Solved Install Xp After Win 7 64 Bit

[toolman59]

I need to install XP with Windows 7 Ultra already on C: drive.

Will the following method work?

I have three HDs, if I disconnect the main HD with Win7 and install XP on one of the spare HDs so that XP does not trample over Win7, will I be able to boot into Win 7 when I reconnect the main HD? If that worked, I would use Easybcd to produce a dual boot setup.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Arc]

Hi toolman59
Your method is right . Unplug the Disk0 (containing C drive), Install XP in another one. So the XP bootloader will not be installed in Windows 7 MBR .

Later you may apply a dual boot setting using EasyBCD, as you stated, but I would suggest you to not do that. You are using Gigabyte motherboard, where the boot menu key is F12. Press and hold F12 when the motherboard screen will be shown after power on, you will get the list the available disks to boot from (including all your Hard disks and DVD drives). Use up/down arrow keys to select which disk to boot from, and hit enter.

As you have two disks to boot from, you are to choose which one to boot by default, I mean if you dont press F12. Enter into BIOS, and set boot priority properly, better set boot from DVD drive first, Win 7 HD second, and XP HD third.

I am saying you to not set up a dual boot environment, coz if any of the OS installation gets corrupted, it will affect the other one under a dual boot system. So better to install to OSs in two different HDs, and use the boot menu key to choose one to boot from, when needed.

 

[Kaktussoft]

that is good method to do!! Be sure the disk where win7 is installed on is the first disk bios tries to boot from! If not possible: set winxp partition to "not active" partition. After configuring dual boot you maybe have to edit boot.ini which is on winxp partition. Change all occurences of rdisk(0) to rdisk(1) if ntldr can't start winxp (can be done from within win7)

Sample boot.ini (winxp)

[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

 

[gregrocker]

+1 to Arc's advice to Dual Boot via the BIOS,

After install with Win7 HD unplugged, plug it back in and set preferred HD to boot first.

Then if you want to boot the other OS HD use the one-time BIOS BOot Menu f12 key at boot to choose it.

 

[Kaktussoft]

Be sure to read this as well!
System Restore Points - Stop XP Dual Boot Delete - Vista Forums

 

[toolman59]

Thank you all for your excellent advice. I will go with the F12 boot method, I did not have that option on my previous elderly computer. I did the Registry hacks previously to protect Win 7 restore points from XP and I will do the same again.

 

[theog]

I would also take look at XP mode or a VM.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8247-windows-xp-mode-install-setup.html?ltr=W

 

[gregrocker]

It isn't necessary to protect Restore Points if you dual boot via BIOS. The systems remain independent.

 

[Kaktussoft]

It isn't necessary to protect Restore Points if you dual boot via BIOS. The systems remain independent.

If you boot to winxp using BIOS F12-key the win7 partition is still accessible and writeable. So winxp can still screw-up win7 restore points. Correct me if I'm wrong ... and why

 

[gregrocker]

It's never been reported, and it's been reported not to happen, using the BIOS Boot method.

This is one of the main reasons we've been recommending it here for two years.

However I agree that virtualization is the better option and worth trying first, either using XP Mode if you have Ultimate or VMWare, Virtual Player, Virtual Box, etc.

 

[Arc]

In XP disk management, if the drive letter for Win7's partition is removed, it will not be accessible in XP .

An unintentional access and screwing up of the of the restore points is a mere possibility ... coz they are not that easy to browse to.

Many a times some system files modifications made my system unstable ... I then boot Ubuntu via boot menu, replace the modded system files with the original ones (I keep a manual backup of a system file before modding , as well as image backups, to a place other than C drive), and boot back to windows 7 . So, the writability is not for bad always, IMO

 

[Kaktussoft]

It's never been reported, and it's been reported not to happen, using the BIOS Boot method.

But I don't understand why! Assume you start winxp using bios f12 key. While running winxp you edit some win7 exe files and delete some win7 dll's. How does win7 know what you did that and perform a valid "system restore"? i'm very confused

winxp doesn't even know that you boot using bios f12.

 

[gregrocker]

I have not really bothered to worry about why XP doesn't cause 7 restore points to be deleted when Dual Booting via BIOS. I'd guess its due to separate HD's and boots.

I troubleshoot in the busy comments section for Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP which has over a million views, and haven't seen it come up there.

 

[toolman59]

XP mode did not work for this particular application, all my other XP software runs happily in XP mode. I will have a look at the Virtual options, my old machine did not support Virtual operation so this will be something new to try.

This raises a question for me, which virtual software to try first on Win 7 64 bit?

 

[Arc]

https://www.virtualbox.org/ . It's free, and very good one at the same time.

 

[Kaktussoft]

@gregrocker:
Information for advanced users



Consider the following scenario. A shadow copy is created on a volume in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008. Then, you access the volume from an earlier Windows operating system. In this scenario, the shadow copy is deleted. You experience this problem if one or more of the following conditions are true:

• You use Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008- based system in a dual-boot configuration with Windows XP or with Windows Server 2003. In this scenario, any restore points that have been created in Windows Vista are lost when the computer is started in an earlier Windows operating system. Additionally, shadow copies that were created in Windows Server 2003 are lost when the computer is started in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008.
• You create Windows Vista restore points on an internal hard disk or an external hard disk. Then, you move the hard disk to a computer that is running Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP.
• You use an internal hard disk or an external hard disk to store Complete PC Backup files, and you then access the volume from either Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP. In this scenario, all earlier versions of the backup files are lost. Only the most recent backup files are still available.

This problem occurs because the volume snapshot driver that is included with Windows Vista and with Windows Server 2008 uses disk structures that are incompatible with earlier versions of Windows. Therefore, the earlier operating system deletes Windows Vista shadow copies or Windows Server 2008 shadow copies together with the associated restore points. This behavior occurs because the earlier Windows operating systems do not recognize the new disk structures.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Windows 7 volume snapshots are deleted in case you access that volume from windows XP.

 

[theog]

No restore points are available when you use Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008-based operating systems in a dual-boot configuration together with an earlier Windows operating system
System Restore "restore points" are missing or deleted