Windows 7 - Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

Hello, I'm planning on doing a dual-boot so I have 7 for basic browsing and online multiplayer (since World of Warcraft works perfectly for me) and XP for offline gaming (since Fallout 3 and Windows 7 are like water and oil apparently). Does it matter if I rename the drive since I'll more than likely just be using 7 for the most part? And about this SATA business, I have no idea whether or not my HD is SATA, ATA, RAID, IDE whatever it is. Any tips on figuring out what it is without opening her up?

Have you tried VMWare, Virtual Player or Virtual Box freeware to run XP virtually from Windows 7? It is a whole lot easier than grappling with an XPiring OS.

If you must, boot the XP CD, see if it detects HD. If not you'll need the SATA drivers inserted using one of these methods: SATA Drivers - Load in Windows XP Setup on Dual Boot - Windows 7 Forums
SATA Drivers - Slipstream into Windows XP CD

I actually didn't even think about doing a virtual install. That would be a lot easier I suppose. But will it allow enough memory for gaming? If so how much memory do I need to allocate for it?

Well, you also have to consider that Virtualization is not ideal for moderate to heavy gaming. I'm unsure if it can make full use of the video card's power.

Ah, yeah, Command and Conquer Red Alert would probably run in a virtual install of XP, but I doubt Fallout 3 will. Double boot it is. Thanks for the advice all, I really appreciate it.

Yes, most probably. Let us know how it goes. Good luck

hey now I have a problem I mean I have the F8 option in Windows 7 and In Windows XO I dont have it. How can I enable it?

Try tapping F8 immediately after you choose XP on the Dual Boot menu.

Using method 2, I reached step/screen 5
But It doesn't show me my partitions.

(Note: My Windows Installation is loaded on a USB, through a program called "WinSetupFromUSB". Also When I try to use the Windows Installation from my CD, my PC crashes. " Blue Screen of Death" )

So, while in your tut, you get 3 partitions, I only get 1 ( which is my 4 gig USB)

Anyone please help.
I looked through YouTube, this forum, and many others. And I couldn't find anything to relate to my situation
:/

You'll need to insert the SATA controller drivers at the F6 prompt during the initial driver-loading phase, or if you don't have floppy support slipstream them into the installer.

SATA Drivers - Load in Windows XP Setup on Dual Boot
SATA Drivers - Slipstream into Windows XP CD