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

 

[zaava1]

I feel so lucky that I found this page. Your explanations were very clear and I've been working on this dual boot problem for a week. I wish I'd found you earlier. I already had Win 7 and Win XP on my pc, but could only boot into one of them. I had to use a repair disk to boot into the other. I knew there was a better way and I found it with you. That Easy BCD program solved my boot issues and it was free. I can't thank you enough.

 

[Paul1964]

Thanks for the information. I was able to change the active partition and change the setting in BIOS and then remove the old XP drive. System runs much faster now.

 

[KingWhiskers]

There are a great bunch of experienced people on here who are willing to help and I thank them all for their previous help. This thread has been invaluable to me for assistance in setting up dual boot PC's.
A big thankyou to you all.

 

[Nickt]

Difficulties loading XP

Thank you for you excellent guide to creating a dual boot system.

Unfortunately I am experiencing difficulties in loading XP. I have Windows 7 Professional 64 bit and have successfully followed your instructions (Option 2 - Windows 7 already loaded) and started to load up Windows XP on the partition created through W7. What is happening is that I go through the setup routine, pressing F6 to lad the SATA files through floppy disk, all goes well so far, select the correct partition to install XP to and quick format that partition. Setup then copies files and after this is done restarts. It is at this point that problems start in that after rebooting a message displays "a disk read error occurred. Press ctrl + alt + delete to restart" and that is as far as it goes. Unable to get back into the setup for XP to complete.

I have tried rebuilding MBR through Windows 7 disk, which says the three steps are done ok, but upon reboot the same error message appears.

Both systems will load perfectly on their own however. so I'm certain that it is not my setup cd's or PC.

Have I missed something in the instructions or is there something you are able to suggest?

Thank you for your help.


Nick

 

[gregrocker]

First post back a screenshot of Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image.
Tell us what's on each partition so far.

Next look at your XP disk closely to see that it is clean and unscratched, wash it if necessary. Will it boot and load in an XP PC if you have one. You need to know the disk is good as it may be the CD that's failing to be read.

Otherwise if so test the hard drive using the maker's HD Diagnostic followed by a full Disk Check on all partitions.

 

[kemperhills]

I have a Dell OptiPlex 170L. I know it is and older computer but it works great. I came with XP and I have installed Windows 7 32bit. I have two HD's and have tried to install W7 on C, and XP on F. I followed the instructions on how to edit the registry so that I would have a choice of W7 or XP on boot.

When I boot the computer I get the choice. W7 boots fine. But when I select XP and it tries to boot I get the following message.

Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem
Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware.
Please check the Windows documentation about hardware disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for additional information.

W7 was already installed on C drive. I disconnected the ide cable, set the HD I was going to install XP on the master, installed XP. Then I reinstall the W7 HD as master and set the XP HD to slave. Edited the registry but can't get the XP HD to boot. What did I do wrong. Thanks.

 

[gregrocker]

Where did you get the idea to edit the registry? Since you installed with the other drive unplugged, all you needed to do once you plugged it back in and set it first to boot is choose the XP drive on the F12 boot menu.

If necessary I would try to System Restore before you messed with the registry.

 

[kemperhills]

W7 and XP dual boot

Where did you get the idea to edit the registry? Since you installed with the other drive unplugged, all you needed to do once you plugged it back in and set it first to boot is choose the XP drive on the F12 boot menu.

If necessary I would try to System Restore before you messed with the registry.

I found the instructions in option 2, 8-10 of the article that started this thread. It worked fine but I can't get the XP drive to boot.

 

[gregrocker]

Those steps refer to using EasyBCD which edits the BCD on the hard drive. Did you add XP from Windows 7 using EasyBCD?

What I would do is unplug the Win7 hard drive, boot into the XP disk Repair console to run the bootrec commands shown in How to Fix MBR in Windows XP and Vista

If these fail you may need to run an XP Repair Install: Repair Windows XP by Performing a Repair Install

Once XP starts, power down to plug back in the WIn7 hard drive and set it first to boot in BIOS setup. TO choose the XP drive to boot, use Dell's F12 one-time BIOS Boot menu key. If this isn't to your liking, add XP again from Win7 using EasyBCD.

 

[RonSilverback]

Newbie Question -- Dual Boot Win7 64bit / XP Pro 32bit?

Hi; sorry if anyone's asked something like this before.

I had a desktop with vendor-installed XP Pro (32-bit) -- until the motherboard's capacitors died. Naively, I hoped to just plug the hard drive into a new box, and continue using the installed OS (thinking that once the old machine died, it was reasonable to use the same license on the replacement machine).

I wound up getting a refurbished 64-bit PC (with a 3-year warranty!) that runs Win 7 Pro. The hard drive from the old machine has been added, so that I can access all my old data. At first, I thought I'd just continue with that set-up, but after a few months' experience with Win 7, I miss XP Pro more than I'd expected.

Is there any way I can set up a dual boot, or will the obstacles prevent that?

Thanks for your help!

 

[KingWhiskers]

You could try booting from the XP DRIVE and it might work, it would probably take a while to boot up while it replaces drivers etc or it might not work at all.
I used a drive that I had XP Home installed on on a new motherboard and it worked but they were both ASUS boards and I had to make sure that the drive was readable in the BIOS by connecting it to a SATA port that was IDE Enabled as the normal mode for the new board was ACHI. Once it had booted into the old XP that I had I then installed the ACHI drivers and XP would then boot from a SATA port that was ACHI enabled.
You can but try. Both boards were AMD processors.
If you have installation media and the Key that should be on your machine you could always reinstall XP and make it a dual boot machine either by booting to the drive from the BIOS or using EasyBCD to create a dual boot file.
I can't say much more as the information given is too sparse, old motherboard, new motherboard, processor old and new etc but read this tutorial at the beginning and it should give you a better idea.
Generally when a new motherboard is installed it needs a new install of the Operating system.

 

[RonSilverback]

Hi; thanks for the reply.

The relevant basics of my recently deceased venerable PC:

Dell Optiplex GX280 SFF
P4 HT 3.2 GHz Prescott
Dell mbo (I don't have a record of the number)

Samsung HD080HJ/P SATA; boots into 32-bit XP Pro

For the newer PC:

Dell Optiplex 780 MT
Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz Wolfdale
Dell 0C27VV mbo

Samsung HD161GJ SATA; boots into 64-bit Win 7 Pro

***

The XP came pre-installed by the mfr; it's a valid license, but I have no media for reinstalling.

As things stand, if I try booting the new machine from the XP drive, it shows the XP Pro logo for a minute, then it stops dead. I'm feeling pessimistic, but I may try to fiddle with the BIOS settings when I get the chance.

Thanks again.

P.S. Cornwall, eh? My wife's got us watching "Poldark" these days

 

[KingWhiskers]

Hi Ron,
Poldark is filmed in Cornwall not many miles from where I live, a lot of the moorland scenes are filmed on Bodmin moor which is only 20 miles away. Your wife will be pleased to know that the Poldark series is going to be continued.
I would check the Sata settings in the Bios to see that IDE is supported as the older XP installation will almost certainly be using IDE not ACHI. I will look at finding install media for you.
Both processors are the same family so that is good so check in your Bios the Sata settings it might be as simple as that to get it to work.
I have kept XP as my old printer will not work with W7 and some of the old games that I play with my daughter will not work properly on W7.
Can you burn a CD or DVD as I might be able to find an iso file to burn install media from.
Regards
KingWhiskers

 

[KingWhiskers]

Looking on Dell support site XP is no longer supported so you can't download it from there.
There is ebay and there are lots of new packages on there with COA that would allow you to install and these are pretty cheap.
There are other methods of obtaining a copy but I can't talk about those methods on here as I would be banned.
Installing XP would probably require installing the relevant Sata drivers at installation and for this you will need a floppy drive or a small usb stick configured to run as a floppy.
I got a USB floppy drive from Amazon for very little money and very useful it is too as you can use it to boot into DOS or run Mem test AND easily load device drivers for an XP install.
There does seem to be a lot of dell XP Pro install discs on ebay and one of these should be good for your application but I would still check out the Sata drivers for your new machine.
The only other way I can help is if you let me have your email.
Regards
KingWhiskers.

 

[KingWhiskers]

I have checked the operating manuals for both computers and on page 18 of the manual
http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/a...esktop/optiplex-780_Service Manual2_en-us.pdf
the Sata settings are

configuresthe operating mode of the integrated hard drive controller.
RAID Autodetect / AHCI = RAID if signed drives, otherwise AHCI
RAID Autodetect / ATA= RAID if signed drives, otherwise ATA
RAID On / ATA= SATA is configured for RAID on every boot
Legacy= The hard drive controller is configured for legacy mode
Legacymode provides for compatibility with some older operating systems that do not support native resources assigned to the drive controller

select Legacy and save settings and then try booting from the XP drive. It should then now boot from that drive as it will be able to read it properly.
hope this helps
Regards
KingWhiskers.

 

[RonSilverback]

Hi, Thank you very much for your looking into this -- I was under the weather for a few days, and am just getting back to dealing with things digital.

I'll review your replies and see what I can do re the SATA drivers.

If need be, I'll be glad to send you my email address. Is there some way that forum members can do that privately, or do I have to post it here openly?

Thanks again, KW.

RS

 

[KingWhiskers]

Hi Ron,
sorry to hear that you have been unwell, hope you mend quick.
Hopefully the BIOS setting change will solve your problem.
You can send a PM (Private Message) by going on "Quick links" and selecting "Send PM" from there or hover over my name at the top left of a post and left click on it and send a message from there.
I should not be tempted to go along the Windows 10 road yet as the feedback on that is quite bad with lots of cases of failure and things not working.
Get back to me when you can.
Regards
KingWhiskers

 

[RonSilverback]

Hi,

My wife is in the throes of Win 10 right now -- she recently got a new laptop with Win 8.1 pre-installed, and she decided that Win 10 could not make things any worse. We shall see....

Re my problem, I tried rebooting from the drive that has XP installed, after disabling the other drive, and then setting the SATA option to 'Legacy.' Booting very soon took me to the screen which asks me to choose Safe or Normal boot, and "going forward" always brought me back to that same point.

I think that I'll have to get media (I probably can take care of that on my own) and reinstall XP. My main reason for wanting to avoid a new installation was having to go through the years of Windows updates, which already have been incorporated into the installed copy, but what can you do?

Thanks again for the help.

Cheers,
Ron

 

[KingWhiskers]

Hi Ron,
sorry that the bios change did not work, there must be other driver issues that prevent it from working. I guess I must have been lucky when it worked on mine, it did take a while to boot and a couple of goes. Did you try to boot into "safe mode"
regards
KingWhiskers

 

[Budge72]

diskpart shows very low available space

Hi. I'm trying to use Option 1, Step 2B to create a Windows 7 Pro x64 partition on an XP 32 bit system. The problem is that I have a 250GB SSD installed with a fairly basic install of XP. Windows Explorer in XP shows that I have 215GB of available space left on the disk. However, the diskpart command only shows that I have 115 GB available. I was hoping to give most of the disk to Windows 7 since I'm only keeping XP for legacy software and hardware. What gives? How can I fix this?