dual boot win7 & winxp separate drives OR upgrade to win7 professional

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  1. Posts : 6
    windows 7 home premium 64bit
       #1

    dual boot win7 & winxp separate drives OR upgrade to win7 professional


    I've researched for awhile now & can't seem to find which is the best way to add winxp functionality to my laptop. I have office xp professional, painter7 & photopaint8 software that worked fine on winxp 32 bit thru sp3.

    New laptop is win7 home premium 64bit. Two 500gb hard drives.

    Which is better- running the programs under win7 xp mode (ie upgrading to professional) OR installing winxp on the 2nd hard drive?

    I am not a techie- but not totally pc ignorant. Any informed advice is truly appreciated.

    eastender
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 17,322
    Win 10 Pro x64
       #2

    Welcome to the forum,

    Is your XP disc a retail disc?

    Since you already have an XP disc, you could try out Windows Virtual PC Windows Virtual PC - Create Virtual Machine

    You don't need to upgrade for that so it's free to try and you don't have to dual boot either.

    There are other options too which I'm sure others can suggest.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 6
    windows 7 home premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Yes- the XP is retail. I will check out the link & see how much of the info I can absorb. I'll probably be back for more advice.

    Thanks for the direction.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 17,322
    Win 10 Pro x64
       #4

    eastender said:
    Yes- the XP is retail. I will check out the link & see how much of the info I can absorb. I'll probably be back for more advice.

    Thanks for the direction.
    You're welcome. We'll be here.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 6
    windows 7 home premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    I went to the link you provided. In the warning box- it doesn't mention win7 home premium. So do I need to upgrade to professional in order to use the virtual machine setup?

    Again- thanks for your help- I don't think I can justify in my mind the over $1,000 I would need to spend in order to purchase the 3 32 bit programs I want to use under winxp--which I'm quite satisfied with-- just because win7 won't play nice with them.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 17,322
    Win 10 Pro x64
       #6

    You just want Virtual PC, not XP mode since you already have an XP disc,

    Download Windows XP Mode

    Click on the link that says,

    dual boot win7 & winxp separate drives OR upgrade to win7 professional-capture.jpg

    Then select your OS version and language.

    Then a link will appear below that.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 6
    windows 7 home premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    I went to this article after googling windows 7 virtual machine Description of Windows Virtual PC

    I see my win7 version listed as a host system BUT for supported guest operating systems -- it only shows Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) Professional

    I have retail winxp home edition SP3. Will it work on the home edition too? The MS sites seem to contain different info relevant to installing the VM.

    Thanks for your assistance.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 6
    windows 7 home premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #8

    Addendum- I think because I noted in my first post that I have Office xp professional, you may have thought of Windows xp professional. Alas- it's only the home edition. Sorry for the lack of clarity.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 17,322
    Win 10 Pro x64
       #9

    eastender said:
    Addendum- I think because I noted in my first post that I have Office xp professional, you may have thought of Windows xp professional. Alas- it's only the home edition. Sorry for the lack of clarity.
    No problem, and You're welcome. :)

    Good call, I wasn't paying close attention to that.

    Here's another free option Downloads - VirtualBox

    And some good info,

    Chapter 1. First steps

    Of course the dual boot option is there also, though not real user friendly for just three programs.... the price is right though.

    I can direct some Pro's here to walk you through that if you'd like.

    You can look through this too, method 2,

    Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

    I was going to suggest trying to install those programs in Compatibility Mode

    Not sure how that would work though after checking here Windows 7 Compatibility: Software Programs & Hardware Devices: Find Updates, Drivers, & Downloads
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 6
    windows 7 home premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Thanks for the links- I will look thru them.

    The programs I noted are not compatible with "straight" win7. Win7 requires more recent versions than the ones I have- which can/will continue to serve my needs quite well when I can incorporate winxp on my new laptop.
      My Computer


 
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