Vista+XP Dual boot HDD Help!

[powerfirst]

I have a coupon for a free vista upgrade and dont want to over ride XP because of game performance. I decided to drop 30 bucks on a mid range HDD and do a dual boot with vista for everyday things and XP for gaming. Any help is greatly apprecitated?
Thanks,

 

[gloppppp]

Try this link dude,it will answer all your XP/Vista dual boot questions.http://www.apcstart.com/5023/dual_booting_xp_with_vista

 

[utaka95]

I think the Vista "upgrade" version you would receive will want your xp key - thereby not letting you use that copy of xp on said machine anymore. At least that's what I've heard.

 

[knowsitall]

i just say pic 1 on another.. the differnce between gaming in xp vs vista is so small .. were talkin 3 fps difference here it dont matter.

 

[powerfirst]

my problem is i only have a gig of RAM which i think would slow me down for games. plus i wanted to play around with vista on a separate drive while new patches and tweaks are being developed

 

[knowsitall]

my problem is i only have a gig of RAM which i think would slow me down for games. plus i wanted to play around with vista on a separate drive while new patches and tweaks are being developed

buy another gig dont be cheap,

 

[powerfirst]

low on funds from brand new comp

 

[piratepast40]

Some of those coupons expire the 31st of March. Better check and get the online ordering done ASAP.

 

[rwpritchett]

I think the Vista "upgrade" version you would receive will want your xp key - thereby not letting you use that copy of xp on said machine anymore. At least that's what I've heard.

No, this time around the upgrade version doesn't look for any kind of xp key. Actually, if you do a little googling, you can install an upgrade version of Vista completely sans XP. (That's what I did :lol: )

You can actually install a 'trial' version of Vista using the upgrade version by not entering the product key when installing. Its only good for like 30 days, but it may let you try out your games and apps before diving in. To go full time Vista, you'll have to reinstall the OS though.

 

[rodney_ws]

I think the Vista "upgrade" version you would receive will want your xp key - thereby not letting you use that copy of xp on said machine anymore. At least that's what I've heard.

I have heard that as well. After all it is an upgrade... not an entirely separate license. I don't believe this has changed any over the years... what has changed is Microsoft's ability to enforce their licensing requirements through activation/validation.

*EDIT*

I believe what we both heard was a nasty internet rumor... I'm certain Micro$oft would not want XP being used on one PC while Vista was being used on another, but I honestly can't imagine them being against dual-booting on the same PC... if for no other reason, backwards compatibility lacking in Vista.

 

[crazywheels]

you can't dual boot an upgrade version

 

[piratepast40]

Here's a "workaround" that I found. Haven't tried it yet myself (My upgrade is still "in the mail"). Not sure if the 30 day reactivation is required for this one. http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5932.
I noticed this post is in the hard drive section. You might check the software section under Vista. In fact, my link may have come from there. BTW, the Ninja has done a fantastic job on that section of the forum.

 

[rwpritchett]

Here's a "workaround" that I found. Haven't tried it yet myself (My upgrade is still "in the mail"). Not sure if the 30 day reactivation is required for this one. http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5932.

Yep, that's the method I used to intall my upgrade copy of Vista. You only need to activate once after the second install, there is no reactivation necessary.

 

[powerfirst]

thanks for the great advice, but now, since im kindof a noob at installing new components, could someone tell me how to install a second hard-drive for vista?