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

 

[kjgarrison]

Hello KJ.,

This can help show you how to change how long the Windows Boot Manager waits for you to select a OS at boot.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2285-operating-system-start-change-display-list-time.html


If you do not have Windows 7 listed and only XP, then you can install only EasyBCD (step 7 Method Two) or EasyBCD 2.0 Beta Builds (preferred) to add Windows 7 the same way to the boot list.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thanks, Shawn. I added a few seconds to making the choice. I had no problem with both "Previous version" and Windows 7 showing, so I didn't need EasyBCD.

I don't recall if you said to do it this way, but I have the HD with XP as the one and only boot drive, yet I get the dual boot choice of both XP and W7. (I added Win7 to a new HD in a computer already with XP Pro.) And it is in W7 that I edit the Boot Manager. I haven't checked, but I'm pretty sure that if I set up my Win7 drive as the one and only boot drive, I don't get a choice.

Another little thing that I think I "discovered" during the installation of Win7 to an already existing XP machine is that during the installation there comes a time when Win 7 starts booting from it's HD and not the CD drive. So, I set up the Win 7 HD as the first boot drive and the CD-ROM as the second. When it was ready to use the HD, it was seamless. Maybe that was unnecessary, but when I had the CD-ROM drive as first, it kept going to the starting of the installation causing me to have to re-enter everything.

A little annoyance is that I expected Win 7 to ask me what I want to do about partitions, but it never did. My new HD for the install was a 1TB drive. After the install was finished, I did the shrink thing on this "C Drive", but it would only go down to about 450GB because of sectors that couldn't be moved apparently. I wish I had set up the partitions before starting the install of Win7. I don't really need a 450GB C drive.

Still, your tutorial is priceless, and in my opinion adding Win7 to an XP setup is the simplest.

My plan is to get Win7 up and working right (still having some drivers growing pains, glitchy drops of internet access, scratchy music playback, inability to get more precise about what folder to get files for music, and lockups) and then do away with XP. Not anytime soon, though. My XP setup is nearly flawless. I had to use one of my Norton Internet Security licenses on the Win 7 install, probably because I don't know how to make it work with both ...

 

[Brink]

KJ,

You might see how the free Partition Wizard Home Edition may work for you on resizing the partitions how you like. It is more advanced than Disk Management.

 

[kittleboy]

for number 6 of method one,
after i installed windows 7 on drive d, ( xp was on drive c ) , there was no such a screen for choosing between OSes. ?!

 

[Brink]

Hello Kittleboy,

You might check to see how long the time is set for to display the Windows Boot Manager screen to see if it may be unchecked or just set to a to short of amount of time to see it at boot.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2285-operating-system-start-change-display-list-time.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[kjgarrison]

KJ,

You might see how the free Partition Wizard Home Edition may work for you on resizing the partitions how you like. It is more advanced than Disk Management.

Thank you. Amazing free program!

 

[Brink]

You're welcome KJ.

 

[rEnEeK]

great, very thanks for 2nd method

 

[Brink]

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

 

[rEnEeK]

Thank you Brink, you very helped me with this tutorial!

 

[kevin12331]

hey guys I'm new here and I noticed that you helped a lot of people in the comment section of this forum so I figured I'd give it a shot seeing as how I have a slight problem!

I'm running windows 7 64bit (C: Drive ) and I just installed (and im actually using at the moment) Windows XP x32.
my first question is: Will the 64/32 bit be a problem with the boot files?
of course you might need more information to answer that question so here we go:

When I followed this guide I actually got to a OS selection screen. I tried windows 7 first and it worked perfectly. But when I restarted my computer and tried to log onto XP again it gave me an error (that of which I can't remember to share). Anyway, I couldn't log on.

When I'm logged into windows 7 : windows 7 is the C: and windows XP is the E:
when im logged into windows XP: windows 7 is still the C: but windows XP is now the D:

Should I change these letters for windows XP before using that boot program?
and my last question: What the heck is going wrong?
- I can provide any screen shots if needed
-also.. On my BCD run on windows XP it shows both 7/XP allocated as the correct drives of C/D... which confuses me on why I don't get the screen



also : some more infos from my BCD:


Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {9dea862c-5cdd-4e70-acc1-f32b344d4795}
device partition=C:
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-us
inherit {7ea2e1ac-2e61-4728-aaa3-896d9d0a9f0e}
default {15671a6e-9846-11de-a060-00e04c680006}
resumeobject {15671a6d-9846-11de-a060-00e04c680006}
displayorder {15671a6e-9846-11de-a060-00e04c680006}
{98216efe-2ee2-11df-a9c5-0026b61a29e2}
toolsdisplayorder {b2721d73-1db4-4c62-bf78-c548a880142d}
timeout 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {15671a6e-9846-11de-a060-00e04c680006}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-us
inherit {6efb52bf-1766-41db-a6b3-0ee5eff72bd7}
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {15671a6d-9846-11de-a060-00e04c680006}
nx OptIn

Real-mode Boot Sector
---------------------
identifier {98216efe-2ee2-11df-a9c5-0026b61a29e2}
device partition=D:
path \NTLDR
description Windows XP

 

[kevin12331]

seems my problem was that XP was set to D instead of C like windows 7 was
there goes 12 hours of annoyance and frustration for nothing
oh well.. nice guide!

 

[smsff7]

I was thinking about doing this for my system. (I have Win7 installed already) Although I only have a 100GB C partition and don't know how big a space I should take out for XP

and advice?

 

[Brink]

seems my problem was that XP was set to D instead of C like windows 7 was
there goes 12 hours of annoyance and frustration for nothing
oh well.. nice guide!

Kevin,

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

 

[Brink]

I was thinking about doing this for my system. (I have Win7 installed already) Although I only have a 100GB C partition and don't know how big a space I should take out for XP

and advice?

Hello Smsff,

XP itself doesn't require more than about 1.5 GB. You would just need to add more space for how much you want to install on XP as well. Here's a link from Microsoft on the full requirements of XP though.

System requirements for Windows XP operating systems

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[smsff7]

I was thinking about doing this for my system. (I have Win7 installed already) Although I only have a 100GB C partition and don't know how big a space I should take out for XP

and advice?

Hello Smsff,

XP itself doesn't require more than about 1.5 GB. You would just need to add more space for how much you want to install on XP as well. Here's a link from Microsoft on the full requirements of XP though.

System requirements for Windows XP operating systems

Hope this helps,
Shawn

So a small 5GB partition should be good for a small XP setup with only a few programs

 

[Brink]

Should be.

 

[John A]

I have (after following this tutorial) a dual boot system with WinXP (installed first) and Win7 (second), each on separate physical HDDs.

The WinXP drive has since become corrupt to the point where I can no longer boot into XP, although it still gives me the OS choice on boot. I figured simply physically removing the XP drive woud mean boot straight into Win7, but this gives an error: -

'DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER'

The only way I can get into Win7 is by putting the WinXP HDD back in. I found Video: Remove Windows XP from a dual-boot configuration with Windows 7 | TR Dojo | TechRepublic.com but that requires booting into WinXP, which I can no longer do. The XP drive is not even accessible from Win7 to copy any files from it.

How can I now completely remove the XP HDD and boot straight into Win7? Any help much appreciated!

 

[SIW2]

Hi John A,

Attach the XP HD.

Boot into 7.

D/l this: ( as usual, rt click it>properties>unblock>apply>ok ) Unzip it, and rt click and run as admin on sispar.cmd.

View attachment sisparV5.zip

 

[John A]

Attach the XP HD.

Boot into 7.

D/l this: ( as usual, rt click it>properties>unblock>apply>ok ) Unzip it, and rt click and run as admin on sispar.cmd.

View attachment 60984

Thanks for that! Before you posted I actually found another of your posts (#310) and it worked for me

 

[SIW2]

Hi John,

Glad all is well.