I have vista basic preinstalled in my laptop.
I want to install FIRST windws XP over VISTA and THEN Linux over XP.
So my pc will have three os like this:
1. Vista
2. XP
3. Linux

will it work?
will linux recognise xp and vista and allow me to choose among three of them?
How to do it?

Always when you try to dual-boot and in your case boot 3 Operating Systems, make sure you install Linux at the end.

Because when you install windows after installing linux, windows overwrites the bootloader and detects only other windows os which means in your case only windows XP and Windows Vista will be shown in the bootloader if though linux is installed.

But if you install linux at the very end, it automatically creates a new bootloader displaying all the operating systems available including windows.

So to summarize this, First Install XP over vista, then finally install linux.

No,I think it wil not work according 2 me U wil hav 2 install...
(1)xp.
(2)vista
nd then
(3)Linux in another partition which wil made by the Linux.
nd Yes, Linux wil reconize other os in one boot list.

Make a partition for XP, install it on there, and then do Linux. Linux will probably resize the partitions properly

Hope I helped

You should try to make a 3 partition to the HDD i suggest install XP first then boot the XP and install Casper XP and partition to desktop i mean you should try to partition it in the XP desktop.........

What LINUX you will use??? you Should try bayanihan Linux.......


www.bayanihan.gov.ph



Proud to be Pinoy.....

Install XP fist as ts always a good idea to install the most recent OS last. That way the bootloader is correct, for one.

XP
Vista
Linux

If you do thinkgs this way linux should automatically detect the windows installations and configure the GRUB bootloader for you. so that when the system boots it runs GRUB (the linux bootloader) and you can choose to either boot various linxux kernels or instead to chainload and boot Vista's bootloader which can boot both it and XP.

Hey thanx all of u.
My vista is came PRE-INSTALLED in my laptop.
so i dont have vista installation disk.
I have vista Recovery Disk. (Which is to be created by user)
Which means in any sequence when I have to install vista it ask me compulsory to use my whole 160gb hdd. id does not allow me to partition some space.
thats what the actual problem with vista recovery disk.
So if I use following sequence:
xp
vista
linux

then second time when i treid to install vista id deleted xp (i.e. use whole 160gb hdd-no option given by Microsoft)

I Wonder why MicroSoft not added option to install vista in some space (this option is availabe in Installation disk, I think)!

Are you sure that vista doesn't give you an option? Because I had a laptop which came with vista preinstalled. So to install Linux, I had to first partition my hard disk into 2 partitions ( 1 for Linux, 1 for vista ) and then I installed vista on one partition.

After which I installed linux and it configured the boot loader automatically., and now I am dual booting these 2 os.

It doesnt matter if vista uses the whole HDD initially as vista now allows you to shrink NTFS partitions under Disk Management

dear krnekhelesh
which version of vista u hve pre-installed.?

And i am sure, (i have done re-installing vista in my brand new laptop for more than 8 times whithin first 6 months) that my vista recovery disk dont offer me to partition some space.
do u also have vista RECOVERY DISK or u have INSTALLATION DISK.
these both are two different things.

consider situation that, now i am running vista on my laptop. now somehow it is not working. the only solution is to re-install.
In this case i have to use recovery diak created by me only.
then it does not allow me to partition some space.
I am sure about that.


But consider another situation, that i am currently running vista well.
nothing wrong with vista.
and now i want to install linux. then i can use vista to partition for linux.

I think u have vista Installation disk thats why u are getting allowed to partition for vista & linux.
this is however is not allowed in recovery disks.

thnx for replying.