Vista's multi coloured screen of death HELP!

[ZCA81]

These are my computer stats

Athlon 64 4000
2gb Ram
200gb hard drive
Saphire 1950pro graphics

I'm currently using XP Pro 32 bit
Just brought Vista home premium 64
I want to dual boot on my partitioned hard drive because I heard that games run badly on vista.
It won't let me instal from windows,  saying "Setup cannot run on this version of the opperating system" fair enuf
However when I try to boot using the disk that doesnt work either. 
Setup works fine through the copying files bit but then it appears to stop after the bit with the green loading bar with "Microsoft Corporation" underneath it.
A few shades of light blue and greys come up on the screen in bands, a bit like those coloured sand things that little kids make (You can tell I'm having difficulties explaining this  )
The hourglass stays for a few seconds and then it appears to freeze up with nothing happening. Does anyone else have this problem?

[Dilbert]

Vista 64 can only be installed over XP 64. Click the link, and scroll down to "Compatibility Issues and other Limitations":

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_ff_x64.asp

In particular:

"Those hoping to upgrade should be aware of a few other issues, too. 32-bit versions of XP can only be upgraded to 32-bit versions of Windows Vista. And Windows XP Professional x64 Edition can only be upgraded to 64-bit versions of Windows Vista (Business and above).

Since you have another partition, you could (assuming this is a full install of Vista, not an upgrade) move all important files to the other partition, format the first one*, then install Vista over a clean slate. I actually don't recommend upgrading anyway, because leftover files from older Operating Systems can cause trouble. I always do clean installs with better OS's.

*WARNING: FORMATTING DESTROYS ALL DATA ON THE DISK/PARTITION IN QUESTION IRREVERSIBLY.

As an alternative, you could go to your store and request a refund, and purchase a 32-bit version of Vista, and not have to bother with moving files or upgrading. However, I still would back up important files, because any time you do anything with the Operating System, there's a chance you can FUBAR the disk and have to format anyway.

Good luck. We're talking Vista; you'll need it.