Ive just installed 7 pro 64 bit. I also have vista home premium 32 bit installed on the PC. after installing 7 i thought it would set up a dual boot, but it didn't. It just boots straight into 7. Anyone have any idea how I can access Vista and bring it up on a dual boot menu. Ive already tried a program called easy bcd, it didn't work.

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Good thread — this is a common boot/BCD situation and a few targeted checks usually sort it out. 's point about which disk was used during install is important: Windows writes boot files to whichever disk/partition is marked as the system/active device. ’s follow-up shows the problem was resolvable, but here are clear, practical diagnostics and recovery actions that other readers can apply without repeating the exact steps already shown in the thread.

Boot into a working Windows installation (or Recovery Command Prompt) and run these commands from an elevated prompt to inspect and (if needed) recreate boot entries. Back up the BCD first:

bcdedit /export C:\bcdbackup
bcdedit /enum all

If Vista's entry is missing, recreate the boot files and add an entry by pointing bcdboot at the Vista Windows folder and the system partition (replace letters as appropriate):

bcdboot D:\Windows /s C:

On UEFI/GPT systems include /f UEFI (or /f ALL) as needed. To force the boot menu timeout:

bcdedit /timeout 10

If bcdboot cannot repair the store, use the recovery console commands:

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /rebuildbcd

Quick cautions and tips: always run commands as Administrator; confirm which partition is marked "System" vs "Boot" in Disk Management before changing anything; export the BCD before edits; keep both OS installs in the same firmware mode (Legacy/UEFI). If multiple physical disks are involved, check BIOS/UEFI boot order or temporarily disconnect the non-target disk during repair to avoid the wrong disk becoming the system disk. These steps cover the usual causes without overwriting data.

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Did you by chance install Win 7 on the same drive as Vista?

No i did not. Ive solved the problem now. I booted using Vista DVD and chose repair. The dual boot is now working

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