Solved Desire to keep WinXP on Mirror RAID with Win7 on separate HDD

[lhim]

Simplest thing to do is to just load W7 and get it over with...but am just smart or stupid enough to consider alternatives...

I have a pretty stable WinXP install but have run into games that require 7 (and DirectX 10).

Question:

Can I install W7 on a non-raid HDD (already on my machine) while keeping WinXP on the 250 GB mirror thus avoiding application reload AND potential for issues with the RAID array?

My initial thought is to unplug the mirrored drives and install W7 to the single drive. Replug the mirrored HDDs (same ports). Edit the Boot sequence to allow choice of XP or 7.

How badly would this go?

 

[gregrocker]

Not well with Win7, which doesn't much like RAID.

A lot depends on the controllers which will need to provide both RAID for XP and SATA/AHCI for Win7.

You can try booting WIn7 to see if it sees the target HD, then try install.

If this fails, unplug the RAID while taking careful note of its settings, try install of Win7 to target HD with nothing else plugged in at all. The SATA controller should be in AHCI mode.

 

[lhim]

I've been doing some prep work b4 trying this out.

One issue: Assume I can load W7 on the standalone HDD (maybe having to be done with RAID HDDs disconnected or not). How does the system know - when I plug the RAID drives in to offer a boot choice of W7 or WXP?

I found BCDEdit which apparently allows you to edit the boot loader for Win7. However, boot.ini (for WinXP) in the root of my C:\ drive cannot be used to reference or otherwise initiate the start up of W7 (so I've read).

I haven't checked yet but would this then "simply" require a bios change in the order in which it looked for OS? Point it at Drive 1 (Win7 location), then the RAID (Drive 0). I haven't looked at BCDEdit enough yet to know if it would offer the choice I want but it seems that it would.

Any thoughts or comments welcome. Thanks.

 

[lhim]

Follow up:

I checked my BIOS out. I think I would have a SATA/AHCI issue as my Ob Chip SATA Type choices are:
-Native IDE
-RAID - [this is the setting]
-AHCI

On Chip SATA Port 4/5 Type (the 5th and 6th SATA ports) choices are:
-IDE
-As SATA Type [this is the setting]

In the HDD Boot Priority I have:
-SCSI-0 RAID 1
-SCSI-1 WD 500 HDD (the standalone)
-USB HDD (FD happened to be plugged in)
-Bootable add in cards

So it appears I could have the Boot priority go to the single HDD looking for the boot instructions - it just isn't labeled as a SATA. Don't know if W7 will like that or not.

 

[Kaktussoft]

All SATA settings are fine in BIOS
you have:
-SCSI-0 RAID 1
-SCSI-1 WD 500 HDD (the standalone)

Change that to:
-SCSI-1 WD 500 HDD (the standalone)
-SCSI-0 RAID 1

Or even better:
-DVD drive
-SCSI-1 WD 500 HDD (the standalone)
-SCSI-0 RAID 1


now:
-disconnect raidset (remove cables). off course first power off and disconnect power
start from installation DVD and install Windows 7 on WD 500 disk.
Does it install and installation is fine? Now shutdown and disconnect power and reconnect the removed cables.
Reboot. Does it see the raid sets?
Post back the results. only thing to do later is add winxp to bootmenu

 

[gregrocker]

There is no need to interlock the HD's using a Windows Boot Menu when you have separate HD's. You can have a much cleaner Dual Boot via the BIOS that leaves them independent to come and go as you please.

Just unplug existing OS when you install the new one, after install plug back in, set the preferred OS to boot first in BIOS setup, when needed trigger the other OS HD to boot using one-time BIOS Boot Menu.

This avoids complicated surgery later to remove one OS HD which has placed its boot files on the other as can happen with a Windows Boot menu.

 

[Kaktussoft]

Off course that's the easiest way gregrocker. But:

-one disk with "boot manager" and windows 7 (that's why I adviced him to disconnect the other drive)
-other disk with winxp bootmanager and working as before

This is what you advice. and that's what I want him to do as well.
but later: adding winxp to win7 bootmenu only adds an entry in bootmenu which starts winxp on the other disk. Disconnecting windows7 disk .... winxp will start without problems.

 

[gregrocker]

This is true, as well.

XP will only hold the System boot files if Win7 is installed last and places its boot files on the XP partition to autoconfigure a Dual Boot, as it does if XP HD remains plugged in.

 

[lhim]

kaktussoft: your outline of steps was how I was going to try to proceed (my concerns about AHCI aside - the standalone drive works fine now).

Thank you and gregrocker for the advice. Will report on outcome...

 

[lhim]

I should have clarified intent a bit more:

Once past the W7 install (with the RAID disconnected) and having a reasonably operating system, I intended to leave Drive 1 (with Win7) as the first bootable device, then modify its boot manager/loader to allow for boot to WinXP on Drive 0 (BCDEdit seems to readily allow for this). My plan is to use W7 for some gaming purposes (at the moment) and I will likely keep using XP for bulk of PC use.

Thank you both.

 

[Kaktussoft]

You read gregrockers and my comments. Choose yourself what you want. Post back result of win7 install. Can it see raidset etc

 

[Kaktussoft]

in elevated command prompt
C:>bcdedit /create {ntldr} /d “Windows XP”
This will create a boot loader entry using NTLDR for your Windows XP installation.
C:>bcdedit /set {ntldr} device partition=D:
C:>bcdedit /set {ntldr} path ntldr
C:>bcdedit /displayorder {ntldr} /addfirst
C:>bcdedit /default {ntldr}

change partition=D: to your driveletter. start recovery environment to check which one.
Maybe you have to change your boot.ini on winxp partition as well (?) if so change rdisk(0) to rdisk(1) don't know if that's necessary

 

[gregrocker]

Easier to install EasyBCD 2.0 to Win7 to add XP. EasyBCD 2.0.2 - NeoSmart Technologies

Users tend to appreciate the automated tools here, especially since they're free.

 

[lhim]

Working away at it...

Well I got W7 installed on the separate HDD. When the RAID was plugged back in, W7 saw (and sees) it just fine.

I used BCDEdit Win version not the command line one) to add WinXP to the Boot choices.

However, when I brought the system up with the RAID back on, I had my Logical drive assignments: C and H on the separate HDD, D, E and F on the RAID. This won't do as what was changed to E: was D; and has a ton of data and more shortcuts and links than I care to think about. So I relabeled D: as X:, E: as D: and F: as E: thus maintaining at least my data consistency.

So BCDEdit added WinXP as being on X: and the path as NST/ntldr. While ntldr sits in the root of X:, there is no NST folder...

I tried reboot and the boot choices showed - I 1st went back to W7 just fine. However, attempts to get WinXP going have run into an error saying something is missing or corrupted suggesting I use the WinXP disk to repair the install. It also listed the path as NST/ntldr.

I then tried putting BCD and W7 boot loader on to the WinXP partition (the boot loader going to the MBR.) This still has no solved the issue.

I am going to try creating a NST folder with a copy of ntldr but thought it wast time to reach out to you folks.

BTW: to make the day more fun, my second desktop decided to go south in the midst of this. Murphy is alive and well!!!

 

[gregrocker]

Install EasyBCD 2.0 to Win7 to add XP, accept boot files, autocompletes, Save, Reboot. Hopefully the legacy tool didn't ruin it for the proven method.

None of this would have been necessary had your taken my original advice to leave RAID unplugged while installed Win7, then after install booting one via BIOS boot order or choose the other using BIOS Boot menu.

 

[lhim]

Got it Going OK

gregrocker: sorry I actually missed the recommendation for EasyBCD. My bad.

However, I went into the now X: drive while under W7 and added a /NST folder and put a copy of ntldr into it.

Rebooted, selected WinXP and up she came. So far all seems to be fine...

 

[lhim]

Did use EasyBCD

On review, I did use EasyBCD - I think BCDEdit was just an incorrect term for it. I apologize for being imprecise.

It does raise the question why it added the /NST level into the path?

Since this was my first outing with dual booting, I was not aware that the running OS would treat the primary partition as C: and reassigning its dormant cousin to another letter...

Thanks for your help.

Jim