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

 

[Brink]

Hello Mr. Waseem.

I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted.

 

[edithegodfather]

Hey guys, now after we've installed xp and made a dual boot with that little program how do we uninstall xp and put the new drive back to the partition we got it from ? I found a link somewhere on these forums to how to delete the partition and attach it back to the original partition but i had previous experiences (accidentally) with 2 os's and i already know that deleting the partition won't really uninstall the os.

 

[Brink]

Hello Edithegodfather,

If you have installed Windows 7 first and it is the boot drive/partition, then:

• Delete the XP partition in the Windows 7 Disk Management.
• Remove XP from the Windows Boot Manager.
• If the XP partition was on the same Hard Disk as Windows 7 and to the direct right of it, then you can extend the Windows 7 partition back into the now "unallocate space" (XP partition) if you wanted it to be one larger drive again.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Nobleone]

I finally did it, I started with Windows 7 then installed Xp never worked I was able get Windows 7 but XP failed I'm thinking that the instructions in the beginning fail to mention that its diff for Windows 7 Ultimate. Due to hidden drive, all I had to do is assign hidden drive a letter in Windows 7, run steps over and all worked out after that. Hope that helps someone.

 

[JRC]

Success!!

I have just set up a Windows 7/Windows XP dual boot scenario with the aid of your absolutely 1st class tutorial. I can now take my time installing my various programs in Win 7 while continuing to use them in XP. I can't thank you enough!

 

[Brink]

You're welcome JRC, and welcome to Seven Forums.

 

[joeltay17]

I have just set up a Windows 7/Windows XP dual boot scenario with the aid of your absolutely 1st class tutorial. I can now take my time installing my various programs in Win 7 while continuing to use them in XP. I can't thank you enough!

cannot agree more the simplicity of the tutorial is amazing. just dropping by to say that this tutorial IS AWESOME! ;D
managed to dual-boot with ease!

 

[Link2aavash]

This is appreciated job!!!

Brink, I am so happy to read your article and it’s really helpful who wants to do exactly this way. This is appreciated job. Hurray!

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome Joel and Link2aavash.

 

[220volt]

First I want to thank Brink on detailed tutorial and excellent board which I will be utilising a lot since I have my Win 7 installed finally.

Problem i have though is:
I have Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit installed on SATA 250gb. I want to use XP to dual boot since once of my firewire devices (audio interface) has no working win 7 64 bit drivers. Can't use XP Mode in Win 7 either since it doesn't support firewire (USB only)
So, I've tried to follow Brink's instruction and I've created new partition in Win 7 (see screenshot) but when I get to the screen where XP asks you to format the drive and choose which partition to to use, it doesn't show my newly created partition. Only shows the whole drive. I am at work now so I cannot test anything right now (that requires more than remote desktop), but if you all have any suggestions that i can try when i get back home that would be great.

Be gentle, this is my first post.

Thanks

 

[frank mango]

After shrinking my drive(C) .I have restarted the computer and booted from the CD. When I "Press any key" (In my case the space bar)I don't see a picture as depicted in screen shoot step ....3 but the XP set up starts and continues until I get a message saying that that windows has ended the process to avoid potentially harm from occuring.
Why is the sequence incorrect?
How large should this unallocated space be, I just followed the example and used 40 GB
Something different I did do to attempt to remedy the situation is
I have assigned a letter to the "reserved space" ,I read that xp need to see these letter assignments.However this made no difference.

 

[220volt]

Yeah, adding letter made no difference as you can see from my screenshot.

 

[frank mango]

Something is not right with what I am doing.
I allocate 40GB of space on my hard drive.(There is plenty of room on the drive)
I than successfully boot from the xp disc.
Upon pressing "any key" to continue (I used the space bar)...what happens is the XP set up starts, I do not see the image as depicted in screen shot step 3.
This set up continues until I get the blue screen of death telling me that windows has stopped in order to prevent dammage, The message suggests I use CHKDSK /f to look over the hard drive etc..
I am using a dell XPS that at one time had vista and now has W7(64)
I am using a new copy of xp(professional)OEM
Volume "E" reserved space = 100MB
Volume "C" before allocation = 297.99 GB
Was the 40GB that I allocated not enough?
Why is this going directlly to set up and not following the sequence as dipicted.
Can someone Kindly help?
Mango

 

[SIW2]

Hi Frank,

See if this helps:

Make a partition for XP and mark it active. Don't use Vista/7 partition tools - try Gparted, or Partition Wizard - free boot disc from here:

http://www.partitionwizard.com/download.html

Then see if XP installs.

 

[frank mango]

SIW2

Thanks for the response .I was working with an unallocated volume and now I have created a partition with name and a letter. I can see that this can be turned into an active partition with a right click selection but I get a warning that tells me,that this should only be done with a partition that contains a functioning operating system and marking this partition active will harm the computer.So I am timid to do so
what gives? Mango

 

[SIW2]

Hi,

If you move the Active flag to another partition - you won't be able to boot into your currently installed o/s until you move it back.

If you install XP to that new active partition - hopefully it will install fine.

You will then only be able to boot into XP.

Move the Active flag back to the partition it is currently on ( I assume the 100mb one) - you will boot into 7 .

Add the Xp entry to the 7 boot menu by installing Easybcd 2.0.on 7.

EasyBCD 2.0 Beta Builds - The NeoSmart Forums

In Disk Management (or Partition Wizard) rt click the 100mb partition and give it a Drive letter - S is a good choice.

Click Add/Remove entries in Easy, select Windows NT/2K/XP/2K3 in the "Type" dropdown.

click Add entry. Let Easy autoconfigure.

 

[frank mango]

SIW2
I am happy to report that I have never been so lost.I used the partition wizard and now my disc looks like this
E:System reserved NFTS 100MB 24.65MB 75.35MB Active and Boot Primary
F:Win_XP NFTS 40.55GB 87.14 Mb 40.47GB None Logical
C:Win_7 NFTS 257.43GB 39.21GB 218.38 System Primary
What do I do with this?
Mango
It should be completly evident that I am a rookie

 

[SIW2]

LOL.

With PW , Rt click the XP partition , select Modify>Set as Primary. Click Apply.

Then Rt click the XP partition ( now Primary) Modify>Set as Active. Click Apply.

The XP partition needs to be the only Active partition.

Install XP onto it.


When done, you will only boot into XP - then use PW to set the 100mb as the only Active partition.

Boot into 7 .

D/L Easybcd and add XP as in previous post.

Have Fun.

 

[frank mango]

SIW2
Thanks for your effort on my behalf.It' past my bed time now so I will look into these changes tomorrow. I will let you know how it all goes
thanks again Mango

 

[220volt]

I am happy to report that I have successfully dual-booted Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit and XP SP3 32bit.

For some reason my home made XP disk which I made with nlite to include service packs and other things did not see my newly created partition (which I made in Windows 7) when trying to install XP. Once I dusted off my original XP disk (which I bought in 2002) it recognized my new partition and I followed Bricks guide step-by-step with no issues whatsoever. It is one of the easiest things I've ever done in windows.

Thank you all again for great support.