Thread: Dual Boot Vista/xp Pro
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Old 05-02-2009, 10:57 PM
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The biggest problem that you have is the two different types of operating systems being 64 bit vs 32 bit.

The 32- and 64-bit editions of Windows use two files loaded at boot time to recognize Windows system files: NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM. The 32-bit Windows edition of these files only recognizes 32-bit editions of Windows—or, rather, it can only correctly boot 32-bit editions of Windows. The 64-bit boot loader can recognize 32- and 64-bit editions of Windows.

As a result, if you install the 64-bit edition on a given system and then install the 32-bit edition in such a way that the boot files are replaced, you'll no longer be able to boot to 64-bit Windows unless the boot files are repaired. This can be done from the 64-bit Recovery Console with the FIXBOOT and FIXMBR commands.



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