Dual boot WXP + W7

[taps77]

Hi Everyone
First of all thank you guys for the excellent advices and detailed tutorials, they are really helpful, I already learnt a lot, but, as always I still have some questions.
After assembling a new PC (based on a Gigabyte Z77 DS3H motherboard) I need a dual boot system, with the option to choose between 32 bit WXP and 32 bit W7. I created a slipstream WXP install CD with all the SATA drivers and used it to put the WXP on a primary partition on a SATA HDD. Then using the W7 install CD I put the W7 on a primary partition on a separate SSD.
Unfortunately when switching the machine on the boot fails every time, unless I go into the BIOS every time and select the WXP-containing HDD as the 1st boot device. After that tha machine starts and offers me the choice between the "Earlier OS" and W7.
Why is that ? Why the BIOS does not remember the boot sequence settings despite saving it ? Why am I greeted with the aforementioned opening choices - which comes from the W7 Boot Manager - and not the WXP opening screen which would say "Microsoft Windows XP Professional" (instead of "Earlier OS") ?
Any help would be well appreciated.

 

[theog]

Sounds like you have the Windows 7 HDD pluged to the first sata port on the MOBO, WinXP to the next port.
Check your MOBO manual.

 

[gregrocker]

If you wanted to boot via the BIOS you should unplug the other HD/SSD when installing each OS. Then set the HD which you want to boot first as first HD in priority in BIOS setup.

But since you already have a Windows Boot Menu, the HD marked System in Disk Mgmt should be set first in priority to boot.

On some BIOS this boot order might be ignored with the non-System HD trying to boot first. As Theog says you need to change the ports to correct it in this case.

 

[Mark Phelps]

When you installed Win7, was the disk containing XP also present in the system? If so, Win7 wrote its boot loader files into the XP partition -- even though it was on a different disk. You have to boot from THAT disk because it contains all the boot loader files now.