Thanks for your informative reply!
___
"Rock" <rock@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:ubxGn1#QHHA.3500@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> "Vic" wrote
>
> >I have plans to purchase a laptop soon. Looking at the local Staples
> >(office supply store) noticed VISTA is already coming preloaded. I
need XP
> >installed (at the very least, preferably Win98SE) for backward
> >compatibility with software.
> >
> > My questions are:
> >
> > 1. Does anybody know if XP can be installed on a PC with Vista
> > preinstalled without reformatting?
> >
> > 2. Can dual-boot be setup for an older OS (i.e. XP) if Vista is
> > preinstalled?
>
> Contact the computer manufacturer such as Dell or HP, etc, to get a
machine
> with XP pre-loaded. You can still get them.
>
> No, to install XP and have that as the only OS, you'll need to do a
clean
> install.
>
> Yes you can dual boot XP and Vista. The normal procedure is to
install the
> older OS first then the newer, but it can be done the other way
around.
> Install XP to it's own partition or drive, then use VistaBoot Pro to
restore
> the Vista boot loader. This will have entries to boot Vista or the
legacy
> OS. Choosing the Legacy OS brings you to the XP boot loader where you
can
> boot into XP.
>
> You should post to one of the Vista newsgroups if you want to do this
and
> need more help such as
> microsoft.public.windows.vista.general.
>
> --
> Rock [MVP - User/Shell]
>