need really good info about dual booting

hi. i am running window 7 and vista .
vista is on a 250 hard drive .
window 7 is on a 500 hard drive .
now to change window i turn my pc off .and change the red cable from drive to drive .
now what i like to know is .
if i connect the 2 red cable on the 2 drive do i get to choose window on boot up .
or do i need a special program to make it work .
now it is with 2 drive not a single drive .
thank you

If you have the 2 system independently installed, each one on it's drive, you need to only change the boot sequence in the BIOS to switch between systems. No need to switch cables.

I guess what you are asking is how to install a double boot. There are many tutorials in the tutorial section. I would, however, recommend the switching with the BIOS, a lot easier.

And don't mess with the cables. What you had in mind will not work.

Hello again yvesj.


Plug both HDD cables in and do a startup repair on Windows 7 and it will give you the boot menu screen at startup (when you boot the PC) no more messing around; have a look at the tutorial at the link below.

Startup Repair - Windows 7 Forums

thank .
but there is no problem with the way i am doing now .
the only thing i have to do is take the side cover off .that all .
so what you are saying is if i connect the 2 cable every time i turn my pc on the bios screnn will show up .
is that right .
i guess i will have to get some one to show me how .
but to tell you the true i am using vista 98 % of the time .
i have the same thing running on the 2 window anyway .so it not a big deal .
cant you show me a picture of the way the bios look when i boot in .
thank

sorry i did reply before i saw your reply .

well i just don't know .
what if i mess up cant i still go back at what am doing now .swicth cable .mind you i only swicth cable twice a month .
not a big deal here .
and yes i do have the cd [oem]i only install w-7 last month and vista on the 26 of last month

one more thing .i never turn my computer off .
i put it to sleep every night .the same time that i go to bed .lol.

Here is the tutorial on the subject of dual booting Windows 7 and Vista.

Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and Vista - Windows 7 Forums



You do turn the PC off when you change cables right?

yes i do turn it off .
it only take about one minute to do it .
but my problem is i have 8 fans and 4 laser light in my pc and some of them are in the way when i disconnect the cable .
but like i said before i never use w-7 i hate the look of the taskbar period .as for speed my vista is really fast .so i do not gain any speed using 7 .not to notice by eyes anyway ..
the only mistake i did when i did buy my drive i only got a 250 for vista .7 i have a 500 .so i had to reduce shadow copy to 12 gb in vista .
now i have from 205 to 211 of free space all the time .
in 7 i have 441 i thing of free space .

Bare Foot Kid said:

Here is the tutorial on the subject of dual booting Windows 7 and Vista.

Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and Vista - Windows 7 Forums



You do turn the PC off when you change cables right?

Click to expand...

yes. but the way i see it the link above is for one drive only .
but i have 2 drive .
i do not want to shrink partition .
i thing the other link is what i need [repair 7 ]

i will thing about what to do .i will let you know what i decide later .
thank you