dual boot XP Pro and Debian Linux

I’m trying to set up a Dell Lattitude D610 to dual boot XP Pro and Debian Etch 4.0, XP was loaded and configured,then I tried to load Debian. The install went through but on restart Debian won’t load and XP won’t start at all. Should I load Debian first and let XP creat a dual boot or is there a better solution. I’m new to Linux. My system has 1GB RAM and a partitioned 250GB HDD with a 1.7GHz Pentium M (although the sticker says centrino) CPU.
All assistance is welcome. Thank you all in advance.