partition for Windows 7 is F: (Vista added this one, I'll probably unmount it, since there's no reason for Vista to see it).


When I boot into Windows 7, OS volume is C:, Data volume is D:, DVD is E:. Windows 7 didn't mount the Vista os volume, which is fine by me.


These are all default settings btw, I didn't do anything special to make this happen. Drive physical partitions are as follows: 1st Partition is Vista OS, 2nd Partition is Data, 3rd Partition is Windows 7 OS. To get the 3rd Partition, I used the volume shrink feature on the Data Partition.


This is the exact same behaviour I've seen with dual boot installs of Vista and Vista. I installed a x86 os volume and x64 os volume the same way last year, and saw the exact same behavior.

 

[guadalupegrande4]

As someoen else said, grab the DVD .iso, burn it to disc, reboot into the DVD (the .iso is bootable, if you set your PC to boot from CD/DVD, it should be all good to go).

Then it installs like any other Windows.

Its huge, probably to include all the possible drivers you could imagine.


When I installed mine, I chose custom, and set it to a brand new drive/partition, so it was all good to go.

When it boot up for the first time, it set itself as C:, moved all my other drives around, and dropped my original C: drive (XP) altogether, though it still appeared in drive manager, so I just re-assigned that drive letter while in 7.

Booting back into XP kept the old drive assignments, so the new install did not affect the old one. I can still go into XP as if nothing has changed. (Each OS has a separate C:, and the other OS's "C:" is a different letter.)



I think to remove/reinstall Windows 7, though, you have to go through something like on this page:
http://www.askvg.com/how-to-uninstal...tiboot-system/

----(In essence, it says run a command prompt as administrator, enter the Win7 DVD into the drive, enter "[DVD_drive_letter]:\\boot\\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL /force" then remove the DVD and reboot, and it'll boot into the old OS, no boot loader or windows 7 option. Then you can delete the new drive/partition, or just the files, and redo it.)

------Alternately, I found this recommendation:

1. Open "System Configuration" : Control Panel > System and maintenance > Administrative Tools.

2. Click the Boot tab, and then click the listing for Windows 7.

3. Click Delete, click OK, and then click Restart.



Have not tried either, so I'm unsure which works. But you'd have to remove 7 before retrying to install it.


Also, the Windows 7 Ultimate beta includes everything you need, like MCE, and it works pretty well. As it moves around your drive letters, you may have to set up things differently once you first get up, but that way it doesn't affect your original install.


Not sure if any of that helps, but its been my experience(s).

 

[720p]

Thanks to the last posts be Prelector & guadalupegrande4 I have managed this. Everything is working as it should.


Top tip: Do NOT install Windows 7 while in Vista as it will install as D. Boot from the DVD instead and Windows 7 will take care of everything, no input needed.


If you mess up like I did it is easily fixed. I don't know if booting & installing from the cd works as I didn't test this. Instead I took the 2nd suggestion from guadalupegrande4 and booted into Vista. Run msconfig and under Boot deleted the Windows 7 entry. I then restarted, booted from DVD and deleted the Windows 7 partition. Formated it (1 second), and choose the same partition. Rest is history.


When I restart my pc I get 4 options, Vista, Windows 7, Ready Boost? and some previous version of windows I think. I tested the 2 top most which I care about and they work fine. All OS intalled on C. All partitions visible in boths OSs.


Now where's that Official W7 thread?

 

[PatrickB101]

sounds like you just need a second hard or 3 hard drive regarless of partitions as c: d: blah blah. just change your boot order in the bios when you want to boot from one os to the other.