Upgrade to XP 64 Prof from XP 32 Prof, Dual boot

[JonK]

I have a system that currently is hosting Win XP 32 Prof, Vista 64 Ultimate,
and a RC of Win 7 64 Ultimate. I want to upgrade the Win XP partition to Win
XP 64 Prof. now. I remember when I first set up this multibooting PC that it
was important to install the XP partition first before the Vista partition.
Do I have a problem now that I want to upgrade the XP to 64 bit and already
have a working Vista partition? The Vista partition is my working partition,
has my day to day working programs and data.

Thanks for any advice,
Jon

[Shenan Stanley]

You are calling it an 'upgrade' - so I just wanted to chime in and make sure
you understand that it isn't really an upgrade (a change in architecture,
really - and one that actually will likely put more limites on it than
anything else being the 64-bit of Windows XP and not a newer OS) nor will it
remotely act like an in-place upgrade - it will be a clean installation of
Windows XP x64.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

[JonK]

Hi Shenan,

Yes I realize it will be a clean installation and not the upgrade in place.
What I am concerned about is the effect it may have on the dual or multi-boot
process. When Vista came out and you wanted a dual boot with XP you needed to
have XP installed before Vista. Well now I have this machine with XP, Vista
and 7 on it. I want to replace the XP with 64 bit and I want to know if this
will cause any problems with the multi boot process when I am done.

Thanks,
Jon

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> .
>

[John John - MVP]

Install Windows XP x64 and then after you are done repair the Windows 7
boot environment: x:\boot\Bootsect.exe /NT60 All

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529
Windows no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the
Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration

After you repair the Windows 7 boot environment you just need to add the
Windows XP x64 installation to the BCD store, you can use the Windows 7
bcdedit.exe tool for this or you can use an more user friendly third
party tool like EasyBCD: http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1

John

[JonK]

Thanks John for the advice.

> .
>

[John John - MVP]

You're welcome.

John