XP and Vista - Dual booting. Not what you think!

Hi. I would like to create a dual boot system with XP and Vista. I have read other posts that require you to do a clean install of the operating systems. However, I wondered if it was possible to build a dual boot system from both a XP TrueImage file (from a previous working XP installation) and a Vista TrueImage (again, from a working Vista installation)?
I don't really want to go down the route of re-installing both OS from scratch if possible.

I have TrueImage Home v10 build 4942 and Disk Director Suite v10 build 2160.

Thank you.

 

Yes, that should be possible. You'll need to setup the partitions and then restore it images. Depending on how you do it you may need to then run repair on both or just one. You will also need to use a boot manager (Acronis OSS, BootIT NG, etc.) unless you're planning on using Vista's Boot Manager.

If you use Vista's boot manger then I would restore the XP partition first and get it booting normally. Then restore the Vista partition. Set the XP partition as active (Vista's boot loader will go here). Boot from the Vista DVD and do the Repair. It should recognize your XP install and setup a menu so you can choose between XP or Vista when you boot.

If you use OSS or BootIT NG or something similar, then do your partitions setup (primary XP partition, primary Vista partition). Restore the XP image to the new XP partition. Restore the Vista image to the new Vista partition. Using OSS, BootIT NG, etc., set if you want the other OS partitions hidden, the order and any other options. Boot into XP and see if it works. If it does, great, if it doesn't, check your boot.ini file is correct and possibly do a repair. Do the same for Vista, try and boot it. You'll proably have to do a repair. If you do, make sure the Vista partition is active and the XP partition is hidden. This way they'll stay isolated from each other.

After any repair operation you'll need to restore/reactivate your Boot Manager since the MBR will be overwritten.

In your particular case (if you're only running XP and Vista and have no plans of adding Linux or another XP, etc.) you're probably fine using Vista's boot loader. Just be aware that if you do it this way that the partitions are "linked". A restore on either partition will probably require a repair to fix it.

 

Thank you for the prompt reply. It does sound somewhat complicated. However, as I have a TrueImage of both XP and Vista, if it all goes "pair shaped" I can restore whichever OS I choose, hopefully.

I will give it a try when I have some decent time to spare, thanks again.