Windows 7 installation on an older desktop with xp pro s/p 3

sbuxman said:

I can buy a hard drive with Windows 7 preloaded on it dirt cheap at Micro Center in Tustin, CA, a fave haunt of mine. Can't I then just install it in the empty bay in the tower (something else I've also already done before) and change the boot sequence order in the BIOS from the C: drive to the new letter assigned to the new drive installed in Bay 2? Won't the computer now change the boot from the default drive C: like pretty much every other drive in the world and instead boot from the new drive letter assigned to the newly installed drive in bay 2 of the tower? The system now boots from the new drive with Windows 7 preloaded on it! Am I at least in the ballpark of what you're trying to say, addRAM, with some minor caveats as usual? Or must I go the extra mile as you say and just physically unplug the old, XP drive from the motherboard? Is that the gist of what you're recommending? How does your plan differ from my boot sequence order change plan?

Thanks! Amazing what a good nap can do.

Does the pre-loaded Windows include a legitimate Windows 7 license, with a COA sticker ?
What version (and hopefully license) do you get ?
Is it a sysprepped install, that should work with any hardware ?

Is the HD new, used, refurbished, ... ?
What is the Make and Model of the HD ?

Also, BIOS boot sequence doesn't know or care about Windows drive letters.
It looks at devices... HDs, SSDs, CD/DVD, USB, ...

On a correctly installed multi-boot (Windows) PC, each OS should be [C] when that OS is booted.

Do you have a link to this deal showing details ?

On some BIOS' the hard drive priority must be specified first, before settiing Hard Drive to boot first in Boot Priority order. Other BIOS' offer each hard drive to choose Boot Priority order. So you'll need to determine this.

The drive would need to be SysPrepped or may need to Adjust Win7 to boot on new hardware with Paragon Adaptive Restore CD. It would also need an accompanying Product key.

Like David I've never heard of this so would be skeptical until we can see a link to the offer.

I'm ready for my Windows 7 purchase at FRY'S Electronics tomorrow, but in the meantime, today I found an interesting vid on youtube which admittedly feels like it's way too oversimplified, but I'd welcome a reply or two if it's at least in the direction of the way I want to go when I begin the process Saturday morning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saoHu7tlEcQ

Thank you in the interim!

My bad, I cut-and-pasted the wrong link...that was for my Danish roots. Below is the link to what I'd like to put out there...is this the general sequence of events I'll be following day after tomorrow when it's time for the real thing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvBGTmtofwM

That will work but its always better to boot the installation disk, delete all partitions and either create new as you please, format and click Next, or just click Next to let the installer create and format the install partition for you.

These steps for Clean Reinstall Windows 7 compile everything that works best for installing and maintaining Win7 so that you dont' forget to back anything up, perform a perfect install, and then keep it that way. Read over the steps and ask back any questions.

And that's with the understanding that the idea is to keep what's on the HD from the XP install? I think my buddy wants to keep everything now on the XP HD somewhere easily accessible and still on that drive, though it will now boot into Win 7. Can he have both at the same time? Hearing that the best install is with the partitions deleted/formatted scares me because what happens with all of his XP files?

You had asked for more information about my Win 7 purchase. I've decided to play it safe and purchase a genuine Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit Home Premium disk with SP1. It comes with the COA and a license. Is it sold as original equipment manufacture (OEM) because it comes directly from them? Dell would probably say that I should buy their version. Might it really matter all that much?

Thanks.

What you are asking for is an in-place Upgrade which can never be done from XP to Win7. The files must be backed up. Even if issued a Windows.old folder archiving the old install in C drive, this is not a safe backup method because it might not be there after doing the lesser install from the XP OS. So the files should already be backed up, since hard drives can fail at any time, and then the install should be from booted installation media to delete all partitions to get it cleanest as illustrated in Clean Install Windows 7

The goal should not be shortcuts. The goal should be the one perfect install which can then be saved externally as a backup image so you never have to do another. This is the modern way ushered in with Win7. All of it is detailed including everything that must be remembered to back up, how to do a perfect install, set it up and maintain it in Clean Reinstall Windows 7 which has been used by over a million consumers without a single complaint.

It may appear that's what I'm asking for, but I don't realize that! I'm not interested in shortcuts, nor is my buddy, so I'm taking the responsibility to help him because I thoroughly enjoy this type of work and I want to deliver the Cadillac result, not the Chevy.

I was led to believe that a dual-boot option is available to me, so I was writing in that context, not an upgrade, nor did I ever use the word upgrade. Apparently a dual-boot option is not available as it turns out, and I don't understand why.

In your post #17, you have two links for help, "Clean Install Windows 7" and "Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7." Which tutorial do I use? Apparently I'm missing something here.

Who told you that you could not have a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP? You most certainly can, if you shrink the C drive in XP to make space for the Win7 install, or install another hard drive in the PC to use for Win7.


Clean Reinstall Windows 7 explains everything that works best for getting and keeping a perfect install starting with backing everything up without forgetting anything and including the tools and methods to keep it running best, while Clean Install Windows 7 is the illustrated guide of the actual installation procedure showing how to delete and recreate your partitions.

I think it's best to purchase another hard drive today along with a separate purchase of the Windows 7 installation media so that, in my mind, I do as little as possible to the XP drive, i. e., nothing, because the instructions for shrinking, e. g., how many GB to shrink to, are not specific enough for my discouraged self and I don't want to damage anything that isn't my property! It's not really the way I want to go, preferring to set up a dual-boot, but the shrinking instructions are so general. On the other hand, by installing a new drive, I guess I don't have to worry about shrinking on the XP drive? That said, my concern with my new hard drive plan is the power supply currently installed in the Inspiron 530 tower; will it be sufficient to power 2 drives?

Will I find a space in the tower in which to install the new HD, and will the new hard drive need to be sys-prepped once installed? I remember you mentioning this important step. Also, once the new drive is successfully installed, what drives the installation if I'm using a brand new drive, i. e., how does it know what to do? Is the answer to that the reason why addRAM is telling me to totally disconnect the XP drive first and have drivers installed for the new HD, to drive it for the Win 7 installation?

Those last questions, and all of my requests for help and my responses, might be irritating to an experienced helper, but I figure it's how one learns. I really don't spend my time plotting how I can drive you folks crazy with my questions. A kid grows up from the earliest grades always being admonished to not be afraid to ask questions, because that's how one learns. Reality, unfortunately, often feels quite the opposite.