dual boot problem

Homer · #1 April 9th, 2009, 10:54 PM

I am very close to having this running but need one more clue that i'm not finding in the forums. I have an Acer Aspire 8730 with vista x64 pre-loaded on C: It came with another partition D: for data storage and backup images. I used disk management to create a 25 gb. partition and loaded XP pro in that (automatically labeled F) I can restart and boot to vista no problem but when i try to boot xp i see the xp startup screen for about 2 seconds, then a flash of blue screen and then a restart. I have the files (ntdetect, boot.ini and ntldr) in C: \ In easyBCD 2.0 beta, when i selected F: and xp /add/save and reboot, xp doesn't load and after booting vista and looking in BCD again the drive is changed to C: and bootloader path:ntldr Does not work with C: selected either. Any Ideas???

Addendum:

In my bios and under SATA mode: if ACHI is selected then vista will boot and XP will not. If IDE is selected then XP will boot and vista will not. Does this help anybody see my problem?

Coolname007 · #2 April 9th, 2009, 11:25 PM

Originally Posted by Homer

Addendum:
In my bios and under SATA mode: if ACHI is selected then vista will boot and XP will not. If IDE is selected then XP will boot and vista will not. Does this help anybody see my problem?

Hi Homer, welcome to NST.
Yep. I had the same problem not too long ago. The solution is to download and install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager (you can Google it to find one that will work with your model) in XP, following the instructions for installing after the OS is installed, and then your problem will be fixed, and you will be able to boot into either Vista or XP with AHCI mode.

Cheers,

Jake

kairozamorro · #3 April 9th, 2009, 11:37 PM

And if the driver doesnt work for you (like it didnt for me), set the mode in your bios to ide and re-install XP and Vista.

Coolname007 · #4 April 10th, 2009, 01:04 AM

See this post.

Homer · #5 April 11th, 2009, 02:39 PM

Thanks for all help so far, it's refreshing to get answers without attitude. Tried to run matrix manager but got error message computer does not meet minimum requirements to install. Brand new computer so that's strange. (that was xp version running in xp right?) Another thing I noticed, when running vista, vista is in C: and XP shows that it is in F: .... but when running XP, vista is still in c: but XP is in D:... (D: is a data partition pre-installed with vista) ....Since both systems will work with a simple BIOS change, I don't want to go through any re-installs if there isn't a simple fix. Unrelated question, can you install a different video driver for xp and not change loaded drivers in vista? Thanks again to all...

Coolname007 · #6 April 12th, 2009, 02:52 AM

You need to find a version that will work with your model...
Do a Google search for "Intel Matrix Storage Manager <enter model here>".

As for the drive letter thing, nothing wrong with that...perfectly normal. Drive letters are something assigned by the *booted system*, and what a particular partition is called in one system has no bearing whatsoever on what it is called in another system. The booted system does not know (or care) what the other OS calls the partitions when it is booted. Therefore, it is no surprise that the drive letters are different in Vista on your computer than they are in XP.

Regards.

Terry60 · #7 April 12th, 2009, 02:56 AM

The different letters assigned to disks isn't a problem or an error Homer.
Disk labels, like "Backup" or "Vista System" you'll see in the attached example are physically written to the partition on the disk and are visible to any OS.
The disk letters G: and C: are not on the disk at all but just in the mind of the booted OS (stored in its registry).
There is absolutely no reason why 2 different OSs should see the letters the same way except if you design and plan it to be so, or if you reletter everything to match in Disk Management (those things it will let you change, not boot, system or page partitions).
Generally speaking, a system installed from a booted CD/DVD will call itself C:, a system installed from a different running system C: will call itself D:, and all the other devices/drives will be lettered in the order they're detected.

Addendum:

Hi Jake
SNAP !

Homer · #8 April 12th, 2009, 08:22 PM

I only wanted XP to run one program so I just now noticed that in device manager there are several devices not installed, one of them is sm bus controller.(others are ethernet controller, network controller, pci device and unknown device) Is that why matrix manager can't open? I may try to find xp drivers for these if I get a wild hair but since everything I need works it might be a while. It only takes a few seconds to change the bios. Thanks for all your help, I have learned much.

Coolname007 · #9 April 12th, 2009, 08:34 PM

Have you followed the instructions in my other post I linked to:

Download Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver from the Web site and extract the driver to C:\DRIVERS\WIN\IMSM.
Run Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver. To do this, go to C:\DRIVERS\WIN\IMSM\PREPARE, and double-click install.cmd.
Turn the computer off and then on again.
Start the BIOS Setup Utility menu.
Select Config.
Select Serial ATA (SATA).
Select AHCI.
Start Windows XP. The Welcome to the Found New Hardware Wizard appears.
Click No, not this time and click Next.
Select Install from a list or specific location(Advanced), then click Next.
Select Search for the best driver in these locations. Then select Include this location in the search:, specify the path, C:\DRIVERS\WIN\IMSM, and click Next. The Completing the Found New Hardware Wizard appears.
Click Finish.
When the System Settings Change window appears, click Yes. The computer restarts.

If you did, then it should work...

The missing devices in your Device Manager I highly doubt would be the cause of the IMSM not working, though of course if I were you, I would go ahead, and install those devices, just in case.

@Terry: LOL...

Homer · #10 April 13th, 2009, 05:22 PM

I had several days off to attempt the dual boot, and though I am not exactly as it could be, everything will work so I am very satisfied. Still can't get IMSM to open in XP, get message that computer does not meet minimum requirements. I have installed chipset software utility also. In vista both programs will run but never get option to put drivers anywhere, just more next buttons. So XP still won't boot in AHCI. My guess is something in my machine or bios. It is only a few weeks old so maybe the Intel drivers won't work? Thanks for your help, I'm done for now.