extra partition?

[c ryan]

I want to install XP to dual boot on my Vista machine, but there are already 3 primary partitions. One is only 2.5 GB and it looks like it is empty fro mthe disk manager, I don't know why its there, but i was gonna get rid of it. Do you think thats safe to do?

[mjc]

That could be your 'restore' partition.

Did your machine come with a set of disks or do you have to make a set from a partition?

[Paul Komski]

What make/model of PC. Many Dells, for example, come with a diagnostic partition, an OS partition, a factory restore partition and/or a backup partition in a number of combinations and also depending on the version of Vista and even with some shipping with a WinXP downgrade option. There is no straightforward answer.

Dual-booting with Vista on the same hard drive can certainly be done but there a number of "gotchas" and specific problems and a lot depends on what OS or program did any partitioning. With Destop systems I would tend to go with a second HDD if you want to make things simple.

Another pretty failsafe approach (if you have valid installation CDs for both OSes) is to first backup all partitions (AND A COPY OF THE MBR) as image files onto an external HDD or DVD(s). Then wipe the HDD and first install WinXP and let it setup any additional partitions. Then add Vista, which will create the dual boot menu that you need. [Ensure you have all necessary drivers for both OSes available in advance].

For even more manual control over partitioning use BiNG (in my sig) or GParted Live CD to do the partitioning rather than either Vista or XP's disk management.

[c ryan]

That could be your 'restore' partition.

Did your machine come with a set of disks or do you have to make a set from a partition?

no the restore one is separate. not sure what u mean by the second question, I have 1 HDD if thats what you mean. Its a laptop so I can't add another

[c ryan]

@ paul
hmm i didn't know it would be that complicated, maybe I'll try it next time I need to restore vista anyways. it is a dell, but there are already partitions for restore and diagnostic, so I have no idea what that other partition is, maybe I'd better just leave it alone.

[Paul Komski]

The 2.5 gig partition is almost certainly your factory restore partition. A function usually invoked by the key combination CTRL + F11 during startup and during the time that the Dell Logo in white shows at the top of the screen. This is controlled from an OEM MBR such that if the MBR boot code is altered you will lose this abiltiy to do a factory restore and have to fall back on the Vista DVD. Goodells has very good info on this (http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/).

If the third partition is NTFS or FAT and intended to be used for backup files and folders and its contents are visible from Windows then as long as there is enough space in it there is nothing to stop you installing WinXP directly into it. It may even be possible for Vista to shrink this partition and to create a new partition at the end of the drive and which you could quick format as NTFS from Vista's disk management in preparation for a WinXP install.

If the potential to do a factory restore is important to you then backup the MBR before you start any messing (http://paulski.com/zpages.php?id=1918) because using the Goodells approach to rebuild the original MBR is technically challenging - though it is do-able.

If you can create a partition in readiness for WinXP using Vista or BiNG or similar then make sure you also have a copy or can download a copy of VistaBootPro (http://www.vistabootpro.org/) after you have installed WinXP.

Installing XP will alter the mbr code (hence the need for a backup if the factory restore option needs to be retained) and temporarily lose the option to boot up Vista. If you install XP successfully (and ensure you dont attempt to install it into the same partition that holds the Vista Windows folder) you can then run VistaBootPro to rebuild the correct dual boot menu so that you can re-access Vista and choose between Vista and XP.

If installing WinXP don't let its disk management do any partitioning/formatting during setup. Just use an existing file system.