Dual boot W7 and XP diaster

Well, the title of this thread might be a bit hyperbole but I do have a problem.

I was trying to learn how to dual boot W7 and XP from two different HD's. W7 was already on the computer and I loaded my XP disk, it asked what drive, and I selected the proper drive.

After installation of XP I rebooted the computer and I got no screen asking which OS I wanted to boot. I cannot find how to boot the drive with W7.

When I go into disk management the C drive[containing W7] is listed at the top, but not recognized at the bottom. I can click on C at the top and C shows up on the bottom.

So my question is, how to I get the computer to boot W7 again without a new install.

I can't use restore because the only thing that boots is XP and the restore in XP goes no further back than when it was installed.

So if someone could help me resolve this problem I will appreciate it.

Gator said:

When you performed the install on XP, did you ensure that you removed all other devices? Including the Win 7 hard drive and any USB's you have connected..

Be sure to follow this guide
Option Two
Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

No, I didn't. I am trying to learn to work on computers and I have probably made a mistake I will learn from. Is there any way to get the computer to boot W7 again. If not I have a lot of work to do to restore lost programs and files. Thanks for the reply.

AddRAM said:

Yes, unplug the drive with XP on it, Windows 7 should now boot, if it doesn`t you`ll have to run startup repair until it does.

Older Operating Systems should always be installed 1st, but you already had 7 installed so.......

You can use EasyBCD from XP to add Windows 7 to the boot screen.

https://neosmart.net/EasyBCD/

It would have been best to unplug the Windows 7 hard drive before you started, then you simply plug it back in after you have installed XP. Then set the primary OS you want to boot from in the bios. Then when you want to use XP you just choose that OS in the bios, that way the 2 drives are totally independent, do you understand ?

Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

Startup Repair

Is this your everyday pc ? It`s not a good idea to learn on this pc, as you see what can happen. Best to get another old, used machine to experiment on

Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image

Thanks, it an older computer I bought for $100. I try to find dead, or dying; or very inexpensive computers to practice on. So, except for the files I won't lose much on this computer.

And I will unplug the XP HD and see if W7 boots up.

AddRAM said:

Yes, unplug the drive with XP on it, Windows 7 should now boot, if it doesn`t you`ll have to run startup repair until it does.

Older Operating Systems should always be installed 1st, but you already had 7 installed so.......

You can use EasyBCD from XP to add Windows 7 to the boot screen.

https://neosmart.net/EasyBCD/

It would have been best to unplug the Windows 7 hard drive before you started, then you simply plug it back in after you have installed XP. Then set the primary OS you want to boot from in the bios. Then when you want to use XP you just choose that OS in the bios, that way the 2 drives are totally independent, do you understand ?

Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

Startup Repair

Is this your everyday pc ? It`s not a good idea to learn on this pc, as you see what can happen. Best to get another old, used machine to experiment on

Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image

Thanks AddRam, problem fixed. This is a cheap computer I bought. I use it, and another exactly like it, in my office. The other one is the main one I use, and I play with this one to learn what I am doing. I use both, but mainly the other one. Hope that wasn't to confusing.