How To Fix a Dual Boot System Cannot boot Windows Vista

How To Fix a Dual Boot System

Scenario 1 - Cannot boot Windows Vista

You are running Windows Vista and have installed Windows XP as a dual boot system and you can no longer log into Windows Vista.
Reason

The problem with installing a dual-boot version of Windows XP after a version of Windows Vista is that the boot files are replaced on the boot disk by versions that are not recognised by Windows Vista, this has the effect that it is no longer possible to boot into Windows Vista. The boot process of Windows Vista changed significantly compared to that in Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003 and it is not longer a simple matter of restoring the more up to date NTLDR etc files because a new boot sector needs to be written to the disk to 'tell' the operating system to boot using Vista's boot files. Fortunately this is very easy as long as you have access to your own or somebody else's (if one did not come with your PC) Windows Vista boot DVD.

The repair process

If you were already running Windows XP and installed Windows Vista to a second partition, and then since reformatted the system boot disk so that it now only boots Windows XP then you need to re-create the Vista boot files in their entirety, however if the boot Vista boot files are still intact on the system boot disk then just follow Vista boot menu files exist..instructions.

Recreating the Vista Boot Menu.

1. Boot into Windows Vista using the Windows Vista installation DVD
2. Click Next
3. Choose Repair your computer
4. The repair process displays Searching for Windows.
5. Click Repair and restart - this does not in fact repair everything!
6. re-do steps 1 to 4
7. Repair and restart should not now be displayed, instead the recovery menu.
8. Click Start repair.
9. The boot menu should now be repaired.

Vista boot menu files exist.

After installing Windows XP you can boot into Windows XP and can no longer boot into Windows Vista.

1. If boot files still exist on the Windows Vista boot disk then it is simply a matter of replacing the boot sector of the disk to point to the Boot manager file instead of the NTLDR file installed by the Windows XP installation.
Boot into Windows XP and then install the Windows Vista installation DVD.

* Open a command prompt window (click Start / Run / type command then press<Enter>
* Type [DVD Drive letter]:\boot\bootsect /nt60 c: then press <Enter> (take care that the slashes go the right way)
The c: indicates that the c: drive is the Windows Vista boot partition and may change. Another possible value is ALL this causes all local drives to be written with a Windows Vista boot sector.

At this stage you can now boot into Windows Vista, but no longer boot into Windows XP.

2. To enable the Windows Vista boot manager to boot Windows XP you need to type in the following 4 commands. If you can access your Windows Vista disk from Windows XP then open a command prompt window and navigate to the Windows Vista SYSTEM32 folder.

If Windows Vista is on the C: drive:

Type C: then press <Enter>
Type CD \windows\system32 then press <Enter>

Type each of the following four lines then press <Enter>

bcdedit /create {ntldr} �d "Previous versions of Windows"

bcdedit /set {ntldr} device partition=C:
C: is the drive letter of the boot partition, this is normally C: but may be different.

bcdedit /set {ntldr} path \ntldr

bcdedit /displayorder {ntldr} �addlast