Reinstalling old XP HDD on new, Win7 64 system/HDD?

Hello, Excellent tutorials! I've read through most of the pages in this thread, but can't seem to figure out where I go from here. I'm sure it's simple, but now I'm a bit confused....

I had Win XP 32 for years on computer, then recently purchased upgraded mobo, CPU, memory, and SATA 320Gb HDD (all 64), to accommodate a fresh, clean install of Win 7 64 Pro, also purchased.

With previous help on this wonderful forum, I was able to complete installation of 7 on newly built system (without SATA 640Gb XP HDD present), and it works fine. I've configured new 7 system to most of my liking, and now want to set up a dual boot configuration, if only to access/copy/burn old data files.

I wont need an "easy" dual boot setup for regular use, as it seems some do for legacy programs/games. Can I just shut down PC, remove 7 drive, install XP drive, and boot up old XP? I know that I may have to Repair Install XP from orig. disc, and will most likely have to validate seriously upgraded system. Or, can I just shut down system, install old XP drive, turn system on, and get access to XP drive from some boot access method? Will 7 "see" the XP drive at boot up or in BIOS, so I can select XP drive and boot straight from it instead?

My 7 year-old has her own XP desktop which I built for her, so I can always access burned pictures or data files from discs on it, I presume, if necessary, then I can proceed to wipe XP from my old drive and incorporate it into new 7 system.

Again, it's probably right in front of my face, but I'm confused nonetheless, and do NOT want to mess up my wonderful new Windows 7 system.

Thank you!

Do you want to?

1) Copy your Data to Win 7

2) Dual boot Win7 & XP

#1. Copy data. Maybe on separate partition?

1) Make sure your Win7 HD is pluged into Sata1 on mobo & first boot in BIOS.
2) Plug your Old Win XP HD into Sata2.
3) Copy files over.
4) Reformat when all files copyed.

Wow. That easy? Thank you much, theog. And the Win 7 won't have any problems opening photos, docs, saved website pages, etc. after copying over?

Thank You Again!

gigem891 said:

Wow. That easy? Thank you much, theog. And the Win 7 won't have any problems opening photos, docs, saved website pages, etc. after copying over?

Thank You Again!

You are welcome.

You won't be able to start up XP drive, just copy over its files as long as XP is given a drive letter in Win7 Disk management.

If you want to boot XP drive you'll need to do an XP Repair Install to acclimate it to the new hardware, then reactivate.

You can then select HD to boot via BIOS boot order or the BIOS shortcut key given on first bootup screen for Boot menu (often F10, F12 or F8).

Thank You, gregrocker. I was able to cut/paste all necessary files, about 50 Gb from old XP drive, and have already formatted it for use with new Windows 7 system.

As mentioned previously, I liked XP a lot, and bypassed Vista for multiple reasons, and while a dual boot system may be ok for some, I'd rather not.

So, with saved data now secure and accessible from Windows 7, I can move on with my life, with no looking back.

And, BTW....Mr. Gates and staff came up with a decent OS with Win 7 just in time to keep me from moving over to, and suggesting to others, a Mac.

With all that CAN BE DONE with an OS, Windows 7 accomplishes a great deal, and deserves a serious nod.