Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

How to Setup a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP​

   Information

This will show you how to install Windows 7 and XP to dual boot with when you already have either Windows 7 or XP installed first.

   Note

With a dual boot installaton, you will have two operating systems (OS) installed. When you start the computer, you will have the choice to choose which OS you would like to start up to. This method is the easiest way of doing a dual boot with these two operating systems.

   Tip

When dual booting with another OS (ex: Vista or XP), you may not always have that OS partition show up in Computer with a driver letter in Windows 7. If this happens, then you will just need to add a drive letter to the OS (ex: Vista or XP) partition in Windows 7 Disk Management for it to show up in Computer with a driver letter.

   Warning

To stop XP from deleting your Windows 7 System Restore Points everytime XP is started, then see System Restore Points - Stop XP Dual Boot Delete to hide Windows 7 from XP.

Windows 7 Minimum Hardware Requirements


NOTE: For more information on this, see: Windows 7 system requirements

• 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• 1 GB RAM for 32-bit Windows 7 OR 2 GB RAM for 64-bit Windows 7
• 16 GB available disk space 32-bit Windows 7 OR 20 GB for 64-bit Windows 7
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (in order to enable Aero theme)
• DVD-R/W Drive
• Internet or phone access to activate Windows 7.

Windows XP Minimum Hardware Requirements

NOTE: For more information on this, see: System requirements for Windows XP operating systems

• PC with 300 megahertz (MHz) or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233-MHz minimum required;* Intel Pentium/Celeron family, AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended
• 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)
• 1.5 gigabyte (GB) of available hard disk space.*
• Super VGA (800 × 600) or higher resolution video adapter and monitor
• CD-ROM or DVD drive
• Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device

EXAMPLE: Windows Boot Manager
NOTE: This is the boot screen where you select what operating system that you would like to start. By default, you have 30 seconds to choose another operating system before the default operating system will start automatically.

OPTION ONE

When XP is Installed First

NOTE: If you have a RAID setup, you will need to have the Windows 7 RAID drivers on a USB flash drive available to select and load while installing Windows 7.
1. Do step 2 or 3 below for where you wanted to install Windows 7 at.

2. To Create a New Partition from the XP Hard Disk Drive
A) With your Windows 7 installation disc boot into the Command Prompt from the System Recovery Options screen.
NOTE: Make sure that the CD/DVD drive is selected first in the boot order in the BIOS.

B) In the command prompt, select and shrink the XP volume by how many MB (1024 MB = 1 GB) you want to have for this Windows 7 partition. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You would do steps 2 to 9 in METHOD TWO at that link. Windows 7 will need a minimum of 16 GB (16384 MB).

C) Click on the X at the top right corner to close the command prompt. (See screenshot above)

D) Click on the X at the top right corner to close System Recovery Options. (See screenshot below)

E) Go to step 4.
3. To Use a Separate Hard Disk Drive than the XP Drive
A) Boot from your Windows 7 installation disc.
NOTE: Make sure that the CD/DVD drive is selected first in the boot order in the BIOS.
4. Click on the Install now button. (See screenshot below)

5. When you get to this point, select the partition (step 2) or hard drive to install Windows 7 on. (See screenshot below)

6. Finish installing Windows 7.
NOTE: You would start at step 9 in that link to finish installing Windows 7.

7. When finished, restart the computer to have the option to boot from XP (Earlier Verision of Windows) or Windows 7. (See screenshot below)

   Note

If you are only booting into Windows 7 and do not have XP listed in the Windows Boot Manager, then you can install only EasyBCD (step 8 Option Two below) to add XP (or Windows 7) while started in Windows 7 the same way to the boot list.

OPTION TWO

When Windows 7 is Installed First

   Warning

• If you have a RAID setup, you will need to have the XP RAID drivers for your specific motherboard on a Floppy disc available to select and load at the F6 prompt while installing XP.
• If you have a SATA drive, then you will need to do either one of these options to load the SATA drivers for XP for your specific motherboard.
  • How to Slipstream SATA drivers into Windows XP setup CD with Dual Boot of Windows 7 or Vista
  • How to Load SATA Drivers in Windows XP Setup on your Dual Boot PC with Vista or Windows 7 for how to load your SATA drivers from a Floppy disc at the F6 prompt while installing XP.

1. To Create a New Partition from the Windows 7 Hard Disk Drive
NOTE: If you want to install XP on a separate internal hard drive instead, then skip this step and go to step 2.
A) In Windows 7, select and shrink the Windows 7 volume in Disk Management by how many MB (1024 MB = 1 GB) you want to have for this XP partition. (See screenshots below)
NOTE: You would do all of Method One at that link.





2. Insert your XP installation disc, then restart the computer and press any key to boot from it when prompted. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: Make sure that the CD/DVD drive is selected first in the boot order in the BIOS.

3. From XP Setup, Press Enter. (See screenshot below)

   Warning

• If you have a RAID setup, you will need to have the XP RAID drivers for your specific motherboard on a Floppy disc available to select and load at the F6 prompt while installing XP.
• If you have a SATA drive, then you will need to do either one of these options to load the SATA drivers for XP for your specific motherboard.
  • How to Slipstream SATA drivers into Windows XP setup CD with Dual Boot of Windows 7 or Vista
  • How to Load SATA Drivers in Windows XP Setup on your Dual Boot PC with Vista or Windows 7 for how to load your SATA drivers from a Floppy disc at the F6 prompt while installing XP.

4. Press F8. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: On some multimedia keyboards, you may need to press the F-Lock or Function key before pressing F8.

5. Select the partition (step 1) or hard drive that you want to install XP on using the arrow keys and press Enter.

6. Finish installing XP.

   Tip

If you get Error loading Operating System after XP restarts:

• Using your Windows 7 installation disc, boot to the command prompt at startup.
• Type in these comands below, and press enter after each one.
  • bootrec /FixMbr
  • bootrec /FixBoot
  • bootrec /RebuildBcd
• Exit the command prompt and restart the computer.
• At this point, Windows 7 should boot up the same way before trying to install XP.
• Continue to step 8 below and run EasyBCD from Windows 7 instead.

7. In XP, download and install .Net Framework 2.0 (32-bit) version or .Net Framework 2.0 (64-bit) version first, and EasyBCD (free version) for your 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x86) XP.
NOTE: In XP, Net Framework is required to be installed to run EasyBCD. After you click on Register (at bottom of link) for the free EasyBCD, registration is not required to download it.

8. Run EasyBCD (free version).
NOTE: This is required to repair the Windows 7 boot file and add XP to the Windows Boot Manager list.

9. On the left side of EasyBCD, click on the Add New Entry button. (See screenshot below)
A) In the top section under Operating Systems, click on the Windows tab. (See screenshot below)
B) To the right of Type, select Windows NT/2k/XP/2k3 from the drop down menu. (See screenshot below)
:warn:WARNING: Be sure to leave the Automatically detect correct drive box checked.

C) To the right of Name, you can leave the default Microsoft Windows XP as the name to be displayed in the Windows Boot Manager, or you can type whatever name you would like to have instead. (See screenshot below)
D) Click on the Add Entry button. (See screenshot below)

10. On the left side of EasyBCD, click on the BCD Deployment button, select (dot) the Install the Windows Vista/7 bootloader to the MBR option, and click on the Write MBR button. (See screenshot below)

11. Close EasyBCD.

12. Restart the computer to have the option to boot from Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 7. (See screenshot below)

   Tip

If Windows 7 will not start up when selected, then use your Windows 7 installation DVD to do a Startup Repair.

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Setup a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and Vista
• How to Setup a Dual Boot Installation with Windows Vista and XP
• How to Do a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Dual Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu
• How to Correctly Setup a Dual Boot with Windows 7 and LinuxMint13
• How to Change Time to Display Operating Systems at Boot in Windows 7
• How to Change the Listed OS Arrangement Order in Windows Boot Manager Screen
• How to Change the Default Operating System to Start in Windows 7
• How to Delete an Operating System Listed in Windows Boot Manager
• How to Change the OS Name in Windows Boot Manager
• How to Do a Clean Installation with Windows 7
• How to Install Windows 7 FAST without a DVD or USB Device
• Install Windows 7 Without Using Any External Device
• How to Setup Windows 7 to Boot from a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk)
• How to Create a Windows 7 VHD at Boot to Start with from Boot
• How to Do a Custom Installation of Windows 7
• How to Load SATA Drivers in Windows XP Setup on your Dual Boot PC with Vista or Windows 7
• How to Slipstream SATA drivers into Windows XP setup CD with Dual Boot of Windows 7 or Vista
• How to Load SATA Driver Using Shift+F10 to Open Command Prompt
• How to Recover a Partition Used by an Older OS in a Dual Boot
• How to Properly Delete a OS in a Dual Boot
• How to Stop System Restore Points from being Deleted in Vista and Windows 7 when Dual Booting with XP

 

[gregrocker]

Since you've started Win7 now, install EasyBCD 2.1 to add XP OS, accept any offered boot files, it will autocomplete, Save and restart to Dual Boot Menu. EasyBCD 2.1 - NeoSmart Technologies

 

[crisspaulo05]

btw, @gregrocker - Which one ? haha, sorry for being noob, it's my first time using this program
and can you please say what should I do next? so that I won't be asking again, thanks, have a nice day !

 

[gregrocker]

Click on Write Image File to Disk, then click Browse for file icon on next screen, select ISO file, set to 4x speed with Verify, Burn DVD.

 

[crisspaulo05]

Click on Write Image File to Disk, then click Browse for file icon on next screen, select ISO file, set to 4x speed with Verify, Burn DVD.

Ok, thanks again. I don't regret that I had registered in this forum . Friendly and helpful people here +1 sir gregrocker

 

[gregrocker]

Glad to help. Let us know how it goes.

 

[ShadowMario3]

Great job here.
But there are some challenges am facing here
1) The systems these days are no more with Floppy Drive 1, as you said flash cannot be used;
2) I load XP on Window 7 machine, i was able to see the Partitions and the installation was successful, but i was on able to log into win 7 again until i used Win 7 CD to repair. After this i could not log in into XP again as well because this is no WINDOWS BOOT MANAGER platform to select different OS.
Please what should i do?
And i do not what to do fresh installation of the 2 OS.
Thanks, Please it is Urgent

Put the Windows XP installation CD, look for the NTDETECT and NTLDR files, copy and paste them to the root directory of the XP drive.

Before you do that, is the Windows Boot Manager there? If not, use VistaBootPRO or EasyBCD to activate it.

Didn't see gregrocker's post when writing this. Do what he says, and just go with EasyBCD.

 

[gregrocker]

Seas -

As stated EasyBCD 2.1 will offer XP boot files if they are needed so there is no reason to manually copy them. This is what Easy is for.

After installing EasyBCD to Win7: If another XP installation shows up in Easy listings, delete it first on Edit OS tab before adding it.

 

[seas]

Great you!, it works fine, though i had issues b4 getting it right. After this Installation i tried to install DRIVERS of the machine used, but any time i try this i it dispays: UNABLE TO CREAT SPECIFIED OUTPUT FOLDER. so uptil now drivers for hp 500m bt desktop using is not yet installed.
Please, what is the way out of this.
Though am new on this forum but notice that Guys are doing great Job to Help Others.
Thanks alot.
Waiting for the SOLUTION please

 

[theog]

Great you!, it works fine, though i had issues b4 getting it right. After this Installation i tried to install DRIVERS of the machine used, but any time i try this i it dispays: UNABLE TO CREAT SPECIFIED OUTPUT FOLDER. so uptil now drivers for hp 500m bt desktop using is not yet installed.
Please, what is the way out of this.
Though am new on this forum but notice that Guys are doing great Job to Help Others.
Thanks alot.
Waiting for the SOLUTION please

hp 500m bt

HP bt500 Bluetooth USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter, drivers are here:
Software & Driver Downloads HP bt500 Bluetooth USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter - HP technical support (United Kingdom - English)

Compaq 500B Microtower PC, drivers are here:
Compaq 500B Microtower PC -  Download drivers and software - HP Business Support Center

If No, to above, can you post the model No of your PC.

 

[seas]

@ thoeg, i have downloaded the DRIVERS, but whenever i try installing any of the them this is the error report given
" UNABLE TO CREAT SPECIFIED OUTPUT FOLDER" . What should i do to resolve this.
Thanks for your Response

 

[gregrocker]

Right click the extracted Setup.exe file to Run as Admin.

 

[King Drax I]

Setting up XP after installing Win7. Booting up the WinXP CD gives me a BSOD STOP: 0x0000007B error.

When I first installed the drivers for the motherboard, I also installed something called Intel Rapid Storage Technology. Is that a RAID system and is that why my WinXP CD is giving the STOP error? And if so where do Iget the RAID drivers, is it another Motherboard manufacturer's job? And can I uninstall the RAID system?

Y'see, my mobo is a Micro-Star International board but I can't find the model number. 'System Information for Windows' gives it as 'To be filled by O.E.M.'

Also I have no floppy drive; it's a laptop. Surely there must be some way of doing this - nobody has a floppy drive any more!! The only thing I can think of doing is to somehow create a disc image of a fully-working WinXP system and put that on my intended partition using Macrium Reflect or similar. Would that be practical?

Any ideas, please?

 

[ShadowMario3]

Setting up XP after installing Win7. Booting up the WinXP CD gives me a BSOD STOP: 0x0000007B error.

When I first installed the drivers for the motherboard, I also installed something called Intel Rapid Storage Technology. Is that a RAID system and is that why my WinXP CD is giving the STOP error? And if so where do Iget the RAID drivers, is it another Motherboard manufacturer's job? And can I uninstall the RAID system?

Y'see, my mobo is a Micro-Star International board but I can't find the model number. 'System Information for Windows' gives it as 'To be filled by O.E.M.'

Also I have no floppy drive; it's a laptop.

Any ideas, please?

Yeah, you need to get the Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers. Go to the Device Manager in Windows 7 (Right-click Computer, click Manage, then click on Device Manager in the menu on the left), go to the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers (I think it SHOULD be there), check the driver version, and try to find a version of it for XP on Intel's site.

Since you don't have a floppy drive, you'll need to use nLite to integrate the driver you found into the Windows XP installation disk. There's a turorial on how to add the driver. After that, the Windows XP installation should load like normal.

 

[King Drax I]

Brilliant! Better than downloading the drivers, now I know what to look for on my system CD, I have found the same version of the driver in the WinXP folder.

I will integrate now and see how I get on. Thanks!

[Edit] Still gives a STOP error. I will do more research to make sure I have the correct drivers, and try again. I'll let you know either way. Thanks for your help

Cheers
Tony

 

[gregrocker]

SATA Drivers - Slipstream into Windows XP CD

 

[King Drax I]

Ok, an update. I have removed the Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers using Add/Remove Programs or whatever its equivalent is in Win7.

I have tried to use the original XP disc to install WinXP and I still get the STOP error.

Therefore no doubt I should try to find the drivers for SATA now rather than RAID - I'm not really sure that the system was doing RAID drives anyway.

The list of ATA/ATAPI controllers now has lots of drives listed, it's very different from what it was before the IRST was uninstalled.

So now I am looking for Intel 5/3400 drivers and I will keep you posted

Cheers
Tony

 

[theog]

Ok, an update. I have removed the Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers using Add/Remove Programs or whatever its equivalent is in Win7.

I have tried to use the original XP disc to install WinXP and I still get the STOP error.

Therefore no doubt I should try to find the drivers for SATA now rather than RAID - I'm not really sure that the system was doing RAID drives anyway.

The list of ATA/ATAPI controllers now has lots of drives listed, it's very different from what it was before the IRST was uninstalled.

So now I am looking for Intel 5/3400 drivers and I will keep you posted

Cheers
Tony

Your Win XP CD may/may not have the Sata Controller Drivers you need.
As Win XP CD with NO SP's has a few Drivers, to Win XP with SP3 has most Drivers for Sata Controllers.
Can you post the MSI model No? (not the Novatech)

If you have the Intel Sata Controller, you can download from here:
F6 Intel Sata Controller



or from this folder on the CD.

 

[King Drax I]

Thanks again D/l'd the web version, will try asap and let you know the outcome.

Cheers
Tony

 

[theog]

Thanks again D/l'd the web version, will try asap and let you know the outcome.

Cheers
Tony

You are welcome.

 

[King Drax I]

Ok I have the f6flyp3289.zip and I have unzipped the files.

I have run nlite and created a folder on my desktop (XPR) to which nlite has copied the WinXP master CD. I have created a folder in the XPR folder, and have included both the iastor.inf and iastor.sys in a folder in that directory called 'microstar'. When nlite asks me to point to the .inf file, I point it to that one and it runs and burns the CD.

Was that correct to do it that way, or should I have copied the entire contents of the F6 floppy zip file to the folder?

Booting from the new nlite Windows CD still produces a STOP error. This is getting really frustrating; is it really possible to actually run a 32-bit and a 64-bit OS on the same machine?

One other thing is that I have removed the Intel IMSM system from my machine using Add/Remove Programs. The IMSM system will now no longer install from the apps CD that came with the computer. I removed it because I wanted to simplify the problem: IMSM is as far as I know a RAID system so I wanted to remove the necessity for an XP RAID driver. If I have sinned then please forgive me