dual-boot systems

[joecass]

Ok, sorry to post such a ridiculous question but......I have this old AMD desktop that I use to run legacy software and apps that
won't work on Vista or Windows 7. I originally had Windows XP Pro on it using the stock WD ide hdd, but last year I wanted to
experiment with Vista. So I took another larger WD ide drive, and installed Vista Home Premium. Fine. Two separate drives, I just
disconnect one while using the other (btw Vista is a lot slower than XP)

So I've been researching dual-boot configurations, such as having XP and Vista on different partitions on the same drive. Seems
doable. What I don't want to do is..... start from scratch with each operating system and have to install programs and files all over again.
Is there some way to copy both XP and Vista to a brand new larger drive, leaving the existing software and hardware configurations as
they were originally on the separate drives ? Have a copy of Acronis True Image WD edition, and a never-used WD 320GB SATA drive
laying around.....

The AMD CPU is an old single core, otherwise I could have just installed Vista and ran XP in a virtual environment.
Of course building a brand new dual or quad core machine or buying something new would be another option, however I don't like
like these micro-ATX boards that have no backward compatibility with legacy peripherals such as floppy drives, SCSI, parallel and serial
ports, firewire, etc. Most newer boards I've looked at only have one or two PCI slots, PCIe and too many USB ports I don't need
(sorry for the rant)

Any suggestions would be sincerely appreciated

[ckdexterhn]

One problem I can think of right off the top - Operating systems are usually stored on the C: drive. You can make two partitions on a single drive and have a dual boot, but whichever operating system you put on the partition that is NOT C: will have problems. The programs you have installed on that other partition will be looking for C: drive instructions from the operation system, so those programs will not work properly...unless the two drives you were using were set up as different drive letters from the beginning, like XP was always on a C: drive and Vista was always on a D: drive. If the latter was the case, you can simply make two partitions on the new drive, C: & D: and then copy to those partitions. If both drives are C: drives, since you only had one plugged in at a time, the best you can do is copy one operating system to the C: partition, and then do a clean install of the other operation system to the second partition.

[AlanHK]

What I don't want to do is..... start from scratch with each operating system and have to install programs and files all over again.
Is there some way to copy both XP and Vista to a brand new larger drive, leaving the existing software and hardware configurations as
they were originally on the separate drives ?

-- Correction to my earlier post, I misread the situation.

Yes, you can copy the whole system to a new drive, as long as you copy C: drive to C: drive, etc.

I've done this when replacing a hard disk.
I used XXclone, freeware, to do this.

[usually_quiet]

Of course building a brand new dual or quad core machine or buying something new would be another option, however I don't like
like these micro-ATX boards that have no backward compatibility with legacy peripherals such as floppy drives, SCSI, parallel and serial
ports, firewire, etc. Most newer boards I've looked at only have one or two PCI slots, PCIe and too many USB ports I don't need
(sorry for the rant)

Any suggestions would be sincerely appreciated

What legacy hardware do you need to support on a new build? What CPU and new hardware do you want to be able to use?

I have been looking at AMD motherboards. There are current MATX boards which include support for some legacy drives, although it is just 1 floppy and 2 EIDE drives. SCSI would require an add-on card of some sort. I saw new MATX boards with serial and parallel ports on the backplane (1 of each). There are also still some MATX boards that have a serial header and they often will have have a parallel header too. Finding the right parts to add the ports can be a chore, but it can be done. I added a serial port that way about 15 months ago. Firewire ports and/or headers are often available too.

It is true that MATX boards only allow 4 expansion slots and the usual distribution is 2 PCI, 1 PCI-e x1, and 1 PCI-e x16. More and more add-on cards that require PCI-e x1 are being made, so having one is not a bad thing. If you need more PCI slots, an ATX motherboard is the better option.

[Ruut]

What I don't want to do is..... start from scratch with each operating system and have to install programs and files all over again.
Is there some way to copy both XP and Vista to a brand new larger drive, leaving the existing software and hardware configurations as
they were originally on the separate drives ?

Yes.
What you need is: Acronis OS selector.
If you managed to copy both partitions on a single drive, then install the OS selector.
After a reboot you will first see a menu to select either OS.
The ideal feature for you is that the partition you select will always be referred to as C:.
And that is probably exactly the way you initially did the set-up for these OS's.
Acronis OS selector is part of Acronis Disk Director Tools.

Hope this helps.

[Constant Gardener]

Windows XP and later come with built-in support for multiple-boot - you don't need Disk Director (although it's a great tool).

You clone your XP partition to the new disk, setting the size of the partition, and ensure that it works. Then you copy your Vista to a new partition. You will need to edit the XP boot.ini file so that it includes the Vista information.

Google "windows vista dual boot", or search for a copy of "Windows Vista Annoyances" by David Carp.

[classfour]

If I did not require a simultaneous boot drive: And have an available bay, I would use a hot swap rack (this one is SATA - I have several IDE ones) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817364015 and simply change out the OS hard drive as needed. Keep a second drive installed for backups. This is reverse of my use of these: I had one in a media center PC - it made it easy to transfer recordings.

[jman98]

joecass - You're just like this guy that used to work with me. Every time he saw a piece of equipment thrown out because it was old he got the shakes and had to take it home and add it to his collection, even though he had no use for it. What's next? Trying to get punch card readers to work with your equipment? All that stuff you bitch about not being compatible with current motherboards was OLD a decade ago. It's your life, but really, do you have nothing better to do than live in the past?