[SOLVED] Putting XP on a Vista Machine

dasforsyth · 09-02-2008, 06:35 AM

Hey guys,

Yes this has been posted before and i've spent many hours on these and other forums without a solution. Any help would be great :)

Ok,
I have windows Vista OEM installed on my laptop:
Acer Ferrari 5000 64bit.
1 Physical 160GB HD
2 Partitions (C: - had Vista on it, D: - just data)

I wanted back the compatibility that XP offers so i tried to go about installing it.

I read up on a way in another thread http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=178390

I formatted my D: drive clean then booted up again with the XP and set it up on the D: drive.

Worked well (apart from my sound and video drivers not going properly), but then when i got to the stage of trying to get Vistas bootloader up and running (Step 4) again it failed.

It wouldn't repair itself through the wizard so i tried the following in the command prompt (all within the Vista setup)

bootrec /fixmbr (Worked fined)
bootrec /fixboot (Failed, Error Msg below)
The Volume does not contain a recognised file system. Please make sure that all required file system drivers are loaded and that the volume is not corrupted.

bootrec /scanos
bootrec /rebuildbcd
Both of these returned successful, but both said "Identified windows installations: 0"

I saw in some other places to force copy the bootmgr.exe file into C: but tried that (xcopy bootmgr C:\) and it told me access denied.

Same result (access denied) happened when i tried boot\bootsect.exe /60 ALL

boot\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL, Ran successfully but still booted up XP

Does anyone know how to fix this so i can get Vista to boot first again (and then i'll work with EasyBCD from there to get the dualboot going).

Thanks

dasforsyth · 09-02-2008, 07:11 AM

Oh and one more note:

I had Vista OEM installed on my comp. To do all of this loading from the Vista setup disc i have gotten discs through the MSDNN network through my uni for a 5CD Vista pack. I'm using the 1st CD to boot from.

dasforsyth · 09-03-2008, 12:24 AM

Found the solution.

For anyone out there with the same problem:

I didn't realise EasyBCD worked with XP.

Install EasyBCD in the XP environment
Manage Bootloader > Select Reinstall the Vista Bootloader > Click Write MBR
Add/Remove Entities > Add an Entity Box > Choose Windows version (XP) and Drive it is installed on (for me it was D:) > Click Add Entry

Reboot and the windows boot manager will give you an option of choosing either or before it loads

Hope this helps anyone else out there.

09-02-2008, 06:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
dasforsyth Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 3 OS: Vista/XP	[SOLVED] Putting XP on a Vista Machine Hey guys, Yes this has been posted before and i've spent many hours on these and other forums without a solution. Any help would be great :) Ok, I have windows Vista OEM installed on my laptop: Acer Ferrari 5000 64bit. 1 Physical 160GB HD 2 Partitions (C: - had Vista on it, D: - just data) I wanted back the compatibility that XP offers so i tried to go about installing it. I read up on a way in another thread http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=178390 I formatted my D: drive clean then booted up again with the XP and set it up on the D: drive. Worked well (apart from my sound and video drivers not going properly), but then when i got to the stage of trying to get Vistas bootloader up and running (Step 4) again it failed. It wouldn't repair itself through the wizard so i tried the following in the command prompt (all within the Vista setup) bootrec /fixmbr (Worked fined) bootrec /fixboot (Failed, Error Msg below) The Volume does not contain a recognised file system. Please make sure that all required file system drivers are loaded and that the volume is not corrupted. bootrec /scanos bootrec /rebuildbcd Both of these returned successful, but both said "Identified windows installations: 0" I saw in some other places to force copy the bootmgr.exe file into C: but tried that (xcopy bootmgr C:\) and it told me access denied. Same result (access denied) happened when i tried boot\bootsect.exe /60 ALL boot\bootsect.exe /nt52 ALL, Ran successfully but still booted up XP Does anyone know how to fix this so i can get Vista to boot first again (and then i'll work with EasyBCD from there to get the dualboot going). Thanks Last edited by dasforsyth; 09-02-2008 at 06:58 AM.

09-02-2008, 07:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
dasforsyth Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 3 OS: Vista/XP	Re: Putting XP on a Vista Machine Oh and one more note: I had Vista OEM installed on my comp. To do all of this loading from the Vista setup disc i have gotten discs through the MSDNN network through my uni for a 5CD Vista pack. I'm using the 1st CD to boot from.

09-03-2008, 12:24 AM	#3 (permalink)
dasforsyth Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 3 OS: Vista/XP	Re: Putting XP on a Vista Machine Found the solution. For anyone out there with the same problem: I didn't realise EasyBCD worked with XP. Install EasyBCD in the XP environment Manage Bootloader > Select Reinstall the Vista Bootloader > Click Write MBR Add/Remove Entities > Add an Entity Box > Choose Windows version (XP) and Drive it is installed on (for me it was D:) > Click Add Entry Reboot and the windows boot manager will give you an option of choosing either or before it loads Hope this helps anyone else out there.