Dual-boot XP/ VISTA — Startup Repair fails

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My HP desktop computer: a6530f (AMD multi-core 64bit, 4 GB RAM, 2 HDDs total 900 GB, running Win VISTA Home Premium 64)

I need to run software and hardware for video editing and audio mixing that I can’t upgrade, so decided to create a DUAL BOOT VISTA/XP system. (I own XP Pro from an earlier computer.)

The common process for this is that XP destroys the VISTA boot process, so one step is to repair the VISTA bootmgr.exe

HOWEVER, the HP system restore disk fails to repair it, and the manual Windows method fails because the files cannot be found on the HP machine.

I installed the Recovery Disc and chose the Additional methods, then the STARTUP REPAIR PROCESS. Whether run via Disk or via HDD, the STARTUP REPAIR PROCESS fails.

Further, when attempting the manual repair, as described in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529 that process, too, fails because there are no files on the computer for the repair.

As expected, going to startup alternatives via F8 shows only the XP os, not the VISTA os.

What does HP do that makes the STARTUP REPAIR process to renew the VISTA BOOTMGR.EXE different than the process called for by Microsoft?

Has anyone found a solution to a problem like this?

I would be willing to remove the XP installation and start over, but assume that would not allow the VISTA to boot.

The computer has a lot of software and files already on it and I cannot restore it by reverting to the “original condition”, since rebuilding it would take several days.

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Hi Michael,

Check out this How To Geek article on creating a Vista System Repair Disk. This will allow you to use Vista’s Recovery Environment by booting from your optical drive. If you cannot create one from your PC, then if you can use another PC, the article shows where to download and burn an ISO of a System Repair Disk from Neosmart. I believe this is for Vista SP1, but it might work since this is to repair the boot process.

If you have SP2, and can get access to another Vista PC running Vista SP2, you can create your own System Repair Disk to use on your machine.

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Setting up the Dual-Boot
Once Windows XP setup has finished, it’ll automatically boot you into the newly installed copy of Windows XP – note that you will not be able to boot into Vista/7 at this point, nor will you see a boot menu option for it. This is because Windows XP has installed its own bootloader on top of the Windows Vista bootloader, and it does not recognize newer versions of Windows.

Once in Windows XP, download and install the Microsoft .NET 2.0 Framework SP1.
Download and install the latest version of EasyBCD.
Once in EasyBCD, go to the “Bootloader Setup” page, and select “Install the Windows Vista/7 bootloader to the MBR” then “Write MBR” to get the EasyBCD bootloader back.

Once that’s done, head on to the “Add New Entry” page and select “Windows NT/2k/XP/2003” from the drop-down list, give it a name, then press “Add Entry” to finish. Leave the checkbox for automatic configuration checked, and do not manually change the drive in EasyBCD thereafter. The settings EasyBCD chooses may look wrong, but it’s complicated.

Now reboot.
Windows XP Drive Option
As of EasyBCD 1.7+, you won’t be able to select the drive that your Windows XP entry points to. This is because EasyBCD will automatically search for NTLDR, the Windows XP bootloader, and pick the right drive for you. For more information, read the main Windows XP page.

Finishing Up
If all has gone well (assuming you followed the directions here to a tee, there is no reason for it not to have), you should be presented with the EasyBCD boot menu when you restart your machine.
You’ll have the old Windows Vista/7 entry and the new Windows XP entry you created in the steps above. Selecting each should get you into the respecting operating system without a problem.
Feel free to run EasyBCD in either OS and customize your dual-boot by renaming entries, changing the default OS, and modifying the menu timeout.

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Ok first…how are you loading the XP? Is it on the second drive or is it on a second primary partition on the first drive? did you leave both drives connected when you loaded xp?
These questions are important as HP machines have a FAT primary partition witjh the Recovery Restore in the first partition. if that is changed or altered the drive letter sequence changes, this is also affected if you remove or add a harddrive.
Does the xp see itself as drive C: ?
Setting the NTDLR is only a small part of the whole picture.
some people are lucky in this and some are not..but to help you we really need the info

Read this site… http://www.multibooters.co.uk/bootmgr.html
I prefer bootit NG over the native windows boot manager. http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootit-next-generation.htm

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Everyone, thanks!

I have successfully installed XP PRO SP3 as a dual-boot option on my existing VISTA Home Premium SP2 HP desktop.

This is what I went through, based on a couple articles I found online:

There are two physical drives on the HP; Vista is on drive 0 and runs as C:. On the second drive, D: drive 1, I created a partition with Vista’s DISK MANAGER for the XP installation. The computer sees this partition as E:

Because the HP oem disk failed to recreate the Vista boot manager (as it was supposed to do) and the manual attempt also failed, I used neosmart’s compilation .iso “restore boot manager” which successfully repaired the VISTA boot manager. I then ran EasyBCD which easily configured the boot manager to give me the option of XP or Vista upon bootup (with Vista defaulting after 10 seconds).

One problem was, I underestimated the space allowance for the XP OS; 4 GB was too little. I installed the OS using my XP SP2 disk, and then updated to SP3 using the Microsoft network IT .iso from a CD. Microsoft Update then needed to download 108 updates (including such things as Windows Media Player 11, which I wanted) and maxed out the space before finishing the updates (it needed lots of space for .Net Framework version 4). The Disk Manager in VISTA will not expand an “active” boot partition; however, thankfully, the free PARTITION WIZARD will, so I was able to double the size of the partition without any problem.

The programs that I want to run under XP are installed on the C: drive; I created a c:programs (86)xp folder, and put the XP programs into it. They seem to work fine so far, and it prevents maxing out the XP partition again.

At this moment, everything seems to be working fine. When I turn on the computer, I get to choose between XP and Vista. Each boots just fine when selected, and everything seems to work properly under its own system.

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Awesome

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