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My laptop came Vista compatible so today I got Vista. Its free from uni and it has a legit key as well. So I was wondering how can I partition my hard drive to keep my current OS running which is XP and also install vista on it ?

Any hints ?

Uh, you'll need to resize your XP partition if you already have data on it (PITA from experience) - otherwise, just reformat the disc, install XP on HALF the drive, then install Vista on the remaining half.

Vista comes with a new bootloader, and I can't remember if it overwrites the MBR, but I suspect it doesn't (you'll need to get someone else to verify this).

I have some stuff on my HD ... that I dont want deleted lol. Im wondering how can I do it without having to delete anything.

Can you give some instructions on how I can resize the partition. I have two already. One that has XP on it, the other has recovery thing on it.

And you're against running VMWare..?

VMWare?

Explain Please

Hey man, check out this link: APC Magazine - Dual booting XP with Vista, XP already installed

Easy, clear guide.
I followed their guides to do all sorts of dual booting and they work a treat.

You should definitely back up all your important data before doing this though.

Actually, as Uber alluded to above you can actually run Vista in a virtual machine under XP if you want. Both VMWare and Microsoft have free virtual machines available to do this. I've used both and must say I prefer Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. Note MS Virtual PC only works on XP Pro - not Home version.

Be aware that running Vista in a virtual machine under XP makes Vista suck even more than it does if you install it natively on your hard drive. The performance is worse and 3D doesn't work. Come to think of it, that last sentence pretty much sums up the current state of Vista...

Anyway, you are probably better off installing Vista in a dual boot configuration if you intend to spend time using it (or trying to use it) properly.

thanks zaphodz. Im just waiting on my external HD to get here so I can move everything onto that. SO all I will have on my Laptop HD will be the OS's

VMWare allows you to create virtual computers on one pc so you can install different OS's w/out partitions and all that...I have Vista Ultimate, and run XP via a VMWare installation...The program does all the work, you just set the parameters and it goes to work...I only use it though, in the rare instance I have to run a program that won't run in Vista...

Doesn't that actually slow the computer down quite a bit if you use virtual drives? well unless you have like gigs of ram but mine isnt that great. lol