Dual boot problem, CANNOT LOG ON!

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  1. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
       #1

    Dual boot problem, CANNOT LOG ON!


    Hi guys, i really hope one of you can help me as i cant even log onto my PC at the moment!

    So, i have windows 7 Ultimate 64-bitinstalled on harddrive C, but i have no installation disk for this. I wanted to make my PC a dual boot by installing XP home edition on the harddrive E.

    I put the XP disc in while logged on in Windows 7, but it appears you cannot access the install feature as its greyed out. So then i restarted my PC and a black screen appears and it says at the top, 'Press any key to boot from CD'. So i did, and i set up XP like that. I had to make a partition on the E harddrive and installed it there. After that, i rebooted as instructed and then it asks what installation i would like to use to boot.

    The options are

    C: windows
    or
    E:WINDOWS

    I have tried both but C needs a password which i have never known about or what it is. E says it will boot but goes back to the black page that says Press any key now to boot with CD, which after about 3 seconds changes to error loading operating system and it stay like that.

    What must i do? I want to get rid of windows 7 and keep XP but i dont know how to do this as i cant even log on to my user at the moment!!!!

    My specs are:

    AMD Athlon 7750 Dual Core 2.8GHz
    ATI Radeon 4670 Graphics card
    4GB DDR2 RAM
    Foxconn motherboard
    C:30GB Memory
    E:220GB Memory


    After set up, it reboots and takes me to another page where it
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #2

    Take look at this:
    Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

    Than post back.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    theog said:
    Take look at this:
    Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

    Than post back.
    Thank you very much! I will definitley use that tomorrow as its getting late now. But first of all, how can i log in to eve. be able to do this? Or is it possible for the state my PC is in at the moment to just be able to delete windows 7 and make XP my default OS?

    If someone could explain how to do this simply without loads and loads of technical words haha, that would be great.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #4

    You could delete all the partitions & reinstall Win XP.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Once I have deleted the partitions, please can you tell me exactly how to install XP onto harddrive E please? I dont want to be continously running into the same problem, i would appreciate your help.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #6

    Is C: one HD &
    E: sec HD?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #7

    If you have 2 HD's, remove C: 30gb from PC, E: will now be C:

    How to clean install Win XP:
    XP Clean Install
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 2,752
    Windows 7 Pro x64 (1), Win7 Pro X64 (2)
       #8

    greenwoodryan said:
    So, i have windows 7 Ultimate 64-bitinstalled on harddrive C, but i have no installation disk for this.
    This is a bit problematic, since you'll never be able to reinstall Win7 if you need to... like if you wipe all partitions from your drives and want to start over from scratch, rebuilding your desired dual-boot WinXP/Win7 environment.


    I wanted to make my PC a dual boot by installing XP home edition on the harddrive E.
    Do you mean on a second actual physical hard drive which you'll call E, or do you mean on a second partition on your one and only physical hard drive.

    Also, notice that the "boot partition" for that booted version of Windows will normally always see itself as C, and assign additional drive letters to any other partitions on any other hard drives. It is possible to end up with Windows seeing itself as a different drive letter than C but those are more complex installs. Normally, it end up on C, as seen by itself... whether you're booted to WinXP or Win7. The other partition will simply get a second drive letter, when booted to either OS. What's important is that these are two separate partitions, holding the two versions of Windows. The drive letters are another story.

    It's very important to be unambiguous with these words, to avoid confusion. There are [physical] hard drives, and there are partitions (which get Windows "drive letters", an unfortunately ambiguous and misleading term... but we all use it).

    Which is it for you? Do you actually have two hard drives? Or are you simply envisioning two partitions on one hard drive, one for your existing Win7 and the other for a newly installed WinXP, and being able to boot to either one?

    Also, normally WinXP is installed first on a brand new system, and then Win7 is added as a second bootable OS. The dual-boot result is implemented through a boot manager and menu (showing both Windows versions by name) allowing you to choose which you want to boot to.

    It's possible to do things in the reverse sequence, however, as you seem to need to do because you've already got Win7 installed and don't have an installation DVD to be able to re-do it (if you wiped things and installed WinXP first as is the normal sequence). This would involve something like a 3rd-party utility like EasyBCD to build the boot manager menu into the installed Win7, to add the WinXP partition which got installed second in this case... but you have to get WinXP actually installed and that's it's own task.

    All of this depends on whether you have one hard drive or two. Please describe.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Yes C is a 30GB HDD which has 7 on it, and HDD E is 220GB with XP on it. What will happen if i remove C?
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 7,730
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-Bit
       #10

    As theog has already pointed out, if you remove partition C then the XP partition letter will change to C from E.

    In my view, you're best to follow the instructions in the link he gave you for a completely fresh install of Windows XP.

    Clean Install Windows XP - How To Perform a Clean Installation of Windows XP - Part 1 of 4

    Just remember that in the absence of a Windows 7 DVD, if you delete the Windows 7 partition you've lost Windows 7. If that's what you want then go ahead with a clean install of XP.

    Having said that, I'm still slightly confused, because when you posted you first said you wanted to dual boot, but you later said you wanted to be rid of Win 7 and just use XP.
    Last edited by seavixen32; 24 Jun 2011 at 02:14. Reason: Additional information
      My Computer


 
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