Question about dual Vista Dual Boot

Wavelabs · Apr 14, 2009, 11:43 PM

Well, the question is this.

I have One hard Drive internally WD 10,000 rpm drive that is holding the
Vista x64-bit OS.

I also have a Hot Swappable Drive by this company.
Newegg.com - VANTEC MRK-250ST Plastic & Aluminum Alloy 2.5" Black USB 2.0 & SATA External Enclosure - External Enclosures

this vantec has Vista x32-bit OS.

So here is the question and the situation im trying to solve.

When I boot, there is no choice to choose from between them.
I would like to be able to reboot and then choose which OS I want to boot into.

I don't know why the computer only chooses the x64-bit.
When the x32-bit is sitting right there,
but there is no choices for me to choose which OS I want to boot.

And YES, they are both Vista OS's, One is x64-bit and the other is x32-bit.
And the are both on 2 completely separate hard drives.

I know that I have to do something in the BCDedit.exe within Vista.
Since Vista does not have the old version of BOOT.ini any longer.

Can someone detail to me, what I have to put in the BCDedit.exe file to fix this problem..?

thanks.

Mac Daddy · Apr 15, 2009, 02:06 AM

You can't mix 32 and 64 bit OS's in a boot manager.

OldBuzzard · Apr 15, 2009, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mac Daddy

You can't mix 32 and 64 bit OS's in a boot manager.

Really?

I find that interesting since I have: 4x Vista Ult. 64, 1x Vista x86, 1x XP Pro, 1x XP x64, and 2x Win7 beta installs on my system.

Of course I do use HyperOS to manage all of them, but even then, I've started with an install of XP 32 bit, then installed XP x64, and even before installing HOS on the x64 install, the boot menu still gave me the option of selecting either one. However, these were installed on the same HDD, and one after another, so the x64 install 'knew' that the 32 bit install was there to start with..

Trying to make two OS's that were installed independently of each other show up in a boot menu, might be a different matter.

Mac Daddy · Apr 15, 2009, 12:15 PM

Interesting I have never mixed 32 bit and 64 bit OS's.

Cow_160483 · Apr 16, 2009, 11:53 AM

good question i also have installed vista X64 recently and want to install XP X64 on an external how can i do that ?? is it even possible ??

crack1up · Apr 17, 2009, 09:30 AM

First adjust your bios to tell it which drive to boot first and second. Then, I would try easyBCD as a front end to the Vista boot loader. I am still not sure about a dual vista boot because I started with XP Pro x86 and Vista 64.

Apr 14, 2009, 11:43 PM	#1
Wavelabs HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NYC Posts: 52 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Question about dual Vista Dual Boot Well, the question is this. I have One hard Drive internally WD 10,000 rpm drive that is holding the Vista x64-bit OS. I also have a Hot Swappable Drive by this company. Newegg.com - VANTEC MRK-250ST Plastic & Aluminum Alloy 2.5" Black USB 2.0 & SATA External Enclosure - External Enclosures this vantec has Vista x32-bit OS. So here is the question and the situation im trying to solve. When I boot, there is no choice to choose from between them. I would like to be able to reboot and then choose which OS I want to boot into. I don't know why the computer only chooses the x64-bit. When the x32-bit is sitting right there, but there is no choices for me to choose which OS I want to boot. And YES, they are both Vista OS's, One is x64-bit and the other is x32-bit. And the are both on 2 completely separate hard drives. I know that I have to do something in the BCDedit.exe within Vista. Since Vista does not have the old version of BOOT.ini any longer. Can someone detail to me, what I have to put in the BCDedit.exe file to fix this problem..? thanks. __________________ Pro-Tools v8 / Reason v4.1 / CubaseSX v4 / Wavelabs v6.1 / M-Audio 1814 / GT-66 MIC / TC Electronic Triple C / DBX Gate Event 20-20 Powered / Genelec 1030A / Pioneer EFX-1000 / Avalon VT-737sp Mic-Pre / Aphex Aural Exciter 104-C2 Last edited by Wavelabs; Apr 15, 2009 at 01:04 AM.

Apr 15, 2009, 02:06 AM	#2
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 80 System Specs	Re: Question about dual Vista Dual Boot You can't mix 32 and 64 bit OS's in a boot manager. __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Apr 15, 2009, 12:15 PM	#4
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 80 System Specs	Re: Question about dual Vista Dual Boot Interesting I have never mixed 32 bit and 64 bit OS's. __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Apr 16, 2009, 11:53 AM	#5
Cow_160483 HH's only cow moooooo... Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BOTSWANA Posts: 6,821 Rep Power: 300 System Specs	Re: Question about dual Vista Dual Boot good question i also have installed vista X64 recently and want to install XP X64 on an external how can i do that ?? is it even possible ?? __________________ Decode! Muhahahahah!

Apr 17, 2009, 09:30 AM	#6
crack1up DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 82 Rep Power: 0	Re: Question about dual Vista Dual Boot First adjust your bios to tell it which drive to boot first and second. Then, I would try easyBCD as a front end to the Vista boot loader. I am still not sure about a dual vista boot because I started with XP Pro x86 and Vista 64. __________________ Core2Duo E6700, 2X1GB Kingston 4200, HIS HD3850 IceQ3 Turbo 512 DDR3 AGP, Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS PCI, Thermaltake Toughpower 850w , XP Pro Sp3 32bit