Is it possible to have Vista and XP together?

Forums › Microsoft Windows › Is it possible to have Vista and XP together?

rv

71 posts

Master Geek

#49952 20-Nov-2009 19:52

Hi, i wonder if anyone could shed some light on my query. i just got a new laptop ToshibaA500/03P with vista upgradeble to windows 7.
My problem is that i use a medical softwear which does not support vista unless I upgrade my interbase lisecence - will have to buy x 3 and upgrade my server to vista- currently 2000)
All this obviously involves money.
Another option i was told is to downgrade my Vista and buy retail XP CD- which seems the cheaper way to go.
Question is..can I install XP on my vista and have x 2 OS?- that way I may be able to install my softwear under XP and use vista or windows 7 for other things.
Any help would be appreciated- considering I'm not too clever with computers
cheers

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#274825 20-Nov-2009 20:09

You could partition your hard drive and setup XP and Vista in a dual boot configuration.

How big is the hard drive in the laptop?

rv

71 posts

Master Geek

#274827 20-Nov-2009 20:17

hmm..Its 500 GB i thought it had SDD and HDD - can see drive C only and e for dvd rom ..D i assume is somewhere (excuse my ignorance!) Can u tell me how to go about doing this please

Stu

Hammered
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#274830 20-Nov-2009 20:31

If your upgrade is for Windows 7 Pro or above, you could use Windows XP Mode (free download) which runs as a virtual machine on Windows 7. I do this on a 2 year old HP notebook running Windows 7 64-bit and it works well with older software and for testing. Which medical software are you using?

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

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#274832 20-Nov-2009 20:43

what a really weird piece of software!

rv

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Master Geek

#274833 20-Nov-2009 20:47

medtech . How do i know if it is upgradeable to win 7 ?pro. i only bought it last week and understood it could be upgraded to windows 7. I think there still will be issues with interbase liscences or it has not been tested yet.
- do u have any experience with medtech?

Stu

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#274834 20-Nov-2009 20:58

Does the upgrade offer not say which version of Windows 7? Which version of Vista is installed? Yes I have customers running MedTech, but none have made the move to Windows 7. I haven't had the chance to try and run it on the virtual XP Mode yet. The software is bad enough on XP! I'll ask around and see what I can find out for you.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

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rv

71 posts

Master Geek

#274838 20-Nov-2009 21:20

Ha..ha..ha...kno what u mean bigHammer! cheers. Currently have vista home premium SP1

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rv

71 posts

Master Geek

#276394 26-Nov-2009 08:35

BigHammer: Does the upgrade offer not say which version of Windows 7? Which version of Vista is installed? Yes I have customers running MedTech, but none have made the move to Windows 7. I haven't had the chance to try and run it on the virtual XP Mode yet. The software is bad enough on XP! I'll ask around and see what I can find out for you.

Its home premium- suppose you can upgrade to professional or ultimate at a cost.
Do you think maybe windows 2000 on this vista machine?
I still need to run the old softwear- know it runs better on 2000 and as you experienced, not so good with xp and does not work with vista at all!
I think you can install x 2 OS on one machine. Any advise would be appreciated
cheers

OldRepublicJedi

53 posts

Master Geek

#279020 3-Dec-2009 13:33

The XP within Windows7 would be the simplest way around it, as there is a good chance normal XP may not even work on your new laptop. Problems I have come across with xp on newish laptops have generally been around sata controllers for the hard drives. Also, custom images on laptops can cause a lot of grief, and if there is anyway you can get a factory xp image for your laptop, that may be the best bet, but you would probaby have to pay for the xp license. Lots of options just depends on time/money/compatibility.

rv

71 posts

Master Geek

#279612 5-Dec-2009 21:00

Thanks for above. I got myself a windows 7 ultimate upgrade- was upgrading and couple of messages as below- Not sure what all these mean- is it still safe to upgrade/or if I unstall...how will I be able to install them back?...anyone???

Upgrading Windows will affect the following features:

* Windows Mail is no longer included in Windows; however your e-mail files and settings will still be available after the upgrade. To send and receive e-mail you will need to install a new e-mail program. You can get e-mail programs from other software manufacturers or from the Microsoft website.

Upgrading Windows will affect the following devices and/or programs:

These programs might not work properly after the upgrade. We recommend uninstalling these programs before upgrading. Cancel the upgrade, open Control Panel, and search for "uninstall a program". (Note: Programs marked as * can be safely reinstalled after the upgrade.)

o ATI CATALYST Install Manager *
o ATI Catalyst Control Center *
o Intel PROSet/Wireless *
o Bejeweled 2 Deluxe *

OldRepublicJedi

53 posts

Master Geek

#279723 6-Dec-2009 13:02

Windows Mail - If you dont use it and dont intend to use it, then no problem with that.

ATI - There are Windows 7 drivers etc available now so you will just need to download the latest driver from www.amd.com

Intel - Same as above, there will be wireless driver updates available from www.intel.com

Bejeweled - It should work fine stilll...

As it says, these programs "might not" work properly... but given your list dones't contain anything critical to your system that doesnt have windows 7 updates already, it should be fine :-)

rv

71 posts

Master Geek

#279731 6-Dec-2009 14:53

cheers for that :)- will try might try toshiba upgrade assistant

rv

71 posts

Master Geek

#280087 7-Dec-2009 18:56

ok..so..windows 7 ultimate upgrade went ok...works fine and i love it BUT....
....does my processor support windows virtualisation?????...NOPE!
so in the end can not have XP on this machine through win7 ultimate...alll that money and time..any ideas anyone...looks like have to get a machine with windows XP or see if i can exchange it for a processor that supports hardware assisted virtualisation. Had been a great exercise. Toshiba ppl does not seem to be much help. advised to go and get another machine - this is only couple of weeks old..Toshiba satellite A 500.
Any ideas or help would be appreciated..cheers

OldRepublicJedi

53 posts

Master Geek

#280115 7-Dec-2009 19:59

I have one suggestion.. just try medtech. If you go to where the application is installed, right click on the medtech.exe file and then go to the compatibility tab, and choose "run this program in compatibility mode for" and select windows xp (service pack 3). You might find that will work...

Stu

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#280149 7-Dec-2009 21:23

It's going to be Interbase that gives the grief I think, more than the Medtech32 software.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

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