Dual-Booting XP and Vista

I have been reading for days and hours trying to make this work. I have one hard drive partitioned into two partitions labeled XP and Vista. I installed XP in the first partition just fine with no problems. I used Acronis to make the second partition and to format it. I then installed Vista. After a reboot, the black and white boot screen pops up asking whether I want to boot into XP or Vista. Both OS's work from that booting screen. However, I want to use Acronis OSS because it looks better. I have tried loading Acronis in XP and activating OSS, but afterwards, Acronis OSS boots with two icons--XP and Vista. When you click on either one, it takes you to that same black and white boot screen of Vista. I then tried installing Aconis on Vista and I get the same results? What is the best and easiest way to let Acronic OSS control what I want to boot into? I don't want the ugly boot screen that Vista has.

Could someone please help?

Thanks

 

The best way is to not get the Windows boot manager involved in multi-booting. However, you should be able to separate them and get the results you want. See instructions here: Separating Vista and XP when using Vista's Boot Manager

You could also start over and make sure each OS doesn't see the other one when it's installing (hide the other OS partition).

For example:

• Clear the disk.
• Create the XP partition as Primary Active.
• Install XP.
• Boot to DD from the CD and set the XP partition as Hidden. Create the Vista partition as Primary Active.
• Install Vista.
• Boot to the DD CD and unhide the XP partition.
• Boot to the DD CD and install OSS. Set XP's entry so that the XP partition is Active and the Vista partition is Hidden. Set Vista's entry so that the Vista partition is Active and the XP partition is Hidden.

 

Reinstalling XP is not an option. I don't understand why Acronis OSS can do this simply. I've tried another Boot Loader, and it worked flawlessly, but I just didn't like the GUI as much. Why does this have to be so complicated?

I tried the separation technique you mentioned a few days ago, with mixed results. Either Acronis OSS saw only XP or Vista but not both. Any more ideas without having to reinstall XP?

Thanks

 

With OSS installed and activated, make a copy of the BOOTWIZ.OSS file and attach it to a post. I'll take a look at it. Sometimes an OS entry has to be added manually. If OSS is only seeing one OS, please state in the post which OS it is.

Instructions can be found here: How to Find and Create a Copy of the BOOTWIZ.OSS File

 

Will do. I reformatted the Vista partition and tried to hide the XP partition with DD, but when Vista started to load, it still saw the "hidden" XP partition. I rebooted with DD to make sure it was hidden, and it was. So, I reinstalled Vista anyway. I then seperated the two OS's so they boot independently of each other. Now, I have DD and OSS installed on both partitions. Which copy of Bootwiz do you want? The XP one or Vista? By the way, this time XP was found by OSS with no problem, but hiding the XP partition, and making the Vista partition active and bootable, OSS did not see Vista.

Thanks

 

Here is the file that was hidden. I'm assuming it would be the one that was hidden and it was found on the XP partition. The bootwiz.oss file was not found on the Vista partition.

 

Try this BOOTWIZ.OSS file and see if it works for you. I setup both entries so the other partition is hidden.

 

No, it didn't work. When I clicked on the Vista icon, a box popped up that said it wasn't supported by the operating system.

 

Maybe something else is going on here. In Post #5 you said you hid the XP partition and reinstalled Vista. It's normal for Vista to still see the hidden XP partition. However, you should not have had to separate XP and Vista and installing this way. Was the Vista partition the Active partition when you installed Vista? If not, that would cause a problem.

 

Yes, Vista was the active partition and XP was hidden.

 

Does Vista boot correctly if you do it manually?

Deactivate OSS (don't uninstall). Select XP as the default OS.
Boot to the DD CD and start DD. Select the Manual Mode.
Set the Vista partition Active and Hide the XP partition. Apply the changes.

What happens if you reboot now?

If Vista doesn't start...
Boot to the Vista DVD, select to Repair (don't do any automatic repairs).
Start a Command Prompt.
Run bootrec /fixmbr at the prompt.
Run bootrec /fixboot at the prompt.

Does Vista boot now?

If so, reactivate OSS from inside Vista and see if it picks it up. If it does and it makes a new OSS entry, delete the manual entry.

 

Ok, here is where I stand now. Vista was having a fit being seperate from XP. So, I had to reformat the Vista partition. I unhid all partitions and made the XP partition active. I reinstalled Vista and now everything works fine. When I reactivated OSS (from within XP), it detected ONE OS and named it Vista. When you click on the icon (when booting), it takes you to the black & white Vista dual-boot screen. So, I'm basically back where I started. XP did not show up as an icon in OSS. I have attached the new file. I haven't tried what you suggested above yet. Should I now?

Thanks

 

The file is showing one XP entry, not a Vista entry. You are now where you would need to separate XP and Vista again and get them booting properly by just switching the Active partition.

 

I have already tried separating them. I had no luck with Acronis doing that. But I will try it again, being sure to hide each partition as I'm using the Wizard.

Thanks for your help.

 

Well, I tried separating them, but Vista goes crazy. It shows a bunch of corrupt files and I try chkdsk /f and I tried bootrec /fixmbr and bootrec /fixboot. Vista runs great when I don't separate it. I have followed the procedure exactly, and I have done it several times with the same results.

Is this the only way OSS will work?? I've tried other boot loaders, and I didn't have to do this. I just don't understand why it can't recognize that there are two partitions with 1 OS on each and create the icons. I have a friend that was very interested in buying Acronis DD, but after he saw the trouble I'm having with creating a boot loader, he has gone on to another software. I've tried hiding partitions like you suggested. The only thing I haven't tried is installing DD in Vista and hiding the partitions one by one and reactivating OSS within Vista. But, I have DD installed on XP as well. Should I de-install it from XP and try it from Vista? I will give that a try once I'm finished reinstalling Vista again for the 7th time.

Thank you again for your help.

 

The problem with OSS not recognizing the separate OS installations is a known one. The problem on your system of having Vista go crazy after separation is probably more specific to your system.

Each OS, when installed to its own Primary partition, should be bootable by setting that partition Active. Since you can't get that to work properly manually, OSS won't be able to make it work either.

Do you have a current backup image of the XP partition (with TI, for example)?

This is what I would try to fix your system:

Uninstall OSS

1. If your current OSS CD does not include the OSS programs, use the Media Builder program to create another CD that does.
2. Boot to the DD CD and uninstall OSS.

Fix the XP partition to boot XP

1. Boot to the DD CD and start DD in Manual Mode.
2. Set the XP partition as Active and not Hidden. Apply the changes.
3. Follow the instructions in Part 4 of the separation guide to repair XP.
4. Make sure XP boots properly by rebooting into it several times.

Remove Vista's booting files from the XP partition

1. While in XP, enable viewing of Hidden and System Files.
2. Delete the bootmgr file in the root folder of the C: drive.
3. Delete the \BOOT folder on the C: drive.
4. If you have any backup copies of this file or folder from previously following the separation instructions, delete those also.
5. Reboot XP and make sure it still starts okay.

Reformat the Vista partition

1. Boot to the DD CD and start DD in Manual Mode.
2. Reformat the Vista partition to reset it.

Install Vista and make sure it doesn't take over the XP partition

1. Boot to the DD CD and start DD in Manual Mode.
2. Set the Vista partition Active. Apply the change.
3. Set the XP partition Hidden. Apply the change.
4. Reboot the computer back the DD CD and start DD in Manual Mode.
5. Verify that your settings are still correct -- XP partition Hidden, Vista partition Active.
6. Boot to the Vista DVD.
7. Go through the installation steps until you get to the partition selection screen.
8. Click the Advanced options button to view the partitioning commands.
9. Click the Vista destination partition to select it.
10. Click the Format button to reformat the Vista partition. IMPORTANT: Make sure you have selected the correct partition -- you don't want to reformat the XP partition by accident.
11. After formatting is complete, make sure the Vista partition is still selected and then continue with the installation.

Test booting Vista

1. Once Vista has been installed, reboot several times and make sure it starts okay.
2. Verify that the booting files are on the Vista partition (should be the C: drive). You can do this by looking on the C: partition after enabling viewing of Hidden and System files or by looking Disk Management (as shown in Part 6 of the separation guide).

Test booting XP manually

1. Boot to the DD CD and start DD in Manual Mode.
2. Unhide the XP partition and set it Active. Apply the changes.
3. Hide the Vista partition. Apply the change.
4. Remove the DD CD and reboot.
5. XP should boot up normally.

Test booting Vista manually

1. Boot to the DD CD and start DD in Manual Mode.
2. Unhide the Vista partition and set it Active. Apply the changes.
3. Hide the XP partition. Apply the change.
4. Remove the DD CD and reboot.
5. Vista should boot up normally.

If, at this point, you can successfully manually select which OS to boot by changing the Active partition, you should be able to get OSS to work.

Wait to install OSS until after you've done the above procedures.

If you have TI or another imaging program, now is an excellent time to create an Entire Disk Image backup of the drive before you attempt installing OSS.

Installing OSS
When installing OSS on systems that already have multiple OS installations, it's best to not have any partitions set as Hidden.

1. Boot to the DD CD and start DD in Manual Mode.
2. Unhide whichever partition is Hidden. Apply the change.
3. Set the XP partition as Active. Apply the change.
4. Reboot to the DD CD and select to install OSS.
5. OSS may find both XP and Vista. However, it may only find one of them.
6. For whichever OS installations it finds, check the properties for the menu entry and make sure the correct partition is Active and the other OS partition is Hidden.
7. If only one OS is found, the other can be added manually (post the BOOTWIZ.OSS file).

Post back if you run into any problems or have any questions. The basic idea is to get the system working properly prior to installing the boot manager and to avoid getting XP mixed up with Vista's boot loader during Vista's installation.

 

That worked perfectly! Thank you for your time in typing that. That should be stickied for future reference for someone else. I'm not the only person that has had the problem. OSS found both with no problem. However, when checking the properties for each icon, neither partition needed to be hidden, which is what I wanted--I wanted access to both partitions when booted in either OS. I'm not sure why the procedure for separating Vista from XP as posted earlier didn't work, but this definitely did.

Thanks again!

 

Please note that if you do this you will cause XP to delete Vista's System Restore Points and Shadow Copy files each time that you boot into XP. See this article for an explanation. This is one drawback of having both XP and Vista partitions visible to each other, and the reason that MudCrab recommended hiding partitions.

If this matters to you then you may want to reconsider. You could consider creating a common data partition that is visible to both operating systems and keep your files there.

 

You're welcome. I'm glad it worked for you.

 

I had this issue occur again. I was able to get XP and Vista to boot seperately and have hidden the partitions from each other. I was able to get XP to show up in OSS but not Vista. I have posted the bootwiz.oss file. Can you please manually add Vista to it? Vista is installed on the second partition. The partition's name is "Vista."

Thanks.

 

Here's the modified file.

 

I have another PC that I need to dual-boot XP and Vista. Could you please manually add Vista to this file as well? Also, could please explain how to add it so that in the future, I may be able to add Vista in case I need to reconfigure my systems? I posted in another thread that I'm having hard disk errors when booting OSS. I have done chkdsk /r on all the drives, but I'm still getting errors. What could be causing the problem? The errors are causing OSS to boot slowly. Thanks again for helping me.

XP is on an 80g drive (SATA 1)
Vista is on a 750g drive (SATA 2)

 

Is Vista booting completely from the 750GB drive and not from the XP partition on the XP drive?

For OSS and the disk read errors, try checking the Do not load CD-ROM drivers checkbox in Tools >> Options >> Startup.

Adding the Vista entry manually isn't that complicated once you learn how. You can get the general idea from Post #14 in this thread.

In this instance, you would need to set the Disk Order settings as well.

You're entry might look like this:

Code:

		<id227919492 boot_as_ms71="0" boot_as_os2="0" boot_cd_entry="0" boot_partition="1840128768" bootname="bootsect.sys" icon="icon_sys_vista" language="english" lba="1" name_template="Vista Manual" nthide="0" os_type="ntvista" uninstall_info="1" use_manual_disks_order="1" write_boot="0">
			<partitions>
				<id2776004331 active="1" />
				<id387211018 active="1" />
				<id2612290130 active="1" />
				<id1840128768 active="1" />
			</partitions>
			<disks>
				<disk bios_num="130" id="3661855401" />
				<disk bios_num="129" id="2901867998" />
				<disk bios_num="131" id="3266194781" />
				<disk bios_num="128" id="4112603249" />
			</disks>
		</id227919492>

 

Yes, it is booting on its own from the drive. I unplugged all drives to make sure. Here is the updated file. I'm not sure how to set the disk order but I think I know how to add Vista if it were in another partition on the same disk. Do you mind adding it? I have studied the post you referenced, but it doesn't include how to do it when the OS is on another drive. This file should only show two drives as I've got the other two unplugged. It turned out the errors were coming from on of the other drives. It's partition is corrupted, so that's another project for later.

By the way, with a fresh install of Vista, OSS finds it with no problem. But after installing some drivers, Vista wouldn't boot, so I had to repair it using the install DVD. After verifying that Vista was booting okay, that's when OSS can't find it. This has happened on two installs I've done, with the same results. What is it that OSS is looking for in Vista to detect it that might have changed with the repair?

Thanks again.

Post note: I was able to manually add it myself. I had to change the boot order inside of OSS and add the necessary files and folders to the Vista boot option for it to boot, but both booted okay.

I still would like to know though what OSS is looking for in Vista that is changed when a repair is done.

Thanks for all your help.

 

OSS is just very "strict" when it comes to detecting Vista. I think it looks for a specific layout in the BCD file (like from a clean install). If it finds anything else, it aborts and doesn't detect it. Even changing the partition entries to {boot} so you can boot Vista from the Active partition will cause OSS to not detect it. I think the same thing is happening with the Vista repair. The repaired entry is different from the original and it is also an additional entry (the incorrect one usually remains).

You're welcome.

---

Once you get the entry entered manually to the point that OSS will load it, you can usually adjust the other settings using OSS. However, they can be entered manually too.

The Disk Order feature is the <disks>...</disks> section of the OS entry. By changing the BIOS ID for the disk (as listed at the top of the file), you can change the order. Also the use_manual_disks_order="1" option needs to be used for the OS entry to enable it.

When the OS exists on a different drive, the changes are still the same. You need to reference the correct partition ID value for the boot_partition and make sure to set that partition Active in the <partitions>...</partitions> section of the OS entry.