XP installation after Vista

Question

I installed XP on my laptop after having already installed Vista and I can't boot from Vista any more.

How to solve this problem?

Answer 1

Blow it away and reinstall everything. Standard procedure for dual (or multi) boot systems is to install the various operating systems in order from oldest first to newest last.

Also, you might have some luck following the procedure described here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529/en-us

Answer 2

Restore from backup.

Answer 3

If you want to run XP and get rid of Vista you could try running fixboot and fixmbr from the Windows XP installation CD by booting to the CD and selecting the recovery console.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

If you want to run Vista and get rid of XP then you can try running Windows Vista startup repair.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Startup-Repair-frequently-asked-questions

Answer 4

Easy fix, go to http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1 to download EasyBCD (a Vista bootloader application), run it from within XP and under bootloader management select the option to reinstall the vista bootloader.

Answer 5

Repair Vista using joeqwery's link.

If this finds your XP install then all is hunky dory.

If not, set the XP partition as active, then repair XP's boot with its own tools (fixboot).

Boot into XP and reset the Vista partition as active. Boot into Vista then redo the start up repair. This time, Vista will find the XP partition and add it to the boot menu.

Answer 6

Have you looked into "XP Mode" for windows vista? It is a free download and will run XP inside of windows vista (using VirtualPC). It sounds like it was made specifically for what you are trying to do (run legacy applications in windows vista

link text

Answer 7

I found very interesting and easy Step by Step guide is here