Windows 2003 Server and Windows XP dual boot issue

Hello community,

I am having issues starting Windows 2003 Server. I have a brand new new system which I built my self. It has Intel Core 2 Quad Core processor with 4gb of RAM and 650GB Harddrive. I initially installed Windows XP Pro (64bit) on it and my friend had installed Windows 2003 Server on the same system. He did not create a partition or anything and probably created dual boot system. I gave him my hardrive to install Windows 2003 Server (not the entire system). He was able to run Windows 2003 Server completely fine on his machine. Now when he gave me my harddrive back and when I connected it to my machine. It will not load Windows 2003 Server. I have gone in and checked everything. It only gives me one operating system which is Win XP Pro. When I go to the C drive it shows me two Program Files folder and one is "Program Files" and the other is "Program Files(x86)". I see some other folder in Windows folder directory with same naming conventions (i.e (x86) at the end).

Any one has any idea or possible solution for the issue?

I would want to try to solve it before I get back to him because he is very busy and dont want to bother him with my crap.

Thanks a lot!!!!

There are a couple of key things here,

First of all installing 2 operating systems on the same partition is definitely a recipe for disaster. You can create a dual boot configuration by installing the OS's on 2 different partitions and keeps the 2 operating systems independant. Your 650GB hard drive would be more than ample to complete this
Secondly when installing an operating system, it is definitely advisable to install it in the system that you are going to run it on as Windows will install drivers etc that are specific to your machine for things like the chipset etc. Variations here are likely to cause the machine to not even boot at all.
My advice would definitely be to start again, split your drive into 2 partitions and reinstall both operating systems independantly.

Alternatively, if you are just using your Server 2003 machine for testing etc, consider installing it on a Virtual Machine within Windows XP using either VMWare server or Sun Virtual Box. Both are available free from there websites

Thanks for the reply CPU09. I will have my friend install the system locally on my machine. Will keep you posted!!!