Windows 7: Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

Good guide.

I have Windows 7 installed. I want to dual boot with Windows XP. I already have the separate partition in place for Windows XP. Here is my problem.

Everytime I restart Windows and put in the Windows XP CD. It goes to the standard blue setup screen, then checks the files. But then it does not load to the Windows XP menu to install Windows XP, but rather, it goes to the blue screen.

Any help on this issue would be good.

Pretty sure that you have to boot from the XP CD, and install from there.

See if that does the trick for you...

Be aware that when you finish XP installation,

you'll probably lose your Windows 7 Bootmgr screen...

I have a problem. I instaled WinXP Pro x64 and it already overwrited Windows 7 boot loader. And now, I know, I dont know how to fix this. I tried with Windows 7 DVD Startup repair, but it only finds Windows 7. I also tried EasyBCD in Windows 7, but I dont know what to add there.
Any help?

Hello John,

You should be able to pick up at step 7 in METHOD TWO from within XP to have Windows 7 and XP in the boot file to select either one at startup.

Well, I tried that, but when I choose Windows XP, it sad that it doesnt exist..
But nevermind, I somehow managed to get back to XP, now I will install EasyBCD here and and Windows 7 option..

Tried the above dual boot instructions with two hard drives. Worked on the instructions and played with different scenarios this weekend. Wife had to work all weekend. Yes i have a life! Simply, the instructions above need a little help. My system is a HP Pavilion a1430n a dual core basic system. Two SATA drives and one Ultra ATA IDE drive.

One SATA has the original XP Pro, the second SATA is a slave and the Ultra ATA IDE drive where i installed windows 7 Ultimate (64bit).

Changed boot priority in bios to Ultra ATA drive with 7 installed.

EasyBCD version 1.7 does not work on Ultimate 7. It will not create a Ultimate 7 choice in the XP boot screen.

To get a dual boot screen on your system you need to work within Ultimate 7 not XP. Download EasyBCD 2.0 Beta which is designed for Vista/Ultimate 7. Follow the instructions in the above section 10 to create a XP line in the boot screen. Please note that its very important to know which drive in Ultimate 7 computer screen that registers the hard drive that has the XP program installed. I recommend that you rename the drives so you know which includes the XP programs.

This will create a boot screen in Ultimate 7 and will have Windows XP as the second boot when you turn on your system.

Thanks for sharing your experiences Brentwood.

Easybcd 1.7.2 works fine.

When working with bcdedit (or Easybcd) the entry needs to reference the correct partition. Slightly more complicated if you have several drives.

An entry for XP needs to point at the location of the XP o/s loader. That will be ntldr - usually found on the first Active partition in the Bios boot order at the time XP was installed. Not necessarily the same partition the XP o/s files are installed on.

To add an entry for an nt6 o/s , it is the other way round. The o/s loader is located on the partition the o/s is installed on - not necessarily the Active partition.

I have been testing Easybcd 2.0 for some time. It is not in the tutorial presumably because it is still beta.

It attempts to autoselect the correct partition when adding an XP entry - usually ( but not always) that will make it easier. It also allows bcd entries to be added for 7 vhd's.

You are right that many will find it simpler to edit bcd from within 7.

Hope you had a fun weekend.

I have the same issue, i had 7 on my one pc, just added XP and all i get is error loading operating system. did a fixmbr on the xp drive but still the same thing? any help please?

hey guys 1st post & great forum you all have built. Right, now some more problems for ya's lol, Just finished the duel boot install & all went well (spot on tutorial), small trouble is my drive letters, got a 250g drive partitioned, Windows 7 on first part & xp on 2nd, when i look in both OS windows explorers i get Windows 7=C: & XP=D: pain in the butt when installing on xp (gotta change the install letter), anyway to have it so both OS see themselves as C: ?

Hi Dad and welcome to the forums!!

The system will always show separate partitions as individual ( virtual ) drives.. The reason for this is that programs/registry files need to be seperate as the operating systems are totally different and need to be installed on separate drives...