Windows 7 32 64 Dual Boot

Clyde54 · 21 Oct 2010

I have win 64 bit installed but some of my old 16 bit apps will not run so I wanted to install 32 bit windows on a separate partition. I used windows 7 Disk Management to create a primary 100 GB partition on my hard disk. But when I boot to the 32 bit windows disk and try to install on this partition I get these messages:

"Windows cannot be installed to this disk. Setup does not support configuration of or installation to disks connected through a USB or IEEE1394 port.

Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled int he computer's BIOS menu."

What am I doing wrong?

gregrocker · 21 Oct 2010

Where did you get Win7 32 bit? DId you burn the DVD yourself? Try burning another using IMgBurn at 4x speed - it never fails.

Unplug all USB devices and other HD's.

Make sure you have latest BIOS Update. IF so, Clear CMOS: Clear CMOS - 3 Ways to Clear the CMOS - Reset BIOS

If you get this fail again, google the exact error message or post back to see if someone recognizes it or Googles it better.

Night Hawk · 22 Oct 2010

First of all if the drive you are trying to install the 32bit 7 onto is an external usb model it won't work. Windows can not be directly installed to any drive directly through the usb bus. You will need to either split the present main drive with the 64bit 7 on or use a second internal drive.

Clyde54 · 22 Oct 2010

When you buy Home Premium you get 2 Windows 7 disks; 32 and 64 bit.

Clyde54 · 22 Oct 2010

Night Hawk said:

First of all if the drive you are trying to install the 32bit 7 onto is an external usb model it won't work. Windows can not be directly installed to any drive directly through the usb bus. You will need to either split the present main drive with the 64bit 7 on or use a second internal drive.

The partition I am trying to install to is on my main 1 TB hard drive.

gregrocker · 22 Oct 2010

What is the SATA controller setting in BIOS?

Do you have the latest BIOS version update from the computer or mobo maker's SUpport Downloads webpage?

Night Hawk · 22 Oct 2010

That's an odd for sure! A sata if plugged in directly to the first port on the board and not any external model other then eSata which is still run down to the board is stlill under the control of the onboard controllers. And the drive already has a running 64bit install seen.

When buying any retail edition of 7 you will see both dvds included or a guaranteed mail-in coupon due to out of stock as seen a year ago when the rush started without the inventories onhand.(1st anniversary of launch date 10/22/2009-10/22/2010)

I tend to agree with gregrocker on looking over the bios settings as far as the drive mode while rushing for any bios updates to fix something that isn't broken from the start can lead to bigger headaches! A bad flash can make a board useless unless you are able to reflash to correct afterwards.

If that's the drive shown in your system specs I'm running a pair of the same model here for a dual boot where the 32bit went on without fuss. But I went with seeing the 32bit on a second drive while simply having the 64bit on first shouldn't prevent the 32bit installer or see that type of usb error message.

kword88 · 22 Oct 2010

i could be wrong but, even though the retail box comes with both 32 and 64 bit versions, you can only use one or the other. not both. maybe the 32 bit installation is detecting the 64 bit installation?

Night Hawk · 22 Oct 2010

That wouldn't prevent the custom install onto a second primary or even to a second drive. The error being seen suggests an installation attempt going to an external drive plugged into a usb port not an installation by way of a usb dvd drive or even a usb installation key. USB Windows 7 Installation Key Drive - Create

As far running both on the same machine you are still using the same product key that comes with the disks which is the license to run the software. The option to run both is the user's choice if the driver support is available for both. For those running older systems that lack updates for Vista and 7 they are limited to the 32bit.

Clyde54 · 22 Oct 2010

Nighthawk, your thumbnail shows only 3.25 of your 8 GB of RAM is usable. I have a similar issue with my pc with only 4 GB of 6 being reported by Windows as usable. Does this indicate a problem?