Windows 7: Dual Booting XP and Win7 64-bit

I just completed my Sandy Bridge build using the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe MOBO. I installed XP SP3 first on HD #1, and then Windows 7 on HD #2. The Windows 7 bootloader defaulted to Windows 7 64-bit and 30 seconds after powering up would boot into the system. I could then boot into XP from the bootloader without any problems. After a few weeks, the bootloader, after the 30 seconds, would no longer load Windows 7 by default, it would go to a black screen with no cursor. After a hard reboot, the bootloader would come up again and I could manually select which OS to boot into, and everything was fine; both into XP and Windows 7.



The other hiccups were the double POSTing, which I fixed with BIOS tweaks that I read about in other forums. And whenever I had to do a hard reboot, before I got to the bootloader, I would get an error message (just below the American Megatrends logo) which said that my overclocking failed and that I had to go into BIOS to correct it.

Today while I was downloading and installing Windows 7 updates, my internet connection dropped and half the updates failed to install, and it gave me a restart prompt, which I did. Now I can no longer boot into Windows 7. It tries to boot but it says that it tried to but failed to repair some Windows files. When I try using the recovery disk I
created, that brings me to a screen with options that include using a restore point and restoring a backup image. I don't have a restore point, and though I have a backup image, I want that to be my last resort. XP loads fine. The image I have was created using Paragon. Would Windows be able to restore that backup image?
Is there any way to fix my Windows 7 boot up problem without restoring the backup image? Would the Windows 7 OS DVD have the necessary files to correct this? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Unplug the XP HD, set Windows 7 HD as first to boot in BIOS setup (after DVD drive), boot the Windows 7 DVD Repair console or Repair CD, mark Windows 7 partition active, then run 3 startup Repairs with reboots to write the System Boot Files to Windows 7 HD.
Partition - Mark as Active
Startup Repair

When Windows 7 starts up on its own, plug back in the XP HD and boot it using the one-time BIOS Boot Menu key given on first BIOS splash screen - on Asus this is normally F8, ESC or DEL. This keeps the HD's independent whereas a Windows-managed Dual Boot interlocks them.

If it won't repair it is likely that System Resore cannot reverse the Updates which were botched. Try running System Restore from the System Recovery Options. If you don't have System Restore points for some reason, you'll need to reinstall or reimage Windows 7. Make your Paragon boot disk to reimage from stored image.

System Restore Points - Stop XP Dual Boot Delete - Vista Forums

Thanks for the help. I traced my problem to a bad driver update to either my graphics board or my sound card. I just did a fresh re-install of Windows 7.

hi can i ask how you installed xp on p8p67? ive been trying for a while but it keeps blue screening during install.

If your Win XP sp3 64 bit CD, does not support your Sata Controller, you will need to load drivers to uses at F6.
Load Sata Controller drivers with a floppy disk is the best way.
SATA Drivers - Load in Windows XP Setup on Dual Boot

Have a look at Chapter 4 of the P8P67 manual.

It should be a fine of some kind to run XP on a system like that. Virtualize! Throw the OS at the system that it was designed for!

The comments here are pretty much all I did to get mine to work. I have two separate HD's - each with its own OS. I never got the blue screen; I loaded Windows 7 first, then XP SP3 (for my older games). You can query my previous posts regarding this topic to see the issues I encountered and the great advice I received that got me on the right track. Good Luck!