install windows xp through external USB CDrom drive

[Daigle]

Last month I bought a new Dell Netbook running with Windows Vista operating system and 500GB Hard Drive. Now I want to install Windows XP as well on another partition. But the problem I am facing is that i can't install directly from CD while windows vista is executing as it is not allowing me. Though the system is able to boot with CD but during the installation it is not able to find the Hard Drive.

Can anyone please tell me how can I fix the problem? Please help.

[GARTH]

As the laptop is new i am sure it might be having SATA drives, and there is a problem with Windows XP. Its installer can't always detect SATA drives unless you install Sata drivers. Hence in this case you will need to supply the drivers on
floppy during the beginning of installation where it says "press F6 to add drivers".

Simply visit Acer website, locate your netbook model and download the latest version of drivers. Make sure you select the OS version before downloading the drivers. If XP drivers aren't available, do not attempt to install XP on this system, it is not compatible for XP.

[Oshea]

As you are trying to actually Dual Boot the system, there is a proper rule for the same. I mean for dual booting Vista and XP, first you need to install older version and then the newer version, that means first Windows XP and then Vista. Installing XP on a computer with Vista preinstalled requires boot reconfiguration (and associated knowledge).