Dual Boot Install

[Johnnylane]

I'm new to the forum and have searched, but no one seems to have asked this. PLease bear with me otherwise.

I am trying to install Win 7, x64 in a multi-boot format beside my working Vista Ultimate, x64. I installed a 160GB Seagate drive just to house Win 7 and whatever other software I'm going to use in the experiment. I have several copies of Win 7 and a couple of different activators to select from.

I'm having a more basic problem, just setting up the multi-boot. I am:

• Burning the isio image to a DVD
• Setting the BIOS to boot the optical drives first

Win 7 install starts, leaves the install or repair screen, but then tells me I'm missing the Install.wim file (it is on the DVD).

-OR-

I just run Win 7 Setup.exe from Vista. That got through most of the install, but the last step, "Starting Up Services" took forever. I think it was frozen.

Again, sorry for such a basic question for you folks, but it is rapidly becoming not worth it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[johngalt]

Hmmm - I have not tried a dual boot to a separate physical drive. I wonder if that makes W7 think that is the, for all intents and purpose, the master drive?

But another questions begs to be asked - could it in fact be your mobo and the SATA Optical drive not playing nicely during install? I know that Vista users had some problems too with x64 and SATA DVD drives and installation....

 

[Johnnylane]

If it's a hardware conflict, the simpler solution for me might be to take the new equipment and just build a multi-boot machine then you thinks?

 

[Johnnylane]

Hmmm - I have not tried a dual boot to a separate physical drive. .

Are you saying that the two OS's should be on the same HDD?

 

[davehc]

I have made separate hd installations before, using different versions of Vista and, in one case, XP. I have never encountered problems.
"I have several copies of Win 7 " Are these, by chance, possibly from the same source? perhaps you have a bad download? It's unexplainable, however, why it should get so far when installing from Vista, but ceases at the commencement when from boot.

 

[echrada]

That is what i have done, partitioned one hard drive with Vista Ultimate x64 and W7 Ultimate x64.

I gave W7 80GB just to play around because I know the beta will be coming soon.

 

[Ex_Brit]

Separate HD's are fine, or should be. I have 2 x XP Pro on drive 0, partitions 0 and 1 then Vista & Windows 7 on drive 1, partitions 0 and 1. I installed both Vista and Windows 7 from the first XP drive to keep my drive letters uniform throughout the various boots and that is where I keep EasyBCD which makes the booting much easier.

 

[Johnnylane]

Got it!

It was a Sata conflict. I've got a Raid controller acting as a Sata expansion and I think it was in the way.

Anyway, I'm in business. Now I'll look around on the forum and start playing.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello Johnnylane, welcome to Seven Forums!

I'm pleased you have the install sorted.

Keep coming back; it works if you work it!













Later Ted

 

[garysgold]

Hello Johnnylane,

Welcome to the forums.

Great fun playing with this new OS. Lots of improvements from what I've seen so far. Enjoy.

Gary

 

[Ex_Brit]

...and this is only the pre-beta...lots more to come I'm sure.

 

[johngalt]

Are you saying that the two OS's should be on the same HDD?

Nope - I am saying I have not tried that scenario before so I cannot say one way or another what the results will be.

I will also add that having them on separate physical HDs *makes sense*.

 

[Johnnylane]

I will also add that having them on separate physical HDs *makes sense*.

Well, the basic idea is, if things get away from me, push-comes-to-shove, I could just unplug the drive.

Anyway, it's working good now. I've been playing with it this morning. Much faster and responsive. I'm also surprised at the driver support. Most of what I want to work is.

 

[johngalt]

Well, perhaps yes and perhaps no - you may have issues if you just disconnect it as I am pretty sure that the W7 boot manager will cry foul when it only sees your current Vista install and not the other references....

 

[garysgold]

Well, the basic idea is, if things get away from me, push-comes-to-shove, I could just unplug the drive.

Well I had been wondering the same thing. Sooooo. I unplugged tower, unplugged the second drive and booted up. At post I got a warning that a disk drive was not detected. press F1 to continue and F12 for diagnostics. I pressed F1 and the dual boot options came up. I selected Vista and here I am.

I take it that this means that the MBR is on the Vista OS partition even though I installed 7 second. I did not make the 7 partition active before I installed so maybe that's why.

This does not mean it will work for anyone else. Just means I did something right without knowing it when I installed 7.

Be back in a few when I get this thing put back together.

Gary

Update:Everything is as it was.

 

[johngalt]

Yeah, the MBR is still on your active drive - but if this changes in the future?

After all, this is a pre-Beta build, so it is expected to be put on second partitions or second drives without hosing the original drive.

My concern is for the future....if this changes, then.....you get issues like where if you install *nix after XP, and it installs GRUB, and then you kill *nix, and GRUB ceases to function because the boot partition in Linux no longer exists, and you have to repair the XP install to get it to boot...