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

 

[Novel8]

I have a TV tuner that worked flawlessly when I had XP. I tried to use it in Win 7, but all i get is a message that the hardware cannot be found. I even changed slots and still no luck. My question is this: If i reinstall XP as a dual OS, would that tuner work?

Hello Novel,

The TV tuner should work while you were booted into XP, but it still wouldn't work in Windows 7.

If the TV tuner has drivers available for Windows 7 that you could install, then it may be able to work properly in Windows 7.

What is the brand and model of the TV tuner? We may be able to help find W7 drivers for it if any are available.

It is a Generic TV tuner and the name is Norwood. I think the driver is Conexant or something like that. BTW, the message I had gotten was : Cannot find tuner card

 

[Brink]

I found a post below that contains a driver that you could install and try if you like and if the card in the image there looks like yours.

Norwood Micro Conexant CX23881 Driver TV Tuner « DoubleTeam Gaming| Forums

If it doesn't work, then you may need to get a newer TV tuner that supports Windows 7, or install XP to dual boot and use it in XP as needed.

 

[Novel8]

I found a post below that contains a driver that you could install and try if you like and if the card in the image there looks like yours.

Norwood Micro Conexant CX23881 Driver TV Tuner « DoubleTeam Gaming| Forums

If it doesn't work, then you may need to get a newer TV tuner that supports Windows 7, or install XP to dual boot and use it in XP as needed.

Thanks..I downloaded it and now I can't get my dvd burner to work...just like that. I was going to reinstall the program with the proper disk for it. It worked about 3 weeks ago as I was checking it out. I tried other dvd's and the same problem. I could eject the dvd but i do not see any files listed when i start it. Isn't it weird? Now, I may have the upgrade driver that i need, but I can't install the program.

 

[Brink]

You should be able to uninstall the driver to get your DVD back.

May be time for a new TV tuner card.

If you find the driver you used before, you might test to see how it may work if installed using XP compatibility mode in Windows 7.

 

[Novel8]

You should be able to uninstall the driver to get your DVD back.

HUH!! what do u mean by uninstalling the driver to get the DVD burner back???? Are u saying by me just merely downloading a driver, screwed up my burner? Is that what your saying? Where is the connection??

 

[Brink]

You said, "Thanks..I downloaded it and now I can't get my dvd burner to work...just like that.", so uninstalling the TV tuner driver that I linked to should undo and let your DVD burner to work again.

 

[Novel8]

I don't see what one has to do with the other that is my question. I did nothing with the burner at all while I downloaded the driver. I didn't even install it yet, cause I was going to reinstall the software for that tuner and that is when I found out my burner isn't working. Could it be just a coincidence that it went 'south' at the time I wanted to use it? It is an old burner.

 

[Brink]

I'm just going by what you posted.

 

[Novel8]

I deleted the driver, rebooted and the burner still not working. I don't think I mentioned that i downloaded the driver to my burner> If you got that impression , sorry..

 

[Brink]

No worries. I was just saying where I got it from.

Does the DVD drive have a SATA or IDE connection?

 

[Novel8]

I carried it over from my old desktop to my first Build that has sata, so it had ide connections. Its been awhile since i even checked them out and now see that they have Blu-Ray DVD burners too. I don't know why anyone would want one of those unless they are into watching Blu-ray movies over a pc ( ugh ) or copy a Blu- Ray movie, which is not for me. So Now for a few extra bucks for that one and lesser for the minus Blu-Ray one.

 

[Brink]

I've noticed that IDE drives just don't play well when you have SATA drives as well. It's usually best to junk the IDE drives and get SATA ones to prevent any conflicts.

 

[Novel8]

OH, I intend to get a sata just was wondering if i should get one that has Blu-Ray..as of now I do not see a need for Blu-Ray. I have Blu-Ray player for my 55" TV screen ...why would anyone want to watch a movie of any function on a PC is beyond me.

 

[Brink]

Yeah, it would just depend on if you wanted to watch a Blu-Ray or have a Blu-Ray burner on the PC. If not, then I'd just get a decent cheap DVD burner.

 

[pungineer]

Dual boot using Ghost images.

I have an issue I have not seen in this thread.

I have been dual booting between XP and W7 by physically switching the drives. I thought I would be using XP less, but now I would like to dual boot from 2 partitions on one boot drive.

I have Ghost images of both drives, which I want to use to avoid all the OS and software install issues. I have tried this a number of times, including using Easy BCD, but always wind up just booting into XP. If I just restore W7, I have to repair the install with the W7 CD. I can then boot into W7, but do not see the boot loader option. After restoring the XP image, I can only boot to XP.

Some questions along with the request for help:
Which image should be restored first, W7 or XP?
Should I select the Ghost restore options for marking the partition as active and/or restoring the MBR?

Thanks in advance.

 

[townsbg]

It sounds like the restore program is restoring to the same partition and that won't work. Honesty I haven't used the software so I am not sure if it will allow you to restore 2 different images to the same hard drive but when you restore if possible ensure that partitions are different. I would restore XP first and then 7. Since the image doesn't have an entry in the bootloader for XP you will have to use a program such as easy bcd to add an entry to the bootloader. Actually I am not even sure if this is possible since 7 requires a small second partition. I'll see if I can get help from someone more knowledgeable. Something to note those is that some systems will allow you to select the hard drive that you want to boot from so that you wouldn't have to switch the drives out provided that there is room for 2 drives in your system.

An alternative would be to set up XP as a virtual machine running on 7 using software such as Microsoft Virtual PC, Vmware, or Virtual Box. XP would have to be reinstalled first on the virtual machine.

 

[gregrocker]

Can we see a screenshot of Disk Mgmt from Win7 using Snipping Tool, and XP using Paint?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/274797-disk-management-post-screen-capture-image.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9717-screenshot-paint.html

Check if your imaging program offers advanced settings to transfer MBR, Track0 and Active flag.

 

[pungineer]

I can't get a screen shot of disk mgmt at the moment because I am back on the W7 drive. However, in W7 the empty partition for XP is drive H (the next unused letter in the system). In XP, the W7 partition is also H.

As I said, I have been able to boot into both systems with the restored images. The partitions are different sizes to ensure that the images are written to the proper partition. I just have not been able to get the OS boot option when restarting after restoring the XP image.

Do you recommend restoring the W7 image last along with the restore MBR and Set Active options in Ghost? Should I use these options for the XP image restore as well?

 

[gregrocker]

If you can boot into Win7 then why can't we see a screenshot? The first link given shows exactly how.

The steps depend upon the configuration e.g. Logical, System Reserved, etc.

 

[pungineer]

It is the W7 drive, not the dual boot drive.

I'm working on something in 7 and can't swap to the dual boot drive at the moment. I'll be glad to post it when I can, but it would just show a drive with partitions C and H.