triple boot win7, xp and ubuntu

alexix

Member
hallo everyone..
i have right now this situation,
hd 1 with 3 partitions, the first one with xp, the second with win7, and the last one for data,
hd 2 with 2 partitions, the first with ubuntu, the second for data,
actualy i have easybcd installed for booting, but in this way win7 isn't hidden when i boot xp, and i also would like to hide xp from win7..
I know already that the best way it will be to reinstall win 7, making the xp partition hidden.
But than what i have to do after?
I have to use easybcd or Vista HnS?
thank you for the help..:lup:
 
Run HnS from Windows 7 and everything should be fine. If XP continues to show up in W7 you can customize the menu.lst to hide it. Keep in mind though that you'll have a two menu boot process for W7/Ubuntu, where XP should boot immediately after you've selected it.
 
great
thank you of the quickly answer..
but i have still a question..
Because xp it is the first partition, and it will be hidden during the installation process, than before i use HnS in win 7, i have to make it unhide? or i can let it hidden and when i run HnS it will find anyway the hidden partition with xp?
Because if i have to make it unhide (of course all those operations i will make using ubuntu and gparted :evil:smile:, then when i will boot again i will boot into xp, because it is first partion of the disk? It is correct what i m saying? Because it is the first time that i do something like that..
thank you for your patience..
 
Don't worry about hiding anything during OS installation, only after everythings in place do you want to run HnS. The partition your computer boots from is the primary partition that is "active" and/or appears as "system" in W7's disk management.
 
Another question..
I can add an entry for ubuntu 10.04?
And eventualy how?
Also where i will find the menu.lst?
Thank you again..
 
I use Ubuntu 10.4 which has been progressively upgraded from 8.04, so it's still using grub, not grub2 like a new install.
I'm not sure how HnS will handle a chain to grub2 (or if it does). It was written a long time before grub2 existed.

If you use HnS, don't hide anything yourself.
HnS hides/unhides things dynamically at boot time.
Its logic can handle the hiding of the "system" partition. (It makes multiple copies of the boot files and "makeactive" to boot from whichever partition isn't hidden)
 
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great
thank you of the quickly answer..
but i have still a question..
Because xp it is the first partition, and it will be hidden during the installation process, than before i use HnS in win 7, i have to make it unhide?
Yes, if you want to install W7 with XP's partition hidden, then you will need to unhide the XP partition before running the HnS UI.
And, the reason hiding the XP partition in the first place is useful, is so W7 will see itself as C: when you install it with its partition set to "active". If you install it with XP not hidden, and W7's partition not set to "active", W7 will see XP, and add itself using the next drive letter available which wont be C.
Installing it so that both OSes see themselves as C gives one the advantage of being able to install certain software which will install to C without giving you the choice of where to install it.
or i can let it hidden and when i run HnS it will find anyway the hidden partition with xp?
No, the HnS UI will not see any partition that is already hidden with a partition manager. You will need to unhide it first.
Because if i have to make it unhide (of course all those operations i will make using ubuntu and gparted :evil:smile:, then when i will boot again i will boot into xp, because it is first partion of the disk? It is correct what i m saying? Because it is the first time that i do something like that..
thank you for your patience..
No, when you first unhide XP, your computer should boot straight into W7 since W7 is active. You can then run HnS in W7 to configure a multiboot configuration which will hide W7 from XP when XP is booted.
 
thank you for your answer Coolname007..
I have a question about the new easyBCD 2.0.2.. (i m still using the 2.0 beta version),
It is also able to hide/unhide partition?
or still we have to use Vista HnS?:tongueout:oint:
Thank you for the answer in advance
 
Not having personally tested this new version yet, I can't really say for certain, but it says on the download page that one of the new features is to "hide drives on boot", so its quite possible that CG added that feature recently to EasyBCD.
But you'll need a confirmation from one of the other regulars on here (i.e. Terry, Justin, or Computer Guru himself), who have probably already personally tested it.
 
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Not sure where you read that Jake, but no hide/unhide facilities in EasyBCD.
(remember it's not a bootloader Alexix, it just configures the MS bootmgr/BCD. Bootmgr doesn't have that facility)
HnS is a bootmgr. It uses a customized grub. It's grub doing the hides.
 
Not sure where you read that Jake, but no hide/unhide facilities in EasyBCD.
(remember it's not a bootloader Alexix, it just configures the MS bootmgr/BCD. Bootmgr doesn't have that facility)
HnS is a bootmgr. It uses a customized grub. It's grub doing the hides.
Yeah, I know bootmgr doesn't have that capability, but I was thinking maybe the hiding/unhiding feature mentioned was some "in-between" bootloader which CG somehow inserted into the boot process, which maybe the PBR could chainload, and then it would chainload the bootmgr, after first hiding/unhiding specified partitions. Heck, since I've been gone for so long from these forums, I figured that Guru probably would have added all kinds of new features by now, so I figured it wasn't impossible. :brows: All he basically would have had to do to make that work is add what HnS does (i.e. rename real bootmgr, install a disguised grub named bootmgr in its place, which then can do hiding/unhiding, and chainloading of the real and renamed bootmgr) to EasyBCD.

As for where I read it, its at this link. Scroll down the page, to where it gives a bulleted list of features which the new version of EasyBCD offers, and after the last bullet it states the following:

  • Create your own custom boot sequence, hide drives on boot, backup and restore configurations, and more!
 
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