Install Vista bootmgr on XP machine

[PC eye]

That's because you are not running VIsta in order to see the XP entry added in correctly. The advice earlier to setup a temp install on a second drive/partition and setting XP as the default OS would likely be the resolve you need there.

[TechPro]

I GOT IT, thanks to the wiki on this site and a few pointers from your posts.

Thanks for the help.

[kairozamorro]

Originally Posted by PC eye

You would want XP set as the default so the BCD doesn't default to Vista.

PC eye, the whole point is getting rid of Vista as outlined in the steps I provided after getting the bootmgr setup. Now what part of Vista would be booted if I told him to delete the Vista entry and its partition. None from my calculations...

Originally Posted by PC eye

The problem will be restoring the XP mbr or boot files in the event one gets knocked out. The repair needed from the recovery console will automatically null the other.

Whats that haft to do with anything? That's just stating the obvious... Haven't you heard of mbrwizard? Great little tool for situations like that.

Now TechPro, the answer here is that it is not really doable without a Vista installation. Sure it could probably be done, but for that you'll need a computer you "can install" vista on and you would need to find someway to configure the bcd store correctly for the target computer, copy over the correct files to the correct locations, and get the mbr there up to snuff with the correct boot code.