Instead of that... Just boot to the XP CD, create the partitions there, and install XP on C, Vista on D.

You said on step 2 you will format C:Vista, D: Recovery, if you format the recovery partition, there's no sense to keep it. Just ALL the partitions, and install XP on C, Vista on D. It is easy, than if you install Vista on C and XP on D.

Here is the installation of XP, just creat the partitions where indicates (step 5).

Then install Vista.

thanks

 

do you mean i will make a clean install of xp without formating C & D and without un-installing vista and i will not face any problem like bootloader, display BCD, etc. And after that installing vista.

 

 

what will happen to D when I will clean install XP on C 

do you mean i will make a clean install of xp without formating C & D On the step #5 on the XP installation, you need to delete ALL the partitions, (this is like if you format, but with another name) once the partitions are deleted ther will be nothing on the HDD. You don´t have to "uninstall" Vista cuz it is deleted.

Once you have deleted the partitions, you have to create new partitions, 2 in your case, one for XP the second for Vista. Once the partitions are created, you will need to format the partition C to be able to install XP (You will be able to format the second partition once you have finished the XP installation from Disk management or when you boot to the Vista DVD to install it on the D drive)

 

 i will not face any problem like bootloader, display BCD, etc And the trick about install XP on C and Vista on D is to NOT use the bootloader, that application is needed if you have Vista already installed, and you want to install XP on another partition.

 

Yeah !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

quite informative and my doubts clear.

 

 

Thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you following the isntructions???

Are pressing F12 when the computer is starting???

You have to press F12 when you see the Dell Logo (as soon as you turn the computer on), then select oot from CD... Press any key when prompted and then the instructions that I posted on the link?

Is what you did? Or you were within windows when you put the XP CD???

when I am inserting the XP CD and opens the setup from explore menu, in "what would you like to do" dialog box the option "install windows XP" is grey and is not responding by clicking.

 

how can i proceed for installation. i am hang up, please help

dear, as I have laptop I have only on CD Drive E:.  Till now I have not been prompted to press any key. Any suggestions

I followed your instructions and after selecting DC- ROM drive, I am getting "no operating system found" message. what can I do next?

Do tou have mor than one CD/DVD drive??? Usually we have to use the top one...

You pressed "any key" when prompted, don´t you?

Sorry, I forgot you said about your laptop... Have you tried to change boot sequence??? Go to BIOS and put the CD on the first position...HDD on second and disable all the others....

You should get the Press any Key to boot from CD..... message

sorry, I was having problem with my CD. By using another CD I clean installed XP successfully. There is no change in D: and it still contains the recovery files as was in vista. During installation I observed :

 

1. unregmp2.exe_entry point not found

        the procedure entry point_except_handler4_common could not be located in the dynamic link library msvcrt.dll

 

2. An error occured loading "c\: program files\common files\system\ directdb.dll". the file may not have been installed or it has been corrupted.

 

3.  An error occured loading "c\: program files\common files\system\ wab32.dll". the file may not have been installed or it has been corrupted.

 

     I dont know what is this, I just pressed OK to all the mesages and installation finished.

 

 

POST INSTALLATIONS PROBLEMS

 

1. programes which were installed in Vista are not present in XP, but all the programe files are present in Programe Files Folder. Can I use these problem anyhow or I have to install a new from installation CD,s. If i will install them from CD, what about the files in Programe files folder.

 

2. Dollowing drivers are not present:

      Base system device

      Ethernet controller

      Network controller

      PCI Device

      SM Bus controller

      Video controller (VGA compatible)

 

Can I install these drivers from the "Drivers and utility CD" supplied with my laptop. If yes, then how can i do this. 

 

3. No sound anywhere (windows volume settings, media player)

 

4. games failed to initialize

 

5. No programes in install/uninstall program window.

 

What about D:recovery? Will I leave it like this as I am going to install Vista later on for dual booting?

 

Suggestions welcome 

Nice to hear about finished the installation...

Now, about those problems, not sure why are they present??? Are you receiving those messages when the computers is turned on??? Or just after installed Windows???

Now, about the programs missing, If we format the hard drive, ALL is gone... that´s something you should be clear on... You can install the applications with the CDs Dell sent you. Also you can download software from the internet (not all the software, but many free, depending what you need)

 

The drivers you need are:

Chipset

Video

Sound

Ethernet

Wireless card

Bluetooth... etc

Check this website I recommend you to download them i nstead of install the one on your CD, now that you have internet acces is better to get the latest one.

Install the drivers in that order for better results.

For your chipset you may find like 3 diferent, install the 3 of them, for the Video, you should know what video card you have if it is integrated or not...

When you find more than 1 option, make sure you select the one that says DRIVER, not APPLICATION

 

After the drivers are installed, you should be able to play your games, check the audio, browse internet.

 

About the D partition, if it is intact, I THINK (I ain´t sure) you can do a PCRESTORE and put the cmoputer back to default settings (using the Vista DVD), not using the F8 option nor Ctrl + F11. Using the Vista DVD. Now, If you don't care, go ahead and delete it, and if you want to do a dual boot you can install it on that D drive, the only problem you may face, is the space, only 10 Gb is not ok to installa Vista, That´s why I recommended you to delete all the partitions and create two new ones, so you can select 50%-50% for XP and Vista....

So it is your choise, try to install Vista on the D drive (as you did on XP booting from the DVD), keep the D drive and use it if you want to get back Vista as factory settings (including software installed), but as I told you, I ain't sure if it is possible, I´m guessing.

Or install o nce again XP deleting the partitions and create 2 partitions with the same size and install XP and Vista as a dual boot.

hello dear,

 

Following your instructions I successfully installed XP on C: and Vista on D: with 50/50 hard disk partion. Thank you very much for your support.

 

Now I want to know how to get drivers for XP. Can I update the drivers using device manager or I directly download the drivers from Dell website?

 

Second thing, do I need separate antivirus software for both XP and Vista. Presently I have installed Windows Live Onecare antivirus in Vista. If I need separate antivirus software for XP, then is it necessary to install the same software as in Vista or I can use something different like Mcafee, Kaspersky, Norton, etc.

 

suggestions most welcome.

Hello Abidahmad,

Install the drivers directly from support.dell.com you can save the files to a CD, USB memory, etc and use them later if necesary....

 

About your antivirus question, you can use only n 1 partition, but you will need to scan tmore often the computer, because you will not get protection on "real time" on one of the Windows installations.

You can install Norton on one, and McAfee on the second, no problem, but you will spend more money getting the second antivirus software, so If you contact the manufacter to see if you can install the same antivirus on both partitions, will be better, In my opinion, it shouldn´t be a problem, but I do not used those kinds of antivirus, remember we have available some free antivirus available, like AVAST, AVG... Some free spyware, like the Windows Defender, AdAware...