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Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 140 • 2008-02-14 • Circulation: over 275,000 |
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Contents TOP STORY: Make your computer dual-boot Vista and XP KNOWN ISSUES: Labs provide alternatives in evaluating suites WACKY WEB WEEK: Suffering the slings of Cupid's arrow LANGALIST PLUS: Task Scheduler tricks help you save time PC TUNE-UP: A few jolts to increase your desktop performance PATCH WATCH: Instead of roses, send a dozen patches today YOUR SUBSCRIPTION: How to change your address or unsubscribe |
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For links to every topic in this issue, scroll down to the
Index |
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TOP STORY Make your computer dual-boot Vista and XP
Add an XP option to your new Vista system If a new computer arrived in your recent past, or you plan to buy one in the near future, chances are it will come with Windows Vista installed. Although some manufacturers still give you the option of getting XP on your new system, that option is likely to dry up for most consumers later this year when Microsoft stops selling Windows XP. If you're not ready to dive into Vista all at once, there is an answer: set up your Vista computer to dual-boot between Vista and XP. In this article, I'll tell you how to make your PC give you a choice between Vista and XP every time you start up. In a separate article coming soon, I'll give you some additional tips that save disk space on a dual-boot system. Although some sources, such as Computer Shopper Magazine, advise that you need an add-on product like VistaBootPro to dual-boot, you can accomplish the same thing without any additional software other than the two operating systems. Before starting, make sure you have your Windows XP install discs ready as well as your Windows Vista DVD. In addition, it's a good idea to make a complete system backup before beginning an operation like this. Once you've laid that groundwork, you're ready to go to work: Step 1. In Vista, click Start, type diskmgmt.msc, and press Enter. Click Continue if prompted by User Account Control. Step 2. Right-click a drive and choose Shrink Volume. Specify the amount to shrink, which in this case is the amount you want for your XP partition. At a minimum, you'll need around 2.5GB for XP Pro SP2. I suggest you select a larger partition to leave room for updates and other files that may need to be on the same drive as XP. Because I wanted a 5GB partition, I typed 5000 (representing 5,000 megabytes) in the available box. Click Shrink. Step 3. Right-click the newly available area and choose New Simple Volume. Follow the steps in the wizard to assign a drive letter now, or wait until the next step. When prompted, check Perform a quick format to format the volume with NTFS. Step 4. When the wizard is done formatting the new volume, you can assign or rearrange drive letters as needed. For example, changing drive letters may also put your CD/DVD drive in a more logical order. To do that, right-click a volume or the CD/DVD drive and choose Change Drive Letters and Paths. If a volume hasn't got a drive letter yet, click Add. Otherwise, select the drive icon in the dialog box and click Change. If you're rearranging the letters on existing drives, you may need to change the drives in a particular order. Or you may need to give a drive a temporary letter (such as Z) to free up a letter for another drive; you would change the Z drive to something else later. Make your selection and click OK. Repeat for other partitions or drives until you have the order you want. Step 5. When you're done with your partitioning chores, exit Disk Management. Insert your XP disc into the drive and restart your system, booting from that disk. Step 6. Follow the steps to install XP. When asked for the target drive, select your new partition and press Enter. Because you already formatted this partition with NTFS, you can skip the formatting step. At the appropriate screen, arrow down to Leave the current file system intact (no changes) and press Enter. Continue the installation process until it's finished and XP has started. Step 7. Your system now boots to XP, so we'll need to do some fixing to set up a boot menu. Insert your Vista DVD and restart the computer from it. Click Next in the first screen. Step 8. Don't click Install when prompted! Instead, click Repair Your Computer in the lower-left corner. Step 9. When the System Recovery Options dialog appears, make sure Microsoft Windows Vista is selected and click Next. In the next dialog box, select the Command Prompt option at the bottom. Step 10. In the command-prompt window, type the following commands and press Enter after each one: bootrec.exe /fixMBR bootrec.exe /fixBoot Step 11. Close the command prompt and click Restart. Step 12. When your computer has booted into Vista, click Start, type cmd.exe, and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to make the command window open with elevated privileges. Click Continue, if prompted by User Account Control. Step 13. Type the following commands in the command window, one at at time, pressing Enter after each one. After each command, you should get the response, "The operation completed successfully." A response of, "The specified entry already exists," is OK, too. If not, retype your command to make sure you've entered it correctly. If Vista is installed on a drive other than c:, change the first command below to use the proper drive letter. The curly braces around {ntldr} in each command must be typed exactly as shown: bcdedit -set {ntldr} device partition=C: bcdedit -set {ntldr} path \ntldr bcdedit -displayorder {ntldr} -addlast bcdedit -set {ntldr} description "Microsoft Windows XP" That's it! The next time you restart your system, you should be see a prompt that will let you choose between Vista or XP. Select the one you want and press Enter.
How to customize your boot menu When you start your dual-boot system, the menu will appear for a few seconds. If you don't press any keys, eventually Windows Vista will start. Fortunately, you can change this if you don't want Vista to be your default operating system. You can also customize the waiting period before the default kicks in. Here's what to do: Step 1. Click Start. Type systempropertiesadvanced and press Enter. Click Continue, if prompted by User Account Control. Step 2. Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. Step 3. At the top of the dialog box, select the operating system you want to start by default. Step 4. In the box to the right of Time to display list of operating systems, specify the number of seconds for the options to stay on screen. Click OK. Microsoft provides documentation of Vista's bcdedit command and its parameters in an article in the Windows Vista Technical Library. Having two operating systems on the same computer definitely takes a little extra disk space. In a future column, I'll show you some ways to make the two operating systems share some common resources to save on storage. Have a tip? Readers receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of their choice for sending comments we print. Send us your tips via the Windows Secrets contact page. Scott Dunn is associate editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He has been a contributing editor of PC World since 1992 and currently writes for the Here's How section of that magazine. |
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KNOWN ISSUES Labs provide alternatives in evaluating suites By Scott Dunn My Feb. 7 article explained that the WSN Security Baseline summarizes the top ratings of several respected computer publications, but it is only a starting point for those who want to do their own research. One reader responded with an impressive list of independent labs that evaluate security software and publish the results online. Finding credible security suite rankings online The Known Issues column on Feb. 7 discussed the question of how we select the products that are listed in the Security Baseline. To add to the conversation, reader Tunga Kiyak offers these comments:
Readers, let's continue this discussion as we work to improve our overview of security products needed by individuals and small businesses. Send your comments via the Windows Secrets contact page. Norton Removal Tool can damage QuickBooks My Feb. 7 lead story included a discussion of the Norton Removal Tool, which Symantec provides for correcting incomplete uninstalls. However, as Charles Rathbun points out, this tool is known to cause problems for another product:
Commercial software helps finish bad uninstalls If you're looking for other tools to help remove inadequately uninstalled Symantec programs or other security software, several readers reported having good luck using commercial uninstaller utilities, such as the free Revo Uninstaller (among others) as well as reputable Registry cleaning utilities. Like security software, you'll want to consult reviews and do your homework before using just any old utility for this job. For more information on Registry cleaners, start by reading the Mar. 1, 2007, article on the subject by Windows Secrets editor-at-large Fred Langa. Readers Kiyak and Rathbun will each receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of their choice for sending tips we printed. |
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EDITOR'S BOOKSHELF
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WACKY WEB WEEK Suffering the slings of Cupid's arrow
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YOUR SUBSCRIPTION The Windows Secrets Newsletter is published weekly on the 1st through 4th Thursdays of each month, plus occasional news updates. We skip an issue on the 5th Thursday of any month, plus the week of Thanksgiving and the last two weeks of August and December. Publisher: WindowsSecrets.com LLC, Attn: #120 Editor, 1700 7th Ave., Suite 116, Seattle, WA 98101-1323 USA. Vendors, please send no unsolicited packages to this address (readers' letters are fine). Editorial Director: Brian Livingston. Editor-at-Large: Fred Langa. Associate Editor: Scott Dunn. Contributing Editors: Susan Bradley, Mark Edwards, Woody Leonhard, Ryan Russell. Research Director: Vickie Stevens. Program Director: Brent Scheffler. Administrative Assistant: Raef Harrison. Trademarks: Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Windows Secrets series of books is published by Wiley Publishing Inc. The Windows Secrets Newsletter, WindowsSecrets.com, LangaList, LangaList Plus, WinFind, Security Baseline, Patch Watch, Perimeter Scan, Wacky Web Week, the Logo Design (W, S or road, and Star), and the slogan Everything Microsoft Forgot to Mention all are trademarks and service marks of WindowsSecrets.com LLC. All other marks are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Anyone may subscribe to this newsletter by visiting our free signup page. WE GUARANTEE YOUR PRIVACY: 1. We will never sell, rent, or give away your address to any outside party, ever. 2. We will never send you any unrequested e-mail, besides newsletter updates. 3. All unsubscribe requests are honored immediately, period. Privacy policy HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: To unsubscribe from the Windows Secrets Newsletter,
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