Re: gaming on XP Pro vs Vista

[tedpan]

I have sought long and hard to find an answer to my gaming dilemma.
I want to be able to use MS Flight Sim X (FSX) on my Vista based computer but no matter what I do I get crash to desktop when using FSX.
Caused by an out of memory error I am told.
When I fly using FS9 (2004) this doesnt happen.

What I am looking to do is to fly to my hearts content the sim aircraft from PMDG and other advanced sim aircraft using FSX

Some have told me its because Vista improperly uses RAM when more than 2gigs are present (my system has 4gigs)

Can someone help me to find a solution to this problem please?
I have also purchased a copy (legal) of MS XP Pro as the last resort...
I hate to go back and reinstall all of my sim stuff - its huge and will take way too long!

 

[boxel]

dual boot xp

I have 4 gigs of memory in my system too. But the only way you'll be able to use the PMDG 747 is in Windows XP. Belive me i'v tried to use it in VISTA and i get a CTD every 5 minutes. Set up you computer to dual boot so you can install under XP. No more CTD's, and frame rates are higher. I'v already flown halfway around the world with no "out of memory" problems.

 

[tedpan]

Hey Boxel,
How do I do a dual boot?
Should I just allow XP pro to install?
Should I use a partion program?
I have heard that dual is most likely the best solution
please help me

Thanks for your help!

 

[Daveskater]

Hello, tedpan, boxel, and welcome to Techspot :wave:

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With regards to your problem, tedpan, You will need to make a new partition on your hard drive and install XP on that. That's about all I know about dual booting, but someone else may be able to explain it to you in more detail.

I wouldn't mind dual booting with XP myself, it would be handy sometimes

 

[tedpan]

Thanks Dave
I am somewhat afraid to do this... not sure of myself...
Any ideas?
Thanks!

 

[oct714]

I have been using "dual" boot for some time, first XP and 98SE, and now XP and Vista, but not on the same drive. I was told in some classes, there are more possibilities of having conflicts between both versions when booting from the same drive, even from different partition. I was recommended installing a second HDD, and the second OS on it. This way, if I need to start the other OS, I change the boot order(HDD0, HDD1, HDD2, etc) or the Controller (IDE, SATA) via BIOS.

This MIGHT be easier & safer than dual booting on different partition.

I even have another pc with dual booting:both XP, different drive. If any problem with my main XP(master), I just compare with the other drive (XP, slave). Or boot from the slave one and fix the master one.

Nowdays HDDs are cheap, so why not try it?

 

[tedpan]

Hey Thanks,
I know what you're saying...
I dont have the room in my machine... its got a SATA set-up and no more room!
I would have to partion space on one of two HD's...
HD0 is already partioned with Vista on first part and recovery disk on second partion
HD1 is a single volume... I guess this is where I would install XP Pro?
Thanks,

 

[SNGX1275]

You can't just install XP after Vista and have a dual boot. Since XP is older AND it uses a completely different bootloader you won't be able to get back into Vista. I forget the details because outside of helping people here I've never had to know how to do it. It may be as simple as installing XP, and then repairing Vista. But I think it may involve installing XP, repairing Vista, and then using EasyBCD.

 

[tedpan]

Thanks,
I have begun to assume thats true...
Darn...
I thought I could get off sorta easy!

 

[agissi]

Actually you can install WinXP on the very same drive and partition as your Vista installation. Windows will warn you in setup that it could cause some problems perhaps, but never the less I went ahead and gave it a shot. The files are all kept on the drive and so fourth for both OS's. The dual boot menu is automatically put together, it just asks you before you hit an OS loading screen, obviously.

Thought I'd throw that out there, I had no problems doings this.

 

[boxel]

Do a web search

Tedpan, yeah you can do it all on the same hard disk. The only catch is that you will have your restore points erased in Vista when you log on to XP. If you have Vista Ultimate you can turn on bitlocker and it will preserve your restore points. I would give you the link i found on how to set your PC to dual boot but i can't post any links yet. Just do a google search on "dual boot vista and xp". Thats how i learned how to do it. The steps are pretty easy to follow. Hope this helped.

 

[SNGX1275]

I would like to point out that I think installing 2 operating systems to the same partition is something I've heard is bad ever since I learned you could dual boot.

It *may* work, but the potential for things to go very bad is very high. Think about it, 2 Windows operating systems with some of the same or the same file names in potentially same directories. Even if you got lucky and had one installed to WINNT and the other to WINDOWS there is a chance your programs might not notice and use files from the wrong install. I don't know exactly what can happen, those are just guesses, but I think it is a mistake to try that way.

It isn't that hard to set up partitions or resize with Partition Magic (pay) or gParted (free). I'd rather take the time to do that than risk blowing up 2 operating systems.