I want vista back
okay poeple this is my problem. i upgraded to this windows7 and i like it untill it started crashing on me on every programme i opened.explorerm, excel, media player photoshop they all keep freezing and coming up with not responding at the top.and every time i restart or tell it to shut down it gets stuck in the loging of screen. i had it on for at least 3 to 4 hours stuck in this screen waiting for it to switich off so i had to turn it of my self. and when i do i get a message after saying windows did not shut down propaly.one of the time it was shuting down it when in to a blue screen for a split second whitch had loads of writing on it. couldnt see what the writing was it was to quick.i didnt really read the statment by ms on downloading windows 7 i wish i did. but i want vista back as i need my pc for work and i cant have it crashing all the time.can i put vista back on with out losing my stuff like software and files. like a downgrade. please help me
January 18th, 2009 2:50am

Well before you installed vista, you should've made a backup. That way when windows 7 expires you can easily go back to vista. If you have a backup and want vista back. Now is the time to use it.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 18th, 2009 2:54am

i did but how do i access it?
January 18th, 2009 2:55am

If you made an IMAGE complete computer backup, you can restore it just as easily. If you only did a files and folders backup. you will have to re-install Vista and all your programs. At least you will have all your files and folders, but you will have a lot of work to do the second way.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 18th, 2009 3:45am

HMM i didnt make an image. how do you do that?might reinstall vista and then back up everything like you said with a image. then may be think about windows 7 later if its avaiable unless....i have dual bootcan i do this windows 7 update on xp. as i dont really car much for xp.
January 18th, 2009 6:13am

When Windows7 installs, it makes a copy of your old system in the windows.old folder. Is there any possibility to get vista back with this information?
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 18th, 2009 1:44pm

Post To:ischneidYep i remember this onces the only thing you loose is the programs you have if you do a clean insall keep the windows.old floder do a clean vista insall and boom it well make a windows.old000 floder i remember this when i insalled 7 i still had the windows.old floder they just named the new one windows.old000. Or opt 2 is like what i am doing buy a easy to use usb backup harddrive thing and keep saveing eveything when windows 7 is over with i do a freash install on vista and restore all i my files back its just in cause windows.old dose not save eveything!Post To:V TurkThe only thing you can do is a clean install sorry to say! Micosoft did warn you ther no turning back to vista inless you keep it on you os! All tho remember when you do a clean intsall all you looe is your programs you windows.old well have all your old file in there just dealte when done because take up a alot of mb! Best thing is to do is the same thing i said toischneidjust get a easy to use usb device or best of all use windows backup!Hope This Helps! And dont worry your not the only one that wanting your vista back sorry to see you did not like beta thought!
January 19th, 2009 4:35am

If you would like vista back, you will need to follow the procedures of the backup/imaging software that you used to backup your Vista installation before you upgraded to Windows 7. Since each program is slightly different it's difficult to tell you exactly what that process is. If you are having issues with Windows 7, you are more that welcome to post those issues to see if other Forum users have an answer for you.A couple of things you can do:Make sure your BIOS is up to date.Activate your copy of Windows 7 and perform and Windows UpdateDownload the Vista drivers for your hardware (Video card for example)Check for any updates for your applicationsJoe
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 19th, 2009 7:25pm

V Turk said: i upgraded to this windows7 ... OMG... No, you haven't upgraded to Windows 7. You have... well... "kinda upgraded" to Windows 7 BETA 1.How come you did install a BETA VERSION of an operating system, OVER A PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT-WORKING INSTALLATION of another OS?Didn't you realize that Win7 is still a BETA 1 product?
January 19th, 2009 7:25pm

Or if you have enough space on your drive create a partition & install Vista on one & 7 on the other, its called dual booting. This is a way to try out 7 while still having a funtional OS on the other partition without losing data.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 19th, 2009 8:22pm

You know, I bet Microsoft would save untold amounts of money,bad press, grief,and tech support calls if they just did away with the capability to upgrade over the old operating system. That has got to be the biggest nightmare that Microsoft faces. I for one have never upgraded over the top of any other operating system and I'm sure I have had less problems doing it that way.
January 20th, 2009 4:55pm

I've managed to avoid going to vista, one of the advantages of building my own pc and spending money on a seperate OS, so im still running XP on my main drive. I've installed Windows 7 on a second hard-drive, and havent been back into xp more than a couple of times, to check devices that 7 doesnt appear to see, Those devices, have both failed to work in XP as well. @OP if your getting that many problems with Win 7 i think either you have a bad install or one of the programs you have is causing conflicts. After you installed Windows 7 did you re-install your different programs, or are you trying to run them from where they were installed for Vista?
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 20th, 2009 5:21pm

I have been working from day one with all that software you mentioned plus much more, like Lightroom 2, Ultra VNC, Outlook with Exchange 2007, etc, etc... The list goes on. And I haven't experienced a single freeze or lockup ever since. The only hiccup I suffered was installing a network printer, which stays connecting to the printer for 15 minutes or so, then it comes back with anerror (to look for the driver) or with no error (successfully installed and connected to printer). Other than that, I'm happy as a clam.Microsoft have EXTENSIVELY stated that Windows 7 BETASHOULD NOT BE USED for production machines, or computers you use on a daily basis. I did that, and I'm not complaining if she starts to crash on me, but I've been testing MS OSs since the days of Whistler (XP) and they are usually very stable, so I gave it a shot. I'm not going back (so far) to Vista on my Laptop.I won't upgrade my home PC, since I have tons of games, and I asume nVidia drivers are not very stable at this point, so I'll keep Vista Ultimate 64 Bit there until they either release the RC or the final product.Ithink the mostbuggy part of Windows 7 is IE8, but I use it very scarcely, so I don't bother.If you want to go back to Vista, I think you should back up everything you can and install from scratch. Right now your registry should be so screwed that It will no longer be a stable OS until you refresh everything up. My humble opinion.Good luck
January 20th, 2009 6:25pm

Hi Martin,You should try the nVidia beta drivers. Rock solid for me, even with the Adobe GPU acceleration working.Roger
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 20th, 2009 8:16pm

3ddeen said:You know, I bet Microsoft would save untold amounts of money,bad press, grief,and tech support calls if they just did away with the capability to upgrade over the old operating system. That has got to be the biggest nightmare that Microsoft faces. I for one have never upgraded over the top of any other operating system and I'm sure I have had less problems doing it that way.I agree, upgrading is an unrecommended nightmare. I mean the concept of copying over an old registry and all of your old programs and sort of hoping they work is just ridiculous. Not to mention you move all of the bloat! What's the point of putting on a nice new OS if it instantly get's bogged down by all of your old ____?And i don't think there is a way of saying this without being offensive, but the original poster never should have installed the beta. He clearly doesn't understand very much about computers or what a beta program is.
January 22nd, 2009 1:38am

well said thequinox, i had no end of trouble installing 7. in the end i d/loaded 7 to a virtual drive, and havn't had a problem since. Nice system, but i wish they had waited a bit longer to release windows 7 as we are only just getting to know Vista. Regards, john
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 29th, 2009 2:08am

Microsoft hasn't "released" Windows 7 - this is only a beta. And there are manysimilarities with Vista (especially around driver support and application compatibility). IMHO, Microsoft is between a rock and a hard place. There are a bunch of Vista-haters out there who insist on sticking with XP. They are all holding out for the next version (7) and will not accept that Vista is a perfectly good OS. Then there are the people who are happily running Vista. They will have many years of support ahead of them and no-one is forcing them to upgrade (they also have a simple upgrade path to 7 when they are ready).Mark Wilson (MVP Virtual Machine) - http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/
January 29th, 2009 4:38am

I tried an upgrade but after Windows 7 initially not creating the bootloader and after a repair using the Win 7 install disc and then having the installer finally tell me that my system was not compatible, I tried it again and had no bootloader trouble but still got the incompatible error message. So I installed it on a second HD as a fresh install. My post though is to mention that my son, who did successfully do an upgrade, has a "rollback" optio. Would that mean what I think it means and if so would that option restore to Vista and thus solve the original poster's dillemaWell said Mark Wilson.I admit I was a late Vista adopter but I love it. I am very excited about Win 7 as well. I only wish Windows wasn't quite as pricey as it is for the "Home premium" retail package.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 29th, 2009 10:54am

mark-wilson said:Microsoft hasn't "released" Windows 7 - this is only a beta. And there are manysimilarities with Vista (especially around driver support and application compatibility). IMHO, Microsoft is between a rock and a hard place. There are a bunch of Vista-haters out there who insist on sticking with XP. They are all holding out for the next version (7) and will not accept that Vista is a perfectly good OS. Then there are the people who are happily running Vista. They will have many years of support ahead of them and no-one is forcing them to upgrade (they also have a simple upgrade path to 7 when they are ready).Mark Wilson (MVP Virtual Machine) - http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/i've been a happy vista user.... even happier windows 7 user :D
January 30th, 2009 12:59am

3ddeen said: You know, I bet Microsoft would save untold amounts of money,bad press, grief,and tech support calls if they just did away with the capability to upgrade over the old operating system. That has got to be the biggest nightmare that Microsoft faces. I for one have never upgraded over the top of any other operating system and I'm sure I have had less problems doing it that way. The problem with that, however, is if they did that, it would be like handing ammunition to the enemy. OSX and Linux both allow for pretty much seemless upgrades between versions. That being said... NO sane person would ever consider upgrading one Microsoft OS on top of another, on that we pretty much agree, but sadly, there are an awful lot of people who fall into the catagory of "knowing just enough about computers to be dangerous.." and are likely to do an upgrade... The option needs to be there, even if it isn't the smartest thing in the world.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 30th, 2009 4:27am

"OSX and Linux both allow for pretty much seemless upgrades between versions." I cant speak for OSX, but that is not true for Linux. Upgrading from Fedora 6 to 7 was a total nightmare as one of my former co-workers found out the hard way. Did he learn? No, because he then tried to upgrade a clean load of Fedora 7 to 8. Another counterpart of mine upgraded his Ubuntu 7.10 to 8.04. What was the result? Well, lets just say that he had to do a clean install of Hardy Heron to get everything working again. What I find even more baffling is that some people wont read any available documentation as to how to properly go about upgrading. Then when things go wrong, they want an entire community to come help them.
January 30th, 2009 6:58pm

DarienHawk67 said: "OSX and Linux both allow for pretty much seemless upgrades between versions." I cant speak for OSX, but that is not true for Linux. Upgrading from Fedora 6 to 7 was a total nightmare as one of my former co-workers found out the hard way. Did he learn? No, because he then tried to upgrade a clean load of Fedora 7 to 8. Another counterpart of mine upgraded his Ubuntu 7.10 to 8.04. What was the result? Well, lets just say that he had to do a clean install of Hardy Heron to get everything working again. What I find even more baffling is that some people wont read any available documentation as to how to properly go about upgrading. Then when things go wrong, they want an entire community to come help them. Whaaat! Say it ain't so!! To hear some of the Linux fanatics preach about it, it's just a matter of downloading the new version, burning the CD/DVD and installing the beast. The Mac crowd generally aren't much better - even though Leopard did bite them in the backside when it was released and their discs are provided to them from Apple. /sarcasm. Seriously though.. Most people don't bother READING instructions in the first place. Period. I recall the web site for the Vista beta had a section in big, bold red letters warning people NOT to install the beta on a production system, not to install it if it's your only PC, back up your data, etc... And that you would NOT be able to go back to XP without reinstalling XP or restoring a back up. That was right next to the button for downloading the ISO. I also recall the number of posts and the arguments that ensued due to one guy NOT following those simple instructions and going ahead and doing it anyway - and winding up with an epic FAIL. His system was hosed beyond recognition. NO backups, nothing. DOH!
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 30th, 2009 11:05pm

Hi Mark-Wilson, i didn't say they had released it, i run Vista Ultimate and think its brilliant.Being a Software Developer,and a Technet Subscriber,i have had some fantastic service from Microsoft, including Licencing Applications on home built systems. All i said was that i think Windows 7 was being developed to soon after Vista. They started developing this system while Vista was in the final stages of final release. Regards, john
January 31st, 2009 3:35am

Hi John,Sorry but I read this: disabled1 said: Nice system, but i wish they had waited a bit longer to release windows 7 as we are only just getting to know Vista. as commenting that Windows 7 had been released too soon! Hence my comment that it hasn't been released yet.I now understand what you mean about Windows 7 coming only 3 years after Vista (according to the current published release schedule) but then again, XP wasonly 2 years after 2000 andthe 5 year gap for Vista was too long for many organisations (Microsoft took a lot of flak over that).I guess everyone has a different idea about the ideal time between releases but with OS X shipping every 18-24 months and some Linux releases coming more frequently I guess 3 years is probably not too far off the mark if they want to prevent Windows from looking out of date when compared with alternatives.- MarkMark Wilson (MVP Virtual Machine) - http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
February 10th, 2009 7:31pm

Mark-WilsonLet's also not forget that Windows - going back to 95 at least - used to be released pretty much every 18 - 24 months as well. There were 3 releases of Windows 95 between 95 and 98. Then between 1998 and 2000, we got Windows 98, 98 SE, ME and Windows 2000 - all in a span of about 2 years. Then came XP in 2001 - and then nothing for 5 years. People assume that the delay between XP and Vista is the norm when clearly it wasn't. While a longer delay may help a particular version gain traction (as it did for XP), coming out with more frequent releases keeps things moving more dynamically.
February 11th, 2009 12:27pm

@Wolfie2K6Windows 3.x, 95, 95SE, 98, 98SE, ME were all consumer OSs built on top of (or incorporating)MS-DOS (and the fact that many businesses deployed Windows 95/98/ME in preference to NT/2000 and caused me untold pain and hassle!)Windows NT 3.x, NT 4.x, 2000 were all enterprise OSs built on the NT kernel (no MS-DOS).Windows XP, Vista and 7 are intended for consumers and businesses alike, and are descendants of the NT line. There was a 3 year gap between NT4 (1996) and 2000 (1999), 2 years until XP (2001), 5 untilVista (2006/7, depending on whether you were business or consumer)and it will probably be about 3 years between Vista and Windows 7.I think the days of releases every 18-24 months have gone, just like getting a service pack every 6-9 months has...Mark Wilson (MVP Virtual Machine) - http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
February 17th, 2009 9:26pm

dj_hallucn8 said: Or if you have enough space on your drive create a partition & install Vista on one & 7 on the other, its called dual booting. This is a way to try out 7 while still having a funtional OS on the other partition without losing data.In fact, I would go one further. When moving from one version of Windows to another (including this time, going from Vista to W7 beta), I physically disconnect the original hard disk and install the new system on another hard disk.That way there is no way of ruining your existing installation. No matter what goes wrong with W7, you can always revert to your previous OS.I actually don't advocate dual booting, because you can get in a right old mess if the boot sector gets corrupted and you end up having to do a Repair installation from the setup disk. Ugh!No, I use a very handy feature of the BIOS: by default it starts at the lowest numbered SATA connector and worksupwards, looking for a bootable hard disk. The first one it finds, it boots from.So, once you've got W7 installed and you're happy with it, you can reconnect your old Vista disk, so long as it is in a higher numbered SATA connector. The BIOS boots the W7 disk, and you will then find your old Vista disk appears as another hard disk in Explorer (typically F: or G:). This is very handy, because you can copy across your data files, bookmarksand anything else you want.Indeed, should you want to revert to Vista, just swap the SATA connectors round. Vista boots and you will see your W7 disk in Explorer. Great for copying across any newly created data files.In fact, I've used this system for years. When running Vista I left my old XP installation untouched on the second disk. When I installed W7 beta, I vapourised the old XP installation and put W7 on that disk. Now my old Vista installation sits on a higher numbered SATA connector, available should I need it.Thack
February 17th, 2009 9:59pm

If it were me in charge, I would (in addition to making big $$$$), structure the upgrades as such. Separate the development teams into three sections. One section works on the next release, the other only on service packs; and the third on research and development. The team that works on the next version will transition in the service pack team when the version is released. The present service pack team will then transition to the research and development team, who would then transition into the next version team. In each team, you would have some overlap to provide continuity. For each new version (an increase in the actual version number), I think the upgrade cycle should be every five years. In 2010, there would be version x, in 2015, version x+1, etc. During the product cycle, I think there should be a service pack released each year to encompass all previously addressed updates, application compatibility, and to provide new features and functionality as hardware continues to mature. If a SP every year proved to be too challenging, then one each 2.5 years. Doing updates in this manner will allow the developers of the next version adequate time to get it right since the schedule is on a very predicable path.$0.02 deposited.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
February 17th, 2009 11:04pm

Thack said: In fact, I would go one further. When moving from one version of Windows to another (including this time, going from Vista to W7 beta), I physically disconnect the original hard disk and install the new system on another hard disk.That way there is no way of ruining your existing installation. No matter what goes wrong with W7, you can always revert to your previous OS.I actually don't advocate dual booting, because you can get in a right old mess if the boot sector gets corrupted and you end up having to do a Repair installation from the setup disk. Ugh!No, I use a very handy feature of the BIOS: by default it starts at the lowest numbered SATA connector and worksupwards, looking for a bootable hard disk. The first one it finds, it boots from.So, once you've got W7 installed and you're happy with it, you can reconnect your old Vista disk, so long as it is in a higher numbered SATA connector. The BIOS boots the W7 disk, and you will then find your old Vista disk appears as another hard disk in Explorer (typically F: or G:). This is very handy, because you can copy across your data files, bookmarksand anything else you want.Indeed, should you want to revert to Vista, just swap the SATA connectors round. Vista boots and you will see your W7 disk in Explorer. Great for copying across any newly created data files.In fact, I've used this system for years. When running Vista I left my old XP installation untouched on the second disk. When I installed W7 beta, I vapourised the old XP installation and put W7 on that disk. Now my old Vista installation sits on a higher numbered SATA connector, available should I need it.Thack I agree...Tho, I go 1 step further- I do the multiple hard drive bit - but my mobo's BIOS allows me to set the boot priority - in other words, I can tell it to boot from any installed drive first. If I want to boot into Vista, I choose the drive it's installed on and when I'm done, I can boot into W7 or XP... I even have an ancient 20 GB drive with Vista Beta 2 on it.
February 18th, 2009 5:12am

DarienHawk67 said: If it were me in charge, I would (in addition to making big $$$$), structure the upgrades as such. Separate the development teams into three sections. One section works on the next release, the other only on service packs; and the third on research and development. The team that works on the next version will transition in the service pack team when the version is released. The present service pack team will then transition to the research and development team, who would then transition into the next version team. In each team, you would have some overlap to provide continuity. For each new version (an increase in the actual version number), I think the upgrade cycle should be every five years. In 2010, there would be version x, in 2015, version x+1, etc. During the product cycle, I think there should be a service pack released each year to encompass all previously addressed updates, application compatibility, and to provide new features and functionality as hardware continues to mature. If a SP every year proved to be too challenging, then one each 2.5 years. Doing updates in this manner will allow the developers of the next version adequate time to get it right since the schedule is on a very predicable path.$0.02 deposited. My only issue with a 5 year cycle is that you wind up with a TON of inertia. Look at the XP to Vista transition. XP got so entrenched into everyday life that when something better did come along, it was soundly rejected by a LOT of people. Doing upgrades more often keeps people on their toes a bit more... I think the 3 year cycle is probably about where it should be.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
February 18th, 2009 5:20am

Thack said: dj_hallucn8 said: Or if you have enough space on your drive create a partition & install Vista on one & 7 on the other, its called dual booting. This is a way to try out 7 while still having a funtional OS on the other partition without losing data.In fact, I would go one further. When moving from one version of Windows to another (including this time, going from Vista to W7 beta), I physically disconnect the original hard disk and install the new system on another hard disk.That way there is no way of ruining your existing installation. No matter what goes wrong with W7, you can always revert to your previous OS.I actually don't advocate dual booting, because you can get in a right old mess if the boot sector gets corrupted and you end up having to do a Repair installation from the setup disk. Ugh!No, I use a very handy feature of the BIOS: by default it starts at the lowest numbered SATA connector and worksupwards, looking for a bootable hard disk. The first one it finds, it boots from.So, once you've got W7 installed and you're happy with it, you can reconnect your old Vista disk, so long as it is in a higher numbered SATA connector. The BIOS boots the W7 disk, and you will then find your old Vista disk appears as another hard disk in Explorer (typically F: or G:). This is very handy, because you can copy across your data files, bookmarksand anything else you want.Indeed, should you want to revert to Vista, just swap the SATA connectors round. Vista boots and you will see your W7 disk in Explorer. Great for copying across any newly created data files.In fact, I've used this system for years. When running Vista I left my old XP installation untouched on the second disk. When I installed W7 beta, I vapourised the old XP installation and put W7 on that disk. Now my old Vista installation sits on a higher numbered SATA connector, available should I need it.Thack I also do the seperate hard drive thing. I have one set up with XP SP3, a second one set up with Vista SP1, and a third hard drive set up with Windows 7-64 bit. Just by powering down and switching a couple of cables, I can boot up to whatever OS I want. This comes in handy when comparing one OS to another, like I'm doing for the course of this beta test. Make sure you label each drive so you don't get them mixed up. This also protects the other drives in the event of a nasty virus. In the event of a crash, I can change drives and be back in business in a couple of minutes.You do have to be careful when plugging in your drives that you don't damage the connector, but that hasn't been a problem for me.All three drives are all set up and ready to go.
February 18th, 2009 5:51am

Wolfie2k6 said:I agree...Tho, I go 1 step further- I do the multiple hard drive bit - but my mobo's BIOS allows me to set the boot priority - in other words, I can tell it to boot from any installed drive first. If I want to boot into Vista, I choose the drive it's installed on and when I'm done, I can boot into W7 or XP... I even have an ancient 20 GB drive with Vista Beta 2 on it. Actually my BIOS offers the same feature (I expect they all do), but funnily enough it's actually quicker for me to swap the connectors round than fart about in the BIOS.That's because I leave the side off the PC whenever I'm messing about installing new OSs. Anyway, once the side is back on, the BIOS boot priority is obviously the way to go.Both options are much safer than dual-booting.Thack
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
February 18th, 2009 7:37pm

I do agree with installing on separate drives, but this is only useful for ppl with pc experience on the component side. As for the average Joe, even this concept can be disasterous. In Example, the original post in this area was an issue cause the user didnt read about installing the os on a work pc without backing up. This is beta and Microsoft needs to improve the installation process in the end to accomodate ppl who have no concept of dual booting and such. Just my opinion. :)
February 18th, 2009 8:10pm

Microsoft cant take responsibility for everyone out there. It is incumbent on the tester to know what he or she is doing. If not, then they dont need to be testing software. If someone installs a beta release, or even a final release, of software without reading any of the available documentationand there is plenty out therewhat is Microsoft or any OS distributor supposed to do? That is like purchasing a plasma TV, not heeding the warning about laying it down flat, and then trying to blame the TV manufacture. I can fully understand now why Microsoft has been very limited in scope when it comes to releasing public betas. Outside of all feedback, I would guess about 60% of it is garbage due to people not knowing what they are doing, but thinking the opposite. It would not surprise me at all if Microsoft did not release the RC out to the public, but to only a select cross section of testers they know will provide real feedback and not personal hang-ups related to the glow of the Start orb. The installation process is the same as it has been for most Windows installationsone OS per physical machine. It is not Microsofts position to ensure that people can dual, triple, or quad boot; most average Joe Sixpacks (the beer kind) are just going to get a new computer with the OS already installed and probably wont even know what dual boot means. For the Power Users, we know what to doand Microsoft does not limit us to how we implement the various methods of using and utilizing various operating systems.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
February 18th, 2009 9:41pm

Thack said:dj_hallucn8 said: Or if you have enough space on your drive create a partition & install Vista on one & 7 on the other, its called dual booting. This is a way to try out 7 while still having a funtional OS on the other partition without losing data.In fact, I would go one further. When moving from one version of Windows to another (including this time, going from Vista to W7 beta), I physically disconnect the original hard disk and install the new system on another hard disk.That way there is no way of ruining your existing installation. No matter what goes wrong with W7, you can always revert to your previous OS.I actually don't advocate dual booting, because you can get in a right old mess if the boot sector gets corrupted and you end up having to do a Repair installation from the setup disk. Ugh!No, I use a very handy feature of the BIOS: by default it starts at the lowest numbered SATA connector and worksupwards, looking for a bootable hard disk. The first one it finds, it boots from.So, once you've got W7 installed and you're happy with it, you can reconnect your old Vista disk, so long as it is in a higher numbered SATA connector. The BIOS boots the W7 disk, and you will then find your old Vista disk appears as another hard disk in Explorer (typically F: or G:). This is very handy, because you can copy across your data files, bookmarksand anything else you want.Indeed, should you want to revert to Vista, just swap the SATA connectors round. Vista boots and you will see your W7 disk in Explorer. Great for copying across any newly created data files.In fact, I've used this system for years. When running Vista I left my old XP installation untouched on the second disk. When I installed W7 beta, I vapourised the old XP installation and put W7 on that disk. Now my old Vista installation sits on a higher numbered SATA connector, available should I need it.ThackI was actually surprised at how simple it was to dual-boot. The hard part for me was shrinking my Vista partition because Vista refused to do it without explaining why. I threw caution to the wind and let GParted do it, and came out okay.The Windows 7 installer not only preserved the ability to boot into Vista, but did not lose my option to boot into Wubi (Ubuntu installed like a program instead of on a seperate partition). I was very impressed with how little effort it took on my part.
February 19th, 2009 12:33am

This topic is archived. No further replies will be accepted.

Other recent topics Other recent topics