Any reason to dual boot XP SP2 and Vista 64?

[DSF]

So I participated in the Windows Feedback Program and got one of the free Vista discs. I have a computer that's running just fine under WinXP. 4GB of RAM, I see 3.5GB, good enough for me.

On the other hand, the geek in me wants to see what Vista's all about and play around with it a bit. Is there any particular benefit to it over XP? Any risk in dual booting? Does DX10 make that much difference in gaming? I'm not worried about driver support. Printing is handled on another machine anyway, and I don't have anything else that would need drivers.

I assume that Vista can't make use of what's on the XP partition and vice-versa. Am I wrong about that?

Basically, hit me with the pros and cons of installing a Vista partition. (I have 300-400 GB of hard drive space to work with, so that's not a concern.)

Thanks!

 

[JustaGeek]

Do it - if only to check out what all the fuss is about!

But I would recommend a separate hard drive - IMO, it's just easier to manage and "organize" your computer with 2 separate Hard Drives, and then decide on 1 OS.

You can access every folder and every file on XP partition from 64-bit Vista - I have not tried to access files on Vista 64 from XP 32, so I don't know.

And you might just like it! I have not logged on to XP since January.

Vista is working fine for me, and XP erases Vista Restore Points - and there is no fix for that on my computer.

Good luck! I am sure you'll go for it.

Geek's curiosity... That's my reason for Vista 64...

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: DSF
So I participated in the Windows Feedback Program and got one of the free Vista discs. I have a computer that's running just fine under WinXP. 4GB of RAM, I see 3.5GB, good enough for me.

On the other hand, the geek in me wants to see what Vista's all about and play around with it a bit. Is there any particular benefit to it over XP? Any risk in dual booting? Does DX10 make that much difference in gaming? I'm not worried about driver support. Printing is handled on another machine anyway, and I don't have anything else that would need drivers.

I assume that Vista can't make use of what's on the XP partition and vice-versa. Am I wrong about that?

Basically, hit me with the pros and cons of installing a Vista partition. (I have 300-400 GB of hard drive space to work with, so that's not a concern.)

Thanks!

If you've got the disc, and you've got the time, I dont see how it can hurt. You wont damage your system by installing Vista, shouldnt be any risk whatsoever provided you know well enough not to install Vista *over* XP.

Your experience in Vista will depend upon two things: your rig and the software you use.

With 4gb of ram, I can assume that everything else is up to date is well, and Vista should run quite well.

You'll also have issue with only the most esoteric of software. I'd suggest you go out and DL the latest version of everything you plan to install ahead of time, and get 64-bit versions where available.

DX10 isnt going to make DX9 games any better, but if you have DX10 hardware and are playing a DX10 game, you'll most likely notice a difference.

Vista can completely access the XP partition, so any files you have saved there will be available.

The worst that can happen is that you'll have to press down once when youre rebooting to get into XP instead of vista. But as long as you accept the fact that Vista does some things differently than XP, and are willing to spend a little bit of time to get used to it, I have a feeling you'll like what you see.

 

[Genx87]

Vista should be able to see the XP partition as they both are using NTFS.

I am not a big fan of dual booting. I tried it with WinNT and Win98 for about 3 weeks and got annoyed back in the late 90s. Maybe make a VM of Vista and play with it. If you like it then dump XP. If you dont, then stick with XP.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Vista should be able to see the XP partition as they both are using NTFS.

I am not a big fan of dual booting. I tried it with WinNT and Win98 for about 3 weeks and got annoyed back in the late 90s. Maybe make a VM of Vista and play with it. If you like it then dump XP. If you dont, then stick with XP.

Yeah, I personally dont see the point of dual booting over the long term either, especially when both operating systems are perfectly capable of running the exact same programs. But its definitely the safest and easiest way for him to try Vista out without potentially breaking a system needed for work. A VM just isnt the same as the real thing.

 

[corkyg]

I too do not like dual booting. My solution is hardware - the most reliable. I installed a SATA mobile rack and use two hard drives mounted in two trays. One is Vista Ultimate and the other XP Pro. That way things stay discreet with no cross pollution or pollination.

 

[DSF]

I understand about dual booting, but right now I'm only working with one drive and don't really want to spend money on another just for this. I'm weighing my options.

 

[Noema]

I dual boot XP SP3 and Vista 64-bit but I haven't booted to my XP partition in months. I only keep it around for my Line 6 Guitar Port, which has no 64-bit drivers, though recently I've been experimenting with it inside a VM XP guest, and it works decently, so I might wipe my XP partition for good.

 

[Tempered81]

i'd go with one or the other

 

[Qbah]

The first time I got Vista I did a dual boot setup (just in case, heard so many bad things about Vista... you know the story ). I booted up to XP once, a few months later, just curious if it's still running After a few hours of using Vista I never looked back, ever. XP-what...? So I would recommend just a Vista x64 boot. I don't see any reasons to still have XP. Unless you're running a Celeron 1.2GHz with 512 RAM and a RivaTNT

 

[plion]

Since your trying out vista make sure you don't activate. You can also extend the activation to 120days, see here: http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=38289

 

[neothe0ne]

I'd only install Vista 64 as a second partition if you want to use a 64-bit only application (only one came to mind when I did it, but...). In my case, I found Vista performance in everything from games, program loading, and simple Windows Explorer browsing to be painfully slower than XP, so I ditched all my Vista + 64-bit desires and went back to XP.

 

[Tempered81]

i also ditched vista & went back to XP

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: Genx87
Vista should be able to see the XP partition as they both are using NTFS.

I am not a big fan of dual booting. I tried it with WinNT and Win98 for about 3 weeks and got annoyed back in the late 90s. Maybe make a VM of Vista and play with it. If you like it then dump XP. If you dont, then stick with XP.

Yeah, I personally dont see the point of dual booting over the long term either, especially when both operating systems are perfectly capable of running the exact same programs. But its definitely the safest and easiest way for him to try Vista out without potentially breaking a system needed for work. A VM just isnt the same as the real thing.

I dual boot XP64 and XP. Sometimes I need to go back and run XP when XP64 throws a fit with some software I have. hard drive space is cheap. I have been dual booting since it was an option. I have never had an issue with one install stepping on the toes of another. I just added another HD to try out vista64 and server2008. I will probably quad boot till I find one OS to settle on.

LOL, and I see the OP scratched Vista!