Can I add Windows Vista (dual boot) to an existing XP system?

Ok, I've never had a dual boot setup before and I'm thinking about trying it out. Although I would prefer to just stick with WindowsXP for now, the fact that it doesn't support DirectX 10 is preventing me from seeing some of my games in their fullest glory.

My question is this, would I have to reformat my system from scratch to do this, or can I just add Vista to my existing setup?

I assume that this would require a seperate partition right? My hard drive has 2 partitions with nothing on the 2nd partition.

You could install Vista on the second partition, however for better performance it's recommended to install it into first primary partition on separate hard disk.

For more instructions see page 53-54 in Vista TGTC guide:
http://www.tweakguides.com/TGTC.html

I've never bothered with any of Microsoft's duel-boot configurations, myself. Just get a second hard drive, maybe a small one just for Vista, and install it on that. Then whenever you want to boot to it, go into your bios setup (delete key) and make it the boot drive.

Originally Posted by Squeek
I've never bothered with any of Microsoft's duel-boot configurations, myself. Just get a second hard drive, maybe a small one just for Vista, and install it on that. Then whenever you want to boot to it, go into your bios setup (delete key) and make it the boot drive.

Good idea, and very simple to do. I bet most people have never even thought of that, I know I didn't.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Good idea, and very simple to do. I bet most people have never even thought of that, I know I didn't.

I never think of it because I use laptops

Originally Posted by Squeek
I've never bothered with any of Microsoft's duel-boot configurations, myself. Just get a second hard drive, maybe a small one just for Vista, and install it on that. Then whenever you want to boot to it, go into your bios setup (delete key) and make it the boot drive.

Many boards support pressing F8 at boot which will show a list of bootable devices. A bit less hazzle than having to enter the bios setup.

Originally Posted by JDR13
My question is this, would I have to reformat my system from scratch to do this, or can I just add Vista to my existing setup?

There's no need to waste money on a second HDD. Just install Vista on the empty/disposable partition and you're set. Vista will detect the WinXP install and give you the choice of booting from Vista or XP every boot, with a choice for how long to wait before it boots the default OS.