installing vista on non empty partition

Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

No, you will have to format that partition. How much partition space is it? -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Marcus Wulf" wrote in message

Thanks.
I don't want to put Vista on the same partition as XP but on another that already contains data.
Would that be possible?
"Ed Dixon" schrieb im Newsbeitrag You can generally put many OS versions on one partition, but not with Vista. My test system has five on the C drive partition.
However Vista offers few choices in this area and will overwrite the existing OS in different ways. Get a second drive, or repartition your current drive before you install. If you install on the XP partition, XP will be gone.
These folks have simple partitioning software (BING):
www.terabyteunlimited.com
Ed
-- Thanks... Ed Dixon "Zack Whittaker" wrote in message If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message

Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

You can generally put many OS versions on one partition, but not with Vista. My test system has five on the C drive partition.
However Vista offers few choices in this area and will overwrite the existing OS in different ways. Get a second drive, or repartition your current drive before you install. If you install on the XP partition, XP will be gone.
These folks have simple partitioning software (BING):
www.terabyteunlimited.com
Ed
-- Thanks... Ed Dixon "Zack Whittaker" wrote in message

If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

Hi Zack,
thanks for your answer.
But may I install Vista on a partition other than my current C: partition? I currently have several partitions but all contain data. I read there is a feature in Vista similar to Partition Magic to shrink a partition but is it already stable and secure? I only have a 250 GB drive and no chance to make a backup...
My idea was to install Vista on a 60 GB partition that by now contains about 30 GB of data. So there should be space enough for a Vista install.
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag

If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

Thanks.
I don't want to put Vista on the same partition as XP but on another that already contains data.
Would that be possible?
"Ed Dixon" schrieb im Newsbeitrag

You can generally put many OS versions on one partition, but not with Vista. My test system has five on the C drive partition.
However Vista offers few choices in this area and will overwrite the existing OS in different ways. Get a second drive, or repartition your current drive before you install. If you install on the XP partition, XP will be gone.
These folks have simple partitioning software (BING):
www.terabyteunlimited.com
Ed
-- Thanks... Ed Dixon "Zack Whittaker" wrote in message If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

Yes you can, I would partition the 60 GB partition and allocate space for a logical partition. I have Vista installed ona 20 GB partition. -- -- Andre Windows Connected | http://www.windowsconnected.com Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta
"Marcus Wulf" wrote in message

Hi Zack,
thanks for your answer.
But may I install Vista on a partition other than my current C: partition? I currently have several partitions but all contain data. I read there is a feature in Vista similar to Partition Magic to shrink a partition but is it already stable and secure? I only have a 250 GB drive and no chance to make a backup...
My idea was to install Vista on a 60 GB partition that by now contains about 30 GB of data. So there should be space enough for a Vista install.
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

Partitioning is pretty safe - it just seperates your hard drive into sections to create "new hard drives" so you can have one physical drive (C: - 250GB) and you can split it to C: at 100GB and D: at 150GB if you like.
Yeh, if you install Vista on a seperate partition, it should be fine :o)
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message

Hi Zack,
thanks for your answer.
But may I install Vista on a partition other than my current C: partition? I currently have several partitions but all contain data. I read there is a feature in Vista similar to Partition Magic to shrink a partition but is it already stable and secure? I only have a 250 GB drive and no chance to make a backup...
My idea was to install Vista on a 60 GB partition that by now contains about 30 GB of data. So there should be space enough for a Vista install.
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

That process worked fine for me. I have four partitions. The F partition had lots of data files, but no Windows. I put Vista that and it did not change any data files.
Ed
-- Thanks... Ed Dixon "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message

Thanks.
I don't want to put Vista on the same partition as XP but on another that already contains data.
Would that be possible?
"Ed Dixon" schrieb im Newsbeitrag You can generally put many OS versions on one partition, but not with Vista. My test system has five on the C drive partition.
However Vista offers few choices in this area and will overwrite the existing OS in different ways. Get a second drive, or repartition your current drive before you install. If you install on the XP partition, XP will be gone.
These folks have simple partitioning software (BING):
www.terabyteunlimited.com
Ed
-- Thanks... Ed Dixon "Zack Whittaker" wrote in message If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

Hi Zack,
I think I didn't describe it correctly.
The problem is the harddrive already is partitioned so under Windows XP I have the following:
C: Windows XP home drive (20 GB) D: My Software (50 GB) E: My Games (80 GB) F: Currently my drive for video editing (90 GB)
So I thought that I could install Vista on drive F: which currently has about 40 GB of free space. As I said all partitions contain data. The question is:
Can I install Vista without formating an existing partition???
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag

Partitioning is pretty safe - it just seperates your hard drive into sections to create "new hard drives" so you can have one physical drive (C: - 250GB) and you can split it to C: at 100GB and D: at 150GB if you like.
Yeh, if you install Vista on a seperate partition, it should be fine :o)
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi Zack,
thanks for your answer.
But may I install Vista on a partition other than my current C: partition? I currently have several partitions but all contain data. I read there is a feature in Vista similar to Partition Magic to shrink a partition but is it already stable and secure? I only have a 250 GB drive and no chance to make a backup...
My idea was to install Vista on a 60 GB partition that by now contains about 30 GB of data. So there should be space enough for a Vista install.
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

Yes, that's exactly what I did.
Ed
"Marcus Wulf" wrote in message

Hi Zack,
I think I didn't describe it correctly.
The problem is the harddrive already is partitioned so under Windows XP I have the following:
C: Windows XP home drive (20 GB) D: My Software (50 GB) E: My Games (80 GB) F: Currently my drive for video editing (90 GB)
So I thought that I could install Vista on drive F: which currently has about 40 GB of free space. As I said all partitions contain data. The question is:
Can I install Vista without formating an existing partition???
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag Partitioning is pretty safe - it just seperates your hard drive into sections to create "new hard drives" so you can have one physical drive (C: - 250GB) and you can split it to C: at 100GB and D: at 150GB if you like.
Yeh, if you install Vista on a seperate partition, it should be fine :o)
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi Zack,
thanks for your answer.
But may I install Vista on a partition other than my current C: partition? I currently have several partitions but all contain data. I read there is a feature in Vista similar to Partition Magic to shrink a partition but is it already stable and secure? I only have a 250 GB drive and no chance to make a backup...
My idea was to install Vista on a 60 GB partition that by now contains about 30 GB of data. So there should be space enough for a Vista install.
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

However as a general rule, do a backup first. That way if something goes very badly, you lose nothing.
-- Thanks... Ed Dixon "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message

Hi Zack,
I think I didn't describe it correctly.
The problem is the harddrive already is partitioned so under Windows XP I have the following:
C: Windows XP home drive (20 GB) D: My Software (50 GB) E: My Games (80 GB) F: Currently my drive for video editing (90 GB)
So I thought that I could install Vista on drive F: which currently has about 40 GB of free space. As I said all partitions contain data. The question is:
Can I install Vista without formating an existing partition???
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag Partitioning is pretty safe - it just seperates your hard drive into sections to create "new hard drives" so you can have one physical drive (C: - 250GB) and you can split it to C: at 100GB and D: at 150GB if you like.
Yeh, if you install Vista on a seperate partition, it should be fine :o)
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi Zack,
thanks for your answer.
But may I install Vista on a partition other than my current C: partition? I currently have several partitions but all contain data. I read there is a feature in Vista similar to Partition Magic to shrink a partition but is it already stable and secure? I only have a 250 GB drive and no chance to make a backup...
My idea was to install Vista on a 60 GB partition that by now contains about 30 GB of data. So there should be space enough for a Vista install.
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

Hmm... I really don't think you can. If you spread out some of the files in the F: drive to the other drives, install (and format) from the Vista setup - then place them back on the F: drive again. It's a bit of a pain, but it's not really much effort to go to :o)
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message

Hi Zack,
I think I didn't describe it correctly.
The problem is the harddrive already is partitioned so under Windows XP I have the following:
C: Windows XP home drive (20 GB) D: My Software (50 GB) E: My Games (80 GB) F: Currently my drive for video editing (90 GB)
So I thought that I could install Vista on drive F: which currently has about 40 GB of free space. As I said all partitions contain data. The question is:
Can I install Vista without formating an existing partition???
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag Partitioning is pretty safe - it just seperates your hard drive into sections to create "new hard drives" so you can have one physical drive (C: - 250GB) and you can split it to C: at 100GB and D: at 150GB if you like.
Yeh, if you install Vista on a seperate partition, it should be fine :o)
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi Zack,
thanks for your answer.
But may I install Vista on a partition other than my current C: partition? I currently have several partitions but all contain data. I read there is a feature in Vista similar to Partition Magic to shrink a partition but is it already stable and secure? I only have a 250 GB drive and no chance to make a backup...
My idea was to install Vista on a 60 GB partition that by now contains about 30 GB of data. So there should be space enough for a Vista install.
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

I have installed Vista this way on three different PCs. In each case on a partition with files present before and after. When in doubt backup first.
Ed
"Zack Whittaker" wrote in message

Hmm... I really don't think you can. If you spread out some of the files in the F: drive to the other drives, install (and format) from the Vista setup - then place them back on the F: drive again. It's a bit of a pain, but it's not really much effort to go to :o)
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi Zack,
I think I didn't describe it correctly.
The problem is the harddrive already is partitioned so under Windows XP I have the following:
C: Windows XP home drive (20 GB) D: My Software (50 GB) E: My Games (80 GB) F: Currently my drive for video editing (90 GB)
So I thought that I could install Vista on drive F: which currently has about 40 GB of free space. As I said all partitions contain data. The question is:
Can I install Vista without formating an existing partition???
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag Partitioning is pretty safe - it just seperates your hard drive into sections to create "new hard drives" so you can have one physical drive (C: - 250GB) and you can split it to C: at 100GB and D: at 150GB if you like.
Yeh, if you install Vista on a seperate partition, it should be fine :o)
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi Zack,
thanks for your answer.
But may I install Vista on a partition other than my current C: partition? I currently have several partitions but all contain data. I read there is a feature in Vista similar to Partition Magic to shrink a partition but is it already stable and secure? I only have a 250 GB drive and no chance to make a backup...
My idea was to install Vista on a 60 GB partition that by now contains about 30 GB of data. So there should be space enough for a Vista install.
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus

Hi,
thanks to all who tried to help me.
Yesterday I tried it and what shall I say - Vista is up and running. Works fine for me, and this is the first time that I can run Vista with all features cause the CTPs before I only installed in VMWare.
"Ed Dixon" schrieb im Newsbeitrag

I have installed Vista this way on three different PCs. In each case on a partition with files present before and after. When in doubt backup first.
Ed
"Zack Whittaker" wrote in message Hmm... I really don't think you can. If you spread out some of the files in the F: drive to the other drives, install (and format) from the Vista setup - then place them back on the F: drive again. It's a bit of a pain, but it's not really much effort to go to :o)
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi Zack,
I think I didn't describe it correctly.
The problem is the harddrive already is partitioned so under Windows XP I have the following:
C: Windows XP home drive (20 GB) D: My Software (50 GB) E: My Games (80 GB) F: Currently my drive for video editing (90 GB)
So I thought that I could install Vista on drive F: which currently has about 40 GB of free space. As I said all partitions contain data. The question is:
Can I install Vista without formating an existing partition???
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag Partitioning is pretty safe - it just seperates your hard drive into sections to create "new hard drives" so you can have one physical drive (C: - 250GB) and you can split it to C: at 100GB and D: at 150GB if you like.
Yeh, if you install Vista on a seperate partition, it should be fine :o)
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi Zack,
thanks for your answer.
But may I install Vista on a partition other than my current C: partition? I currently have several partitions but all contain data. I read there is a feature in Vista similar to Partition Magic to shrink a partition but is it already stable and secure? I only have a 250 GB drive and no chance to make a backup...
My idea was to install Vista on a 60 GB partition that by now contains about 30 GB of data. So there should be space enough for a Vista install.
"Zack Whittaker" schrieb im Newsbeitrag If you want to install Vista, it's best on a clean partition. However, you can only put 1 operating system on 1 partition - so if you put Vista on your partition with XP on already, XP will get wiped but you'll have the option to upgrade so that your files and settings are still intact.
-- Zack Whittaker » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: www.msblog.org » Vista Knowledge Base: www.vistabase.co.uk » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, Ghandi, my mother or my cat. Glad we cleared that up!
--: Original message follows :-- "Marcus Wulf" wrote in message Hi,
sorry if this question has been asked before but I want to install Vista beside my current XP installation but don't have a clean partition available.
Is it possible to install Vista on a non empty partition and am I still able to access this partition and the files and programs when I boot into XP?
Sorry for my bad english, I hope the problem is understandable.
Thanks in advance
Marcus