Please help me with my Sony VAIO FE53
 

Wow! I'll try this guide for dual-boot. Thanks!
But I still have problems.

I recently bought my SONY VAIO VGN-FE53. However, it is pre-installed with Vista and it is in Japanese. I want to install Windows XP (English) in it. But I hear news that I need additional drivers so as to make such thing work.

I really need help on this matter. Can somebody help me? Please tell me what to do. Thanks in advance.

you can also mail me here.

abyssinian_x@yahoo.com

thanks, any help would be appreciated. *cries*

Worked like a charm-
 

Thanks for article and step by step- Worked perfect!

Always, good to hear :)


It could be as simple as hard drive drivers.
Where did you hear this?
Can you link me to the specs of your comp, or post them here?

hi mr wilson ive been trying to install winxp on my usb drive connected to my labtop it was a in desck top it has all my data on and i want run xp with destroying vista i got all the way to where u have to perform recovery options. i thought the xp installation change my files but i found what rellied happend when i found your tutorial. the problem i have now is i cant get the ntldr to point to my xp os on my drive. i tried putting the drive letter in path options of bcdedit but the bootloader cant find my xp partion.

Im using vista home on a toshiba satelite. my ide hard drive is in a maddog ide to usb enclosure. thx

Cant boot XP
 

I used this Tutorial to Dual boot Vista and XP Pro. It worked great. I had to reinstall Vista and I got the Boot menu back by editing boot.ini. Now when I try to boot XP I get an error. How do I fix this? How can I repair XP boot?

specs
 

here are my specs...

1.Operating System
Windows Vista Home Premium (build 6000)


2.Processor
1.67 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache

3.Main Circuit Board
Bus Clock: 167 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies LTD R0200J3 02/05/2007

4.System Model
Sony Corporation VGN-FE53B_W C3LPPKY8
Enclosure Type: Notebook

5.Drives

92.03 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
70.28 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K17 ATA Device [CD-ROM drive]

MemoryStick0 Device [Hard drive] -- drive 1
TOSHIBA MK1034GSX [Hard drive] (100.03 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 77LXF5ZDS, rev AH201A, SMART Status: Healthy

6.Memory Modules

1014 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'SODIMM1' has 512 MB
Slot 'SODIMM2' has 512 MB

7.Local Drive Volumes


c: (NTFS on drive 0) 92.03 GB 70.28 GB free


8.Printers

Microsoft Office Document Image Writer Driver on Microsoft Document Imaging Writer Port:
Microsoft XPS Document Writer on XPSPort:


8.Controllers

ATA Channel 0 [Controller] (2x)
ATA Channel 1 [Controller]
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 27DF
Intel(R) 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7-M Family) Serial ATA Storage Controller - 27C4


9.Display

Mobile Intel(R) 945GM Express Chipset Family [Display adapter] (2x)
汎用 PnP モニタ [Monitor]



10.Bus Adapters

Texas Instruments PCI-8x12/7x12/6x12 CardBus Controller
Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27C8
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27C9
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27CA
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27CB
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 27CC



11.Multimedia

SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC


12.Communications

HDAUDIO SoftV92 Data Fax Modem with SmartCP
標準 33600 bps モデム [Modem]
標準 33600 bps モデム #2 [Modem]


13.Bluetooth Personal Area Network
Dhcp Server: none responded
Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection
Dhcp Server: none responded
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
Dhcp Server: none responded
Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface




14.Other Devices

Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
Microsoft AC Adapter
Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery
Bluetooth RFBNEP
Bluetooth RFBUS
Bluetooth RFCOMM
Bluetooth RFHID
Bluetooth USB Controller (ALPS/UGPZ6)
FeliCa Port/PaSoRi
HID 準拠コンシューマ制御デバイス
HID 準拠デバイス (2x)
Sony Firmware Extension Parser Device
USB ヒューマン インターフェイス デバイス (3x)
Sony Visual Communication Camera VGP-VCC4
101/102 英語キーボードまたは Microsoft Natural PS/2 キーボード [Keyboard]
HID キーボード デバイス [Keyboard]
Alps Pointing-device for VAIO [Mouse]
HID 準拠マウス [Mouse]
Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Integrated FlashMedia Controller
USB ルート ハブ (5x)
USB 複合デバイス (2x)
汎用 USB ハブ
汎用ボリューム シャドウ コピー
Microsoft WPD FileSystem Volume Driver

==
Whew so far that's all for the specs.　Ｉ hope you can help me on these matters.

*Sigh*

thanks in advance!

fixboot
 

Hi William,

Thanks for such a nice tutorial. However, I'm stuck on Step 3. Typing in Bootrec.exe /fixMBR in the Command Prompt will prompt the successful operation message. But when I do the next line '/fixBoot' it gives me an error message stating that "The Volume does not contain a recognizable file system."

Please suggest what to do.
thanks
Mike

XP Disc having problem finding Vista created partition
 

Hi William,

Thanks for the great step-by-step instruction. I tried the shrink function from Vista Ultimate and created a new partition, but when I tried to boot from XP Disc, it was unable to see my newly created partition, but is able to see my C Drive (Vista) partition. :confused:

Thanks in advance.

I will need to know what the error is :)

If you register with the site it will be easier to help you, using your username.

hitman88

is it a sata drive?

Also you can try loading your vista disc and formatting the partition that way. This is a continual problem, but each solution seems to be different. I have a few specs of comps which have created this problem and I will be using a VM to try and re-create the issues, but so far no luck.
Another options is using fdisk on a floppy and seeing if it can detect your partitions.

Sadly most often this is a boot sector error. They can be fixed most of the time, it is basically a corrupted sector, which hopefully can be restored.

A program called DiskPatch may just do the trick.

Your hard drive is SATA, and this is the only place you may need extra drivers. If your motherboard came with a cd they should be on there, or you can check the Toshiba website. The easiest way to find out is to put the windows XP cd in your drive and restart your computer. If the installed finds your hard drive, format windows and re-install you are good to go. If it does not, there is an option to load 3rd party drivers while booting, and this is where you would use the other drivers from a cd.

To protect any data on your drive, try the following tutorial:
http://www.syschat.com/clean-install...-data-564.html

windows is difficult to run on a usb device, often there is no registry. Linux is a special breed of OS which should not be compared to Windows.

Thanks William for your quick reply. Yes, it is a SATA drive that came with my toshiba laptop p105-9339. i'll try using fdisk to see if it'll work.

Thanks.

Creating dual boot
 

Thank you - although I'm a bit frightened to do this on my brand new computer, I have some embroidery machine digitizing software that cost $1500 a few years ago. It's not Vista compatible and won't be without a $400 upgrade kit.

I am going to have to create this dual boot - wish me luck!! - Susanna

Issue with Vista
 

I'm trying to shrink my hard drive to create another partition to install XP on, but when I go into disk management, and click shrink, I get a message that shows only 76MB availalbe for another partition. I still have nearly 30GB free on my hard drive, and only need 8-10GB for what I want to use XP for.

Thanks for any help.

Similar Problem
 

I also had the error of windows xp not recognizing my partition with a sata drive. I tried using both a formatted and unformatting partition as well as creating the partition using the vista program and creating it through the dos prompt as well with no luck. The odd thing to me is that xp thinks that my drive is only 131gb (someone else mentioned this as well) when it is actually 300. My system is custom built with an asus P5N-sli motherboard.

Well I finally got so frustrated that I just wiped my hd and installed xp first. I am still in the process of updating xp fully before I install vista and had a question concerning software and games. Say I install office while using the vista partition but I want to use office as well when using the xp one. Are there any rules you must follow? I know some programs can be copied from one computer to another and run fine without any formal installation, while others will fail unless they went through the installation process. I would like to only have to have 1 installation of office if possible installed on either a separate partion or drive. I appreciate any help with this matter.

for the most part it will not work unless you install on both partitions. If the registry is involved (as with all games) it should not work. There are a few exceptions if you go back a few years, but very few.

Sorry you will have to install the software on both OS.



I will answer the rest of the questions in about 12 hours... for now I must go to work.

found the problem
 

I have found the problem and solution to my problem. My XP wasn't able to read partition that I've newly created. The reason is that XP can't read big hdd. Then I tried XP SP-2, it was able to see my partition. Currently, I've got my XP installed on the 2nd partition and I'm searching for drivers from my toshiba laptop. Just want to spread my finding and share the solution.:icon_wink:

right!! The easy solution, I always forget that some people have XP without SP2.

I will ammend this problem with another tutorial, if I find time, i will do it this weekend. Showing paths to solve the most common issues.

another problem
 

i have xp installed on my 2nd partition with drivers and all. then i went on to recovery my vista, installed EasyBCD 1.7, added Windows XP as another booting choice. Restarted, chose Windows XP, but XP failed to load!!! :(, saying something like file system corrupted or missing from \NTLD ?? My Vista still works fine though. Please help

Can't install XP
 

I created the 4g partition just fine. I'm using an XP Restore disk from a long gone laptop, it works just fine, its an SP1. But it does nothing on the Toshiba, the choice to install XP is greyed out.

I'm thinking the Vista operating system is interfering?

William, this is a great thread, but one question keeps cropping up where there does not appear to be an answer yet, unless I've missed it !!
I refer to the use of the Vista install disc & Repair. Does it need a full Vista disc or will it work with the Recovery Disc that most manufacturers supply with new PCs ?
Also has anyone had success with a Recovery Disc or similar ?

More problems
 

Ok, so after giving up on installing XP on Vista I went about trying to install XP first, and then Vista as I've read from different sources that it just works easier that way.

So I install XP, run through some updates, and install some drivers and notice that the first time I booted without the disk in the drive I got a "NTLDR is missing" error. I sort of ignored this error since it would boot fine with the CD in and thought that maybe when I installed Vista it would fix it.

Well I install Vista and get the same "NTLDR is missing" error. I've run repair from both CD's. I've used fixMBR, and fixBOOT. I've used /copy to copy a new ntldr and ntdetect.com file. In the process I've learned way more about how a computer boots up than I've ever wanted to know. I rewrote my boot.ini file in XP only to find that it was a moot point since Vista takes over with Windows Boot Manager after the ntldr error is avoided by having the CD in. I've used bcdedit to both screw up and then fix the xp bootable option (that was fun).

Long story short, everything works perfectly so long as either my Vista or XP CD is in when I start up. Otherwise I get the NTLDR error. I've read every help guild I could find and either I'm doing something wrong or they didn't work. I'm thinking it could be a partition error. I have 3 partitions: the first is my XP partition, second is my Vista partition, and third is just file storage. My XP and Vista partition are primary partitions and the 3rd one is a logical partition. Since NTLDR doesn't exist in Vista whatever is causing the error I'm pretty sure is on the XP side, but as I've said, I've been unable to isolate it. I appreciate any help you could offer.

BSOD during the XP installation?
 

Hello, and thank you for your tutorial. It is very well explained, but I have a couple of errors.

When I try to format the new space from shrinking my main partition, it becomes an Extended Partition Logical Drive instead of a Primary Partition. How do I fix this?

Here is my disk manager setup:

0 - (Hidden) - EISA Configuration
2 - My Book (E: ) - Primary Partition (this is a external USB hdd)
0 - OS (C: ) - System, Boot, Page File, Active, Crash Dump, Primary Partition -
0 - RECOVERY (D: ) - Primary Partition
0 - Unallocated 17.09 GB
5 - Flashdrive (L: ) - Active, Primary Partition

My second error occurred when proceeding to install Windows XP Pro with leaving the partition I plan to install it on unformatted.

The initial CD loading its files works fine until it says it's preparing to load Windows XP, shortly after I get a BSOD. The BSOD says something to the effect of "check your computer for viruses, remove any newly-installed hard drives, run check disk on F (it was either F or L, I can't remember)"

I'm going to try running the installation without the L: Flash drive in now, but if that doesn't work I'd appreciate an answer, even if you don't know what the problem is.

Thanks

Edit: Nevermind, it was CHKDSK /F, not on F.

Cd
 

If you don't have a vista disk you can use the upgrade CD to boot from and repair the bootmanager.

At this stage, vista cannot interfere. XP restore disks do not always allow for installation, or have all the features associated with a regular disc.

A good question, one which i do not have the answer to at this time. I will do some research, and try and get my hands on a recovery disc and attempt the process myself.
If when you load the disc there is an option to repair boot and for a dos prompt it should be. Enter the dos prompt and type bcedit.exe without any tags, if it is available then it will prompt you with either to press help, or the help page itself. If this happens, then yes, it works.

I have not used an upgrade CD as of yet either. If you follow the steps in post above, it will not alter any files on your computer, but simply test that the options for recovering a boot manager is available.

This is often a mistake in the step where XP is added to vista. Could you post the partition label vista is on, and your bcdedit file from in vista?

I am going to ask the same thing from you:
Could you post the partition label vista is on, and your bcdedit (boot.ini) file from in vista?

The xp formatting tool has a limit to the number of primary partitions it will create and it looks as though you may have reached that, as you have at least 3. Try without your usb drive attached, this can cause issues on installations.
What is this: 0 - (Hidden) - EISA Configuration
Where did you buy your laptop?
Also why do you have a usb primary partition?

If you can't create a new primary partition you cannot install windows.

Thank you for your time.

My computer is a Dell XPS 410.

I don't know why the USB HDD is a primary partition, it is plug and play so I just plugged it in and didn't configure anything with it. I have tried installing without the Flashdrive in, but I will try it without the USB disk now.

Is the total of 3 primary partitions throughout the entire computer or just in seperate discs, because I have two on disk 0 and the USB HDD is disk 2.

And I don't know what the hidden EISA Configuration is. It doesn't have a name in the disk management, and in DISKPART it is simply titled "(Hidden)".

EDIT: I have succeeded in making a primary partition titled "XP" on disk 0 using DISKPART, so I am going to attempt the installation again, without the USB HDD and Flashdrive.

EDIT2: Still BSODs, but I have an idea. In my desktop's BIOS there is an option for the HDD to be in Performance, Suggested, or Quiet mode. I'm thinking that maybe XP doesn't recognize the performance mode? I'll change it to bypass those options and try it again.

solution found to ntldr problem
 

first of all, i would like to thank William again for his step-by-step guide. i have finally be able to dual boot Vista Ultimate and XP SP2. here is the url to resolve your ntldr problem: How To: Edit the Windows Vista Boot Menu Options – BCDEDIT.
look for swoopy2's post. make sure you run command prompt as Admin, go to folder boot on your c drive, then follow his commands. after that, use your easybcd application to edit the list again and save the settings. reboot your system, everything should work. good luck to you all and thanks again to William.

i see, he simply sets the boot device option as well. This shouldn't be necessary, but aparently on some systems it is.

The ammendment to match my instructions would be as follows:
bcdedit –set {ntldr} device partition=C:
bcdedit –set {ntldr} device boot
bcdedit –set {ntldr} path \ntldr
bcdedit –displayorder {ntldr} –addlast

My partions are set up as such:

Disk 1
C: (XP Partition) - Primary Partition
D: (Vista Partition) - Primary Partition
G: (Extra) - Logical Partition

Disk 2
H: (Backup) - Logical Partition

I have noticed though that when I boot into Vista my Vista partition is listed as being the C drive and XP is listed as the D drive, but I assume that only has something to do with the fact that I booted into Vista. When I boot into XP it looks as listed above.

My bcdedit.exe looks like this:

Windows Boot Manager
___________________
identifier________________ {bootmgr}
device _________________ partition=D:
description______________ Windows Boot Manager
locale __________________ en-US
inherit _________________ {globalsettings}
default _________________ {current}
displayorder_____________ {current}
_______________________{ntldr}
toolsdisplayorder ________ {memdiag}
timeout ________________ 30

Windows Boot Loader
__________________
identifier _______________ {current}
device _________________ partition=C:
path __________________ \Windows\syste32\winload.exe
description _____________ Microsoft Windows Vista
locale _________________ en-US
inherit _________________ {bootlodersettings}
osdevice _______________ patition=C:
systemroot ____________ \Windows
resumeobject ___________ {cf5c333b-5d4c-11dc-9ea2-ebe1296eeddc}
nx ____________________ OptIN

Windows Legacy OS Loader
_______________________
identifier ________________ {ntldr}
device _________________ partition=D:
path ___________________ \ntldr
description _____________ Microsoft Windows XP


When I first edited this file I had put XP to boot from partition C:, but this caused XP to not be bootable from the startup options. When I noticed that Windows Explorer listed my XP partition as D: while booted into Vista I changed my boot.ini file to reflect this and was then again able to dual boot. The only problem I'm getting is the NTLDR missing error and even that goes away if I have a system disk in my CD drive. Hope this information is useful.

"No HardDisk drives found" error (blue screen)
 

I hav a compaq C571NR Notebook with Vista installed on C drive & a recovery Drive D.However i hav followed yor Step 1-'Partition the Drive' & made a new partition E for XP (im using a XP Prof Sp2 bootable Cd)
Now when i boot from Cd i get 3 options namely : ENTER (to install XP) , R (repair XP) & Cancel.Next,on pressing Enter i get another blue screen that gives this error :
"Setup did not find any Hardisk Drives installed.Make sure any drives r powered on & properly connected & that any disk related configuration is correct."
i read the previous posts wherin i encountered ppl with a similar problem & somone suggested "slipstreaming" but i tried doin that(gave the same error) though i alrdy hav the XP bootable Cd with SP2...

hope it works for me
 

i am doing this for my boss in the morning hope it works

This is odd, if you installed XP first, then Vista, this should definatly be reading C:
when you installed XP were there multiple partitions? and did you install to the first partition?
Although a long process, I would suggest running the Vista boot fixing again, which "should" attempt to put it on C:, check if at least Vista is avaible without the cd. If not run the xp boot manager/fix, and Vista again... hopefully that will load the MBR files into the first sectors of the drive.

Odds are the drive is SATA, in this situation, since you are using SP2, it should be a simple fix. Go to your bios: F8, delete or some other key while booting.
check that your SATA drive is labeled -0 and is set to ON. Then change the SATA operation to "Combination" which should allow the boot to find your drive. If this does not work, you will need to press F6 during your startup of setup and install your SATA drivers. They often come on floppies, so hopefully you still have them.
*If you get XP installed correctly, remember to change the SATA operation back to the default afterwards.