so i have my old windows xp install disc, and i have my old 110 gb hard drive installed on my new computer running vista on a 500g hd. the hard drive was formatted by vista, and is now usable as storage. So my questions are. How do i separate the old hard drive from vista's os (or do i even need to)? is the hard drive already a separate partition?

trickier part, how do i install windows xp on the smaller hard drive? i've already tried booting from the install disk, but after it loads all of its junk (bottom of the blue screen saying "loading blah blah blah") and says loading windows, it jumps to my personal blue screen of death, saying there is a problem with the installation, to check for viruses, run chkdsk (which is not a tool on vista apparently, i tried it in command prompt already) before trying again. no viruses, and the hard drive works fine.

so im at a brick wall here, and have no clue weither i botched a specific series of steps i need to go through or what? can anyone help me get xp on my second hard drive step by infinitesimal step? thank you very much for considering...

You don't need to: The 110GB will be enumerated as a separate physical disk & assigned a separate drive letter.

Normally, you install XP first & Vista second in an XP/Vista dual boot configuration, but it is still possible to add XP to the system with Vista already installed.

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_...

Jabbering Idiots: Everywhere You Look!

there lies the problem. in every tutorial i reach the point where its time to install windows on the empty partition (in my case, the second hard drive), saying to boot from the disk, which i do, and it continues "when the Windows XP setup reaches the point where you’re prompted where it is to be installed..." well i never reach that point... it stops before i can do anything and tells me there was a problem and to prevent damage it is stopping, to check for viruses, run chkdsk F/ to check for errors, and then restart and try again...

i have no viruses, chkdsk is non existant, and so im stuck twiddling my thumbs. i have no idea what the probleme could be or why i seem to be the only one who's ever gotten this screen...

Well, maybe your secondary drive does have inconsistencies or errors on it. These will halt Windows installation unless the disk is marked clean & good to go.

What is the drive letter for the secondary (110GB) disk in Windows - D; E; X; or something else?

What you need to do is run chkdsk on the disk from Vista:

Click on Start, go to All Programs >> Accessories, right click on Command Prompt & choose Run as administrator. Accept the elevated action prompt.

In the Command Prompt console type: chkdsk x: /f /r

Once that is successfully completed, try the installation again.

Jabbering Idiots: Everywhere You Look!

running chkdsk was a problem

first, for some reason, command prompt is not in accessories. i had to search for it, and found it in the System32 folder under the name command and there is no option to run as administrator when i right click it. but apparently it is the wrong thing.

ok so i found cmd.exe (the right one) and have finaly been able to run chkdsk. any idea how long this might take? also, is there a reason why my command prompt is missing from accessories, and a way to get it back there?

No idea why it is missing. But to fix it, create a shortcut for the cmd executable & right click on the Start Orb, select "Open All Users", click the "Programs" folder, then on "Accessories" & drag the icon from the desktop into this folder ... see if that helps.

Jabbering Idiots: Everywhere You Look!

this is a common wish if you have vista. anyway if you want to install xp on vista you have to use a bcd editor such as: http://www.webtlk.com/2008/03/06/ea...

WebMaster of www.webtlk.com

well after running chkdsk r/f/ i was still unable to install windows running across the same evil blue screen telling me to try again after running chkdsk f/. whats strange is that i have not run across anyone else who's had the same problem, and for all other intents and purposes the hard drive is working fine...

frankhelp, i thought the bcd editor was only useful after the operating systems have been installed... or is it necessary to use this software in order to install a second os?

Could you post the BSOD message verbatim? There may be some other hardware that's causing a conflict.

Jabbering Idiots: Everywhere You Look!

Yes you are right, it is necessary after having installed an OS to regain access to the previous OS. eg: you have vista on your laptop, you install XP but you loose the access to vista, with that program you regain acess to vista in dual boot

WebMaster of www.webtlk.com

one thing you could do is to reformat the partition you want to install XP or just try to make it a little bigger or change its name. sometimes it is nothing more than a little glitch. Other time it could be the XP CD which has some scratch or it is not readable anymore. it could be, as it has been pointed out, even the HD but after the chkdsk you should have fixed the issue. try to use another XP CD. I tell you so because i have an experience with this. i ketp getting BSOD while trying to install Vista but when i changed the DVD i was able to install it flawlessly.
webmaster of http://www.webtlk.com

WebMaster of www.webtlk.com

Did you get it working....? Because I am having the same problem right now. And I don't know what to do...