Dual Boot Vista and Windows 7

I've been paging through the various threads but I can't find a solution to the following problem:

I have an Acer Aspire 8930G-7665, OEM Windows Vista x64. I want to set it up to dual boot between Vista and Windows 7, hence the thread title. However, I've had nothing but problems since the beginning.

Forgetting all the issues getting it partitioned, which I've done, I can't get the computer to boot off the DVD. This is strange because the same DVD worked fine on a Dell unit previously.

The first hurdle is that I can't get it to present me an option to boot from CD. The workaround is to change the boot order, which I've done. But now when it accesses the DVD drive to read the DVD there, the computer simply stops responding. There's a flashing cursor in the upper left corner of the screen.

Has anyone else run across this problem? How do I solve it?

 

Hi tnpir, and welcome to the forums!

This is truly curious - I've never heard of this happening before. Are you able to read the Windows 7 disc through Vista? If so, try to perform a custom install to the other partition from inside Vista (backing up your data before, just in case).
Failing that, why not make a bootable USB installer? Go find one of the guides online for "install Vista from USB key" and follow the same instructions with your Win7 disc.

 

That's the really baffling part about this whole affair--it reads through Windows fine. This is my first experience ever with an Acer product so this could well be something obvious that I'm just not seeing.

I'm ready to try the custom install as you suggested, but there's a question first--even if the system files go to the second partition as they're supposed to, wouldn't it still alter the BIOS in ways which may or may not be desireable? (When I installed W7 as an upgrade to an existing Vista OS before, it destroyed that Dell computer's ability to restore its factory image from the utility partition, I don't want to risk that happening here if I can avoid it)

 

It doesn't affect the BIOS (the ROM that controls the most basic components of your system), but it may affect your Master Boot Record, which controls what operating systems your computer can use.
Acer MBRs are indeed complex little critters - they've got three boot entries:
-Vista
-Windows XP Embedded for running Acer Arcade Instant-On
-Disk-to-Disk Recovery to Factory Default

Installing Windows 7 MAY muck the last two up, and I'm not 100% certain how to restore the Acer MBR if things go pear-shaped.

Of course, when I reinstalled to a clean Vista, I got rid of the D2D recovery but only because I've got my own rolling backup.

 

TehSuigi, I congratulate you on coming up with a winning idea. I started Windows 7 setup from within Vista and it ran straight through, and automatically set up a dual bootloader between itself and Vista.

Now just one more question and I think I'm set...when installation was complete, Windows 7 is the top (default) entry on the OS boot options menu. How can I re-order them so that Vista shows up as the default?

 

From Vista:

Control Panel->System->Advanced System Settings->Startup And Recovery->Settings->Default Operation System

 

Or use EasyBCD to do that. It's a helluva powerful software, as I was able to use it to triple-boot XP, Vista, and 7 on my other hard drive (which I swap in and out with my WDC 320GB)
Do Acer Arcade InstantOn and Disk-to-Disk Recovery still work?