Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

ok thanks will update from sp 2 to sp 3 via standalone installer
n will get back to you

Ok guys, think I'm facing a small problem with my XP installation and would appreciate if someone can help me out.

I've followed every step that Brink has posted for a Dual Boot installation with Windows 7 & XP (awesome and very detailed info by the way, c/w screen shots), but when i try to boot with the boot-up CD created using N-Lite, the existing Windows 7 OS will just take over bypassing the whole XP installation procedures.

Any way around this? And thanks in advance.

Are you setting the CD drive to boot first in BIOS setup, or tapping the F-key given on first screen for Boot Menu to choose it from there? We can't advise you specifically because you didn't fill in your System Specs.

If you have set the CD drive to boot correctly and are not prompted to "Press Any key to boot disk" then the disk needs to be burned again. I would use ImgBurn at 4x speed if in doubt.

Hi Greg, thanks much for the response. I've filled up some important details of system specs but skipped some as info is not in hand.

I've set PC up properly, i.e. it boots up from CD-drive and I'm asked to press any key to boot. However, once I've pressed a key it'll just bypass the installation CD and automatically start-up Windows7. It seemed like a same problem I initially encountered when I tried to install XP over Windows7 before I came over to this forum for help. Then, it said that I had a newer OS than the one on CD and thus did not allow me to install XP. Only difference now, is there is no such message but will just start Windows7 automatically, bypassing the XP installation procedures.

Hope you get what I mean & thanks again.

Is the XP disk dirty or scratched? Give it a good cleaning.

Try another XP SP3 installer for your licensed version.

See if any other bootable CD will boot correctly.

Try writing XP ISO to flash stick using Win2Flash - USB video

I would recommend Poweriso free (non registered ) version for creating/writing Windows installation discs and flash drives.

It is small, it is free, it has a lot of other capabilities and it works perfectly for me every time.

PowerISO - Create, Burn, Mount, Edit, Compress, Encrypt, Split, Extract ISO file, ISO/BIN converter, Virtual Drive

You can pay for a license to unlock even more features, tho the free version is perfect for what you want.

I have arrived at Step 4, but cannot go any further with my Windows 7 64-bit installation disc. I have a PC with XP Pro 32-bit installed on my C drive and 3Gb of memory. I have created another partition on the same HDD as the C Drive is located on. This is now Drive I:\

If I try to access theWindows 7 64-bit installation disc directly, I am told that it is not a valid Win32 application, and I am brought to a halt. I have used msconfig.sys to alter the bootup constituents but it makes no difference, I still get the same message. If I try to boot with the installation disc in the DVD Drive, having changed the BIOS settings to start the boot with the CD/DVD, I end up with XP Pro being loaded into the PC, and no input from the Windows 7 installation disc in the DVD Drive at all.

I really cannot think of any other way forward from this point. I would like to have the 64-bit system installed, but just as an experiment, thinking I might be able to change from 32 to 64 bits later on, I tried to load the 32-bit installation disc for Windows 7, but that didn't work either - another message saying it was an invalid Win32 application.

Help please! If you can help me, please please make the steps I have to take on my journey very detailed and easy to follow. You must have gathered by now that I am not the brightest spark in all things computer, so be patient with lots of detail.

Regards
Philhen

First off I would use 32 bit with 3gb RAM unless you plan to upgrade it to at least 4gb.

The problem is that you're not booting the disk - it's trying to start from the OS and then it's bypassing booting disk to start XP.

Set the DVD drive first to boot in BIOS setup. Is there a prompt to Press Any Key? If not try the one-time BIOS Boot Menu key given on first boot screen.

If these fail make sure you have the latest official installer ISO burned to DVD or written to flash stick as outlined in Steps 1 and 2 in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.

Hi, Gregrocker,

Many thanks for taking the trouble to reply and help. I have only installed 3Gb of ram for the Windows XP Pro OS, and yes, if I can get 64-bit Win 7 working, I will install more ram.

I should have mentioned that I have purchased the Windows 7 Home Premium edition which contains 2 discs, one for Windows 7 32-bit, and the other for Windows 7 64-bit. The package also contains a Product Key and a small booklet entitled 'Welcome to your PC, simplified - Windows 7.' The 2 discs appear to be genuine with holgrams on/in each, and are overwritten, 'Includes Windows Anytime Upgrade'.

I am not sure what screen you are talking about when you mentioned Boot screen - can you make it absolutely clear to me what I am looking for? When I do switch the computer on, the screens flash by very very quickly, far too fast for me to read their contents. Is there a temporary way of slowing this down?

Regards,

Philhen.

What is the computer make/model?

Read the manual on the computer or mobo model's Support Downloads webpage to find out which key is pressed at boot to enter BIOS setup. Then find the BIOS Boot order and set DVD drive to boot first as shown here: How To Boot From a CD (or DVD or BD) Disc

Every computer or mobo has a one-time BIOS Boot Menu key which you can also find in your manual, by googling, or on the first BIOS screen. By tapping that key you can also trigger the DVD drive to boot.