XP and Vista dual boot help requested

[mark 55]

My 75 year old father bought a computer when XP first came out. He got to be well versed with it. Well, this past March he decided he wanted a new system with Vista. Big mistake on his part! What I have attempted to do is make his HP m7750n into a dual boot system. Here is what I have done so far, and where I stand at present. I purchased a WD 250Gb, SATA300 hard drive. (I didn't want to attempt both on the same drive). I installed the hd and at first Vista(in explorer) did not recognize it. However the device manager did. Anyways finally got explorer to see the drive. I pop in XP Pro and a message comes up stating something to the effect that the operating system on the system is newer than XP so I cant' do what i wanted to do. I tried to cancel the message etc but no luck. So, I unplug the hd with Vista on it. Pop in XP Pro, and it starts the install. Everything is fine till the actual XP window comes up with the little scrolling lights, and it stays there. It scrolls awhile, stops and scrolls again. Never actually starting XP. I did notice that the light that shows hd activity almost stops completely at this point. Needless to say, XP is still not installed. Spoke to a couple guys at Best Buy. One told me I can't do what I'm trying to do. The other told me to format Vista off the first hd, install XP on the second and then re-install Vista on the first. Sorta lost and in need of assistance. tia

 

[raybay]

You can install one, then the other. There is a lot of helpful information at www.microsoft.com with a search for Dual Boot WXP and VISTA

I would partition the new drive, and format the partitions with NTFS, then install WCP fully... with all the drivers... reporting, when asked, that you want to do a dual boot. Then shutdown fully. Reboot. and attempt the second install.

You may have to REstore the Start Up info after installing VISTA... but you just stick the WXP disc in the drive and reboot, then run repair.

This dual boot is not rocket science, but it is truly difficult the first time, so do it when you have plenty of time. It helps to have a VISTA manual handy.
Be sure you have both install discs hand, and be sure you have IE 7.0 installed for an easier install.

Read through everything at the Microsoft Help and Support Center.

Every single person over 64 for which we have installed VISTA hated it. There is no advantage for most people to upgrade, and it presents a new interface that is difficult for a few older people.

 

[xRussx]

http://www.homerecordingconnection.com/news.php?action=view_story&id=151
Not sure if this helps where you are now.But it surely won't hurt.

 

[Po`Girl]

There is a good page HERE outlining your options.

 

[mark 55]

xp sata drivers for hp m7750n

where do i find the XP Sata drivers for my system? The HP site offers no help.

 

[mark 55]

opps

do I also need xp drivers for my mb and NVIDIA GeForce 6150-LE? Those I think I found. When do they get installed? I know that for the sata drivers I press f6 at xp install(corse there is no floppy drive on his sytem, but i'll face that after I find the drivers).

 

[raybay]

Sata drivers are built into Windows XP and Windows VISTA.

You will be able to connect automatically if you use the correct cable, and plug it into the correct socket.