Elementary Dual Boot questions...

[NurseEli]

Hi there! I am about to dual boot my existing XP 32 bit with Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit, and i have some (rather elementary) questions.
1) I have 2 physical HDD, one where XP and all files are located and another where i only have an extension of Steam Library, with 2 games inside (main Steam is at the first drive). I intend to install Win 7 at the (almost) empty drive. Does it have to be COMPLETELY EMPTY? Do i have to delete this secondary Steam Library?
2) After installing Win 7, do i have to install again everything , i mean Chipset drivers, Nvidia drivers etc Will the internet work or it'll need router configuration again. What about Steam games already installed?
Many thanks in advance!

 

[linnemeyerhere]

NurseEli, Welcome to SF,
I would create a partition and install W7 to it.
This will help:http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8057-dual-boot-installation-windows-7-xp.html?filter[3]=Installation%20and%20Setup

 

[NurseEli]

Thanks! So, i NEED to make a partition to the second Drive for Win 7. I thought it would appear as just another folder in the drive, next to "Steam New Library". I wonder if it's easier to just uninstall these two steam games, so that i then have a totally empty HDD. What do you think?

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Yes I would just let W7 format the drive then after installed with all drivers and updates then make a repair disk or better yet image the drive and then install your other software and games, steam etc.

 

[NurseEli]

Well, first try= fail...
I booted from CD, chose CUSTOM INSTALL (is that correct? - the other option was UPGRADE), pointed to the empty 2nd HDD, instalation went on but when system restarted it went back to XP! Without asking me a question about "Win 7 or Earlier version of Windows"!
Could it be that i didnt format the Drive? Should i have chosen "Advanced" from Drive choices?

 

[linnemeyerhere]

No you'll need to get into the bios and set the boot order for the drives placing the new W7 drive as the number 1 boot order or second to the optical drive only and save that setting then complete the install/update process.

 

[NurseEli]

No you'll need to get into the bios and set the boot order for the drives placing the new W7 drive as the number 1 boot order or second to the optical drive only and save that setting then complete the install/update process.

Ok, we are getting closer but we are not there yet!
As you totally correctly assume the boot order was changing back to 1)HDD and 2)CD and, thus, i was booting back to XP everytime, leaving the installation unfinished. So i kept changing the boot order every time pc restarted and finally completed installation. I even installed all the 600mb updates! But after that, when i restarted, it was XP again!!! No question about which OS to choose,nada!
I installed EasyBCD, noticed that in the settings mentioned only Win7, added an entry on XP, saved but again nothing.
I feel we are close. What am i doing wrong? Should i tamper s/thing else at easyBCD? What about this "write MBR" button? Is it dangerous to "play' with, as i heard?
Again many, many thanks!!!You were right all the time!!!

 

[linnemeyerhere]

With a OS on two individual drives you'll need to switch the boot drive to the OS you want each time. But if you are saving the changes then after that the system will boot to that selected drive only until you change it's order.

 

[NurseEli]

I have 2 options when pc starts: BOOT MENU (f12) and BIOS (DEL). Boot menu is a "just for this time" thing and i can't save changes for the next time. Bios is (of course )permanent (after saving) but doesn't specify WHICH hard disc will be used to boot from.
That's why i was thinking we can achieve s/thing from EasyBCD. I read somewhere that XP constantly overwrites Win7 bootloader .True? Should i tamper with "write MBR" ?

 

[linnemeyerhere]

You want the bios and then change the boot order and then save by hitting F10 normally and exiting. I'll let someone else comment on the other. So tap the DEL key navigate to the boot order and put the W7 disk second to the optical drive, save and boot then shut down and restart to test your changes as they should hold. Hey the good news is you've done it and have your two OS's available. You'll find in time that you hardly ever if ever go back to XP !