Dual boot: one 32x, one 64x

[MilesAhead]

It isn't easy at all, and isn't feasible, either. XP Mode also doesn't take 4 hours to set up, so I'm still not sure why you are bashing it. Have you ever given XP Mode a shot? I'm asking honestly, because it seems you have fears about it and have been told incorrect info.

You mean it isn't easy for you!! We all forget the struggles of doing something the first time. On another board there's a guy that advocates a VM as solution to every problem where it's remotely feasible. Nothing to it. Easy to set up. Then I looked back in his posts a couple years back. There were pleas for help setting up his first VM over several weeks before he got it all working. Everything is easy once you figure it out.

Multiple OS isn't all that difficult for me. I had 5 OS running off 2 HD on a 486 almost 20 years ago. Didn't even have the backup images they have now and all ran smooth.

A newb can spend weeks trying to get a VM right. Sure most of the stuff will work the same day. But getting everything to work may take weeks, like my pal on the other board. Also once you set up a VM then you are carrying it on that OS install. Another thing to get trashed if the OS gets trashed, rather than a self-contained bootable drive.

What's "easy" is what's easy for the person who already did it once.

 

[DeaconFrost]

XP Mode isn't the same thing as setting up a VM from scratch, in something like VirtualBox. That can take some time to play around with, especially with networking and USB sharing.

XP Mode installs as easy as any other application, and is a finished, bootable VM when it is done. There's nothing difficult about it at all to get started, nor does it take hours to do. You need to separate out XP Mode from manual VM configurations, where you need to specify the OS install source, have a license, and go through the setup routine. Give XP Mode a shot, and you'll see what I mean.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/install-and-use-windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7#section_3

 

[MilesAhead]

XP Mode isn't the same thing as setting up a VM from scratch, in something like VirtualBox. That can take some time to play around with, especially with networking and USB sharing.

XP Mode installs as easy as any other application, and is a finished, bootable VM when it is done. There's nothing difficult about it at all to get started, nor does it take hours to do. You need to separate out XP Mode from manual VM configurations, where you need to specify the OS install source, have a license, and go through the setup routine. Give XP Mode a shot, and you'll see what I mean.

Install and use Windows XP Mode in Windows 7

Right. But since neither one of us knows what software the OP is talking about I don't see how it can be guaranteed to run on a hosted child OS. May not even run on a real XP machine since it's different hardware. 99% of the time if partitions are created and marked properly and the boot gets hosed it's because the new OS installed put its boot files on the root of the first primary partition. When trying to boot it off a boot manager, it's not in the first primary partition. The boot files(if it's NT to XP then it should be ntdetect.com and ntldr) are not found. You get boot failure. The fix is simply to copy the boot files from the install CD to the partition where XP is actually installed. You boot the install CD, get a command prompt, and copy the 2 files. It's no big deal if you've done it once and expect it. The fault is most guides you find on the web leave out that step. The user gets into hair pulling panic due to the unexpected error.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I hope/think you are talking about dual-booting in your list of steps and mistakes. None of those are present in a VM, which is why the technology has killed dual-booting (thankfully). One of the biggest reasons I push VMs as solutions is that they run everything a native install would (minus some 3D stuff), and don't ever mess with the host system.

 

[seavixen32]

I have used XP Mode and VMWare and in the end chose VMWare because its performance was better.

MilesAhead makes a very valid point: everything is easy once you know how it works.

Personally, I found computers (I started with Windows 95) to be a very steep learning curve and after I'd bought my first one I realised I didn't know what to do with it.

That's where forums like this one come into their own. Windows online help files are no substitute for corresponding with someone who knows how things work and can point out the pitfalls.

 

[MilesAhead]

I hope/think you are talking about dual-booting in your list of steps and mistakes. None of those are present in a VM, which is why the technology has killed dual-booting (thankfully). One of the biggest reasons I push VMs as solutions is that they run everything a native install would (minus some 3D stuff), and don't ever mess with the host system.

I'm sure it's better for some things. More than one way to skin the cat.

 

[C32C3]

I have checked the Epson website

Epson Perfection 1640SU, Drivers & Downloads - Technical Support - Epson America, Inc.

There are definitely no drivers for a 64x OS. So, it looks like a dual boot is the answer but I am not going to do it. I hate dual boots. Some time next year I will make a clean installation. Maybe then I will consider a 86x instead of a 64x. But that's a BIG maybe.

 

[DeaconFrost]

You are able to hook in USB devices to VMs and use them under older OSes. My wife did this so she could use an old Canon scanner. You can also google the printer model and see what workarounds exist for getting the printer to work. I've had friends with old HP printers that had no official Windows 7 support, but Windows Update brought down drivers for them.

 

[MilesAhead]

A guy on another forum swears he can image(using Macrium Reflect or another similar) from and installed machine(say a PC with XP on C drive) and restore to a HD in a USB 2.0 docking station.

From boot up screen he can select Boot from USB and boot the OS on the drive in the dock. That's why I suggested if it's only very occasional use it may be worth setting up. Keep the HD in a drawher and insert in the dock when needed.

He does his own builds so I guess HD swap is very easy. Instead of just making a backup image he restores to a HD in a dock and sticks it in a drawer. If he has a HD failure he opens the box and swaps the HD.

But I digress. Anyway, with this technique you don't have to carry around a VM and neither do you have a Boot Manager screen when you boot. You use the BIOS booting option to boot from the USB dock when needed.

 

[DeaconFrost]

You can't run a Windows OS from a USB 2.0 device. It's been tried many times over the years. Assuming you'd even get it to work, it will be far from usable. If it was an eSATA enclosure, it would work fine, but then it would be no different than an internal SATA drive, aka a dual boot. I know you think VMs are difficult and scary, and should be avoided, but there's a reason why Microsoft created XP Mode. Companies deploy it to non-technical users (including mine).

I'll grant you that setting up a VirtualBox or VMWare VM isn't easy, but as I've suggested previously, using and installing XP Mode is as simple as installing any other app or Windows Update.

 

[MilesAhead]

You can't run a Windows OS from a USB 2.0 device. It's been tried many times over the years. Assuming you'd even get it to work, it will be far from usable. If it was an eSATA enclosure, it would work fine, but then it would be no different than an internal SATA drive, aka a dual boot. I know you think VMs are difficult and scary, and should be avoided, but there's a reason why Microsoft created XP Mode. Companies deploy it to non-technical users (including mine).

I'll grant you that setting up a VirtualBox or VMWare VM isn't easy, but as I've suggested previously, using and installing XP Mode is as simple as installing any other app or Windows Update.

That's it then. The guy has ESata docks. Because he kept asking me how fast my UsB 3.0 docks were compared to his ESata speeds. Anyway, it seems once somebody gets into VMs it's like if all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. Too each his own.

 

[C32C3]

I have downloaded and installed WinXP Mode and Windows Virtual PC. Now I want to install the Epson Scanner but I am not sure how to do this. First, to install the software for the scanner. I need to install in the WinXP Mode because the drivers are only provided for a 32bit pc and my pc is a 64bit.

 

[DeaconFrost]

There should be a way in Virtual PC to hook in USB devices so the printer is available inside XP. It will probably be listed as "unknown device" or something like it. Once that is done, just load the XP drivers inside XP and you'll be fine.