stuffed dualboot inst. win764preinstalled- xppro32. n

kdish · 15 Jul 2012

I have a dell n5050 laptop with win7-64 home premium
preinstalled on Sata hdd.
Tried to setup dualboot without research..

i encountered problem installing xp
and was suggested to change in bios the hdd
from ACPI to the other setting.
This allowed xp to install.
(i now know i neede the SATA drivera slipped into
xp install disk)
Now i can load xp.. BUT..
Xp cannot recognize network cards etc.
I cannot get online at all...
(except via mobile ph.)

I tried to install easyBCD
after insalling .net 2.0 framework.
When i try to install easyBCD it tries
to go online to download .net 2.0 eventhough
i already installed it.
( sigh )

Now, afte hours of google etc from mobile ph.
I really would like just a way to boot win7...
Btw. Computer is dell. N5050 laptop win7is
preinstalled and i discovered too late that NONE
of the 3-4 discs that came with it are recovery or os install discs...
Help...

Night Hawk · 15 Jul 2012

Hello kdish Welcome to the Seven Forums!

Fortunately there's a little help from some people over at Neosmart Technologies as far as downloading the disk image for a repair cd which contains the repair tools found on a 7 dvd.

The main programmer there developed the repair cds for things like the Startup repair tool for those running lOEM aptops and desktops alike where no factory recovery disk was provided. The Startup repair tool is just what yiou would need since the install of XP after 7 overwrites the 7 boot sector!

The guide for seeing a working dual boot of XP along with 7 explains how to go about seeing XP go on after 7 in Method Two. You can look this over at Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

gregrocker · 16 Jul 2012

To start Win7 again, boot the Win7 DVD System Recovery Options Command Line or System Repair Disk to Mark Active the Win7 or it's 100mb System Reserved Partition (preferred if you have it).

Then run Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times until Win7 starts on its own and holds again the System Active flags in Disk Management.

Then install EasyBCD to Win7 to add XP on the Add OS Entry tab.

You can burn a Win7 DVD for your licensed version using Steps 1 and 2 of Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

Night Hawk · 16 Jul 2012

If the utility came bundled with 7 to create a recovery disk you would first need to be booted in 7 again to use that. Or you could try the Dell support to see if it's available as a separate item to download and see if it will run on XP. That works along with the hidden reocvery partition as long as that is still intact.

Generally the user manual or the support site will have the instructions for how to go about creating a recovery disk.