Windows 10: Problem Installing Windows 10 on Laptop as 2nd OS

Beyond, way beyond, this little issue here, I have to thank you for something much bigger and more important: for serving our country as a Lieutenant Commander.

 

Well, that's it. Goal accomplished !!
Windows 10 installed sucessfully as the 2nd OS on the laptop.

And I deleted the beef - old Longhorn. I see that was the original intended name for Vista.

New full backup, shortly.

I have to say, this never could done this without your invaluable help and without your patience. I cannot thank you enough. But, I'll try: Thank you immensely !!!

And the "Windows 10 Clean Install" tutorial allowed me to do the same for the desktop - seems like eons ago.

I will now take a breather and then do some "personalization" for Win 10 on both machines. I think I can handle this myself.

On the desktop, I have to get this slim wireless KB working on both OS's. It's connected via Bluetooth USB adaptor to Vista. I couldn't seem to get it to work from both OS - only either one. So I bought a 2nd adaptor - I hope this will allow use of the same KB for both. Beats the plain old klunky one they give you with the machine --- AND having to switch KB's when you switch OS.

Also have to get the printer working ro both OS on the dekstop. Probably need a driver.

On both machines, I want to bring IE to the forefront, for now at least, in lieu of Edge. And eventually switch it.
Also, I want to sync up the drive/partition letters on the 2 machines. I will use the Mini Tool: I like it's more powerful than the old Acronis version and I don't have to uninstall it and clean up the registry after use of Acronis.

Seems like there are more things in my head, but drawing a blank right now. But I think I covered the basics.

Again, THANK YOU !!! THANK YOU !!! THANK YOU !!!

 

BIG MISTAKE !!!
Should not have deleted that Longhorn from "boot" with MSCONFIG (in Win 10).
The machine (laptop) is now back to it's crawling ways of Saturday.
Take forever to bbot or do anything.
I went back to Win 10 to MSCONFIG to see if I could restore it. I see no way of doin so there.
Is there some other way of restoring it ? - it seems like it is/was necessary.
I can live with it being one of 3 options when I turn on the machine.
I'm sick to my stomach over this now. LIe why did I do it ???

HELP!!! - one more time.

 

Unless you were actually selecting the Longhorn entry to boot from then it will have no effect whatsoever. All that was was a menu entry. It would only take effect if you actually chose it to boot from it. It would have no effect on booting from the other entries in the menu.

I don't exactly know what that boot menu entry referenced, so can't tell you exactly how to put it back. However, if it was created using Macrium Reflect Free fix windows start up problems utility, then you can rerun that utility (by booting from the recovery USB/DVD) and it should detect whatever it was for again.

 

It's no too bad once it gets going. Internet access is acceptable, but a bit slow.
But booting take ages. For example, the old Windows moving bar in Vista must go bay 40 or 50 times instead of 4 or 5.
The after loggin in, it still kind of slow.

I right down a lot of what happens, in these situation.s

Here is what was on the boot menu:
"Windows (TM) Code Name Longhorn Preinstallation Environment"
- "preisntallation" may have had a hyphen.

 

Normally, that is only an intermediate step in new install of Windows. During install, the first phase is copying the setup files from the install media (DVD or USB) to the hard drive. Then it sets up the boot menu and files to boot from the hard drive. Normally, an entry such as above is the boot menu item to continue Windows setup from the hard drive once the computer reboots. After Windows setup copies everything over to the hard drive needed for install and sets up the boot files for the first boot from the hard drive, then it restarts the computer and that would be the boot entry for the first boot from the hard drive to continue Windows setup for the next phase.

You would never actually see it because there would be no pause in the boot menu for the user to make a choice. Once setup is complete, that boot menu entry would be replaced with the final and permanent boot entry that would just be to "Windows Vista" or whatever.

One thing you might want to try when dual booting with Windows Vista, 7 or 8 is to turn off fast startup in Windows 10:
Fast Startup - Turn On or Off in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

After that - is your slow computer problem only when booting into Vista and not Windows 10? If so, then it is Vista that is the problem. If it occurs with both Windows Vista and Windows 10, then the next thing I would look at is hard drive failure.

 

Do you still recommend this ?
"However, if it was created using Macrium Reflect Free fix windows start up problems utility, then you can rerun that utility (by booting from the recovery USB/DVD) and it should detect whatever it was for again."

I thought I might try that first. See more below re Macrium . What do you think ?

Note: while I was out before, I thought that it could also have been caused by the Win 10 isntall, since that & the delete of Longhorn were the only 2 things done in the interim between fast and slow. But, I thought that highly unlikley and still do.

Yes, Win 10 fine - super fine.

There is a good chance that Longhorn may have been created by/with Macrium. I certainly never had it in the past, before I started all this - at least there was no "pause". Then, magically there were 2 options (yes, there was now a "pause" when there never had been one) when starting up: Vista & Longhorn. Then there were 3 after Win 10 was installed, but presented differently, not in the old "white on black" like prior to Win 10. Before I write any more, I'm going to check my records and notes.

OK, I went thru my notes and all. With Post 22, I did option 2. My notes on the print of post 22 indicate that Longhorn showed up as a 2nd boot option in a "pause" condtion immediately after that. I reported it's appearance in Post 23.
It continued to appear in "pause" thru the isntall of Win 10. And then I went and removed it with MSCONFIG. And things are not so good.

So, should I try Macronis again ?

 

You can run that utility in Macrium Reflect Free again and see if detects whatever the longhorn entry was again, it won't hurt anything. I just don't see how that could have any affect on the problem you are describing, though.

Having Fast Startup in Windows 10 enabled definitely could affect Windows Vista booting, though.

 

Well I ran the Macrium "fix Windows startup" utility.
Lo and behold it found Longhorn as 1 of the 3.
I let them all be kept.
Restarted.
Magic. "the old Windows moving bar in Vista" - it went by in 4 or 5 passes like yesterday, as normal.
So somehow, Longhorn being there helps - I know it makes no sense. But who knows with state of the "build" and install originally by Dell.
Anyway, I tried restarting 4 or 5 times and all good. And Window 10 a couple of times - all good.

Finally doing back up.

Oh, I forgot to mention: I learned a hell of a lot working with you on all this. I am very gratefull for that also. I hope I can retain a good part of it all.

Again, many thanks, Sir.

 

No problem Bernie, glad you got it worked out. Acronis did something funky - it somehow tricked the system into seeing the Windows Vista partition as a primary partition when it clearly was not. There is no way it could have been a primary partition because it was in between two logical drives inside an extended partition. And that was the initial cause of this whole mess.

 

yes, it certainly had a lot or everthing to do with it.
That product is now on my scrap heap.
The Mini Tool lives.
BTW: I did not bother, and will not, to re-letter the drives/partitions - no need to temp fate.