some clarification needed

Hi,
so i read about a ton of posts here and Andrea's FAQ but i still want to clarify some things before trying out Vista :) so now i have a 80 GB HDD with two partitions: 1st one with Win XP and the 2nd one just for file keeping. so, i'm planning to cut ~20 GB from my second partition and create a third partition. then i would do a clean install of VISta on the third partition and leave XP one the first partition. and if i don't like Vista or it expires i just format the third partition and get back to XP on the first one and have all my files in place? or will i still need to reinstall XP? and what about antivirus in Vista? does it have some built-in antivirus program or you have to install some third-party programs? are there some released already?
thanks for the answers :)

Thanks, the linkwas usefull. but what about removing Vista? if i format my third partition will i get back to XP or will i have to reinstall it? i dont't have where to back up my data, so it's kind of risky :)
"Ðave" wrote:

"Doubleface" wrote in message Hi,
so i read about a ton of posts here and Andrea's FAQ but i still want to clarify some things before trying out Vista :) so now i have a 80 GB HDD with two partitions: 1st one with Win XP and the 2nd one just for file keeping. so, i'm planning to cut ~20 GB from my second partition and create a third partition. then i would do a clean install of VISta on the third partition and leave XP one the first partition. and if i don't like Vista or it expires i just format the third partition and get back to XP on the first one and have all my files in place? or will i still need to reinstall XP? and what about antivirus in Vista? does it have some built-in antivirus program or you have to install some third-party programs? are there some released already?
thanks for the answers :)
I created a 2nd partition of 30GB for Vista so that I can Dual Boot both XP & Vista from startup.
There are a few antivirus solutions for Vista... Etrust are giving Visa beta users a free antivirus... not sure how long it lasts though.
I'm not clear on your 3-partition query but you may find this link useful: http://www.lifehacker.com/software/top/windows-vista-beta-how-to-dual-boot-windows-xp-and-windows-vista-179906.php

"Doubleface" wrote in message

Hi,
so i read about a ton of posts here and Andrea's FAQ but i still want to clarify some things before trying out Vista :) so now i have a 80 GB HDD with two partitions: 1st one with Win XP and the 2nd one just for file keeping. so, i'm planning to cut ~20 GB from my second partition and create a third partition. then i would do a clean install of VISta on the third partition and leave XP one the first partition. and if i don't like Vista or it expires i just format the third partition and get back to XP on the first one and have all my files in place? or will i still need to reinstall XP? and what about antivirus in Vista? does it have some built-in antivirus program or you have to install some third-party programs? are there some released already?
thanks for the answers :)

I created a 2nd partition of 30GB for Vista so that I can Dual Boot both XP & Vista from startup.
There are a few antivirus solutions for Vista... Etrust are giving Visa beta users a free antivirus... not sure how long it lasts though.
I'm not clear on your 3-partition query but you may find this link useful: http://www.lifehacker.com/software/top/windows-vista-beta-how-to-dual-boot-windows-xp-and-windows-vista-179906.php

the problem is that i don't have a DVD nor do i have a spare HDD. but now i came to an idea that if i desperately needed to get rid of Vista i could borrow a DVD or HDD from someone, backup all my data and then do a clean install :) the only thing is if Vista ruins my HDD during install or after install..
and as i understood i don't need in my case to burn the ISO image to a DVD. i can load it in daemon tools from Xp and install Vista on my third partition?
"Ðave" wrote:

"Doubleface" wrote in message Thanks, the linkwas usefull. but what about removing Vista? if i format my third partition will i get back to XP or will i have to reinstall it? i dont't have where to back up my data, so it's kind of risky :)
I'm wondering whether after you have finished with vista, format that third partition and then use some partition software to merge that partition back with the one xp is on?
I've been using paragon partition manager and it seems to have a 'Merge with...' property but I don't want to use it until I read up on what it does.
Before putting Vista on my computer yesterday I backed all the important stuff onto DVD so I can always do a clean install of XP if everything goes wrong, I'd reccomend that you do something similar

"Doubleface" wrote in message

Thanks, the linkwas usefull. but what about removing Vista? if i format my third partition will i get back to XP or will i have to reinstall it? i dont't have where to back up my data, so it's kind of risky :)

I'm wondering whether after you have finished with vista, format that third partition and then use some partition software to merge that partition back with the one xp is on?
I've been using paragon partition manager and it seems to have a 'Merge with...' property but I don't want to use it until I read up on what it does.
Before putting Vista on my computer yesterday I backed all the important stuff onto DVD so I can always do a clean install of XP if everything goes wrong, I'd reccomend that you do something similar