Dual Boot:Clone an Xp partition on a HDD with already installed W7 X64

[Adr1an]

Hello everyone,
I need some help with a rather peculiar enterprise: I have a machine where Win 7 x64 (Pro) was installed from scratch ( System Reserved Partition 100Mb + C: Partition (active, boot, Win files). (250Gb) All required programs installed and so on. All this on a 2Tb HDD.
I also have a smaller, much older hard disk (500Gb) which has two partitions containing 1. Xp X64 plus 2. Another primary partition with various files.

Is it possible to use the bootable version of Partition Magic to clone the two partitions from the Xp drive on the available space of the 2Tb HDD? And how to proceed in order to make the 2 OS-es bootable and usable without problems?

From what I gather the common practice is to install 7 after Xp but I no longer have this option at this point. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[samuria]

Welcome to the forum the problem is adding it to the boot loader and how many primary partitions you have running it with free virtual is as a virtual PC is simplest

 

[Adr1an]

Hi and thanks for the quick reply.

I'd rather not go on the virtual PC path as the machine is being used by a few family members, some of them having very basic PC knowledge.


If it's possible I'd have 1. System reserved partition for Win 7 (100Mb) 2. Boot partition for Win 7 (250Gb) 3. Boot partition for Win Xp X64 (200Gb) 4. File partition (rest of the drive). all these would be primary as I have no intention to add any other partitions.

Is this just a matter of adding the proper entries for Xp in the BCD?

 

[samuria]

I am assuming the disk is mbr not gpt as you can only have 4 primary paritions it should be a case of adding xp to BCD

 

[Adr1an]

Thanks, I'll probably give it a try later today.