Install XP over 7

[The Cool Guy]

One question; Isn't it possible to install XP over windows 7 via boot? :huh:
My friend said he wasn't able too boot from the XP installation CD at boot. When the "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD" screen appears, he presses any key, and the screen remains blank. I've even lent him my XP copy but it still doesn't boot with the XP CD.
BTW I'm not looking for the solution, I just want to know if it is possible.

 

[noyb]

YES .. But you might have to erase the HD first.

 

[mickey megabyte]

windows 7 is not running on your pc at boot time.

check the disc, drive and bios settings

 

[Tews]

One question; Isn't it possible to install XP over windows 7 via boot? :huh:
My friend said he wasn't able too boot from the XP installation CD at boot. When the "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD" screen appears, he presses any key, and the screen remains blank. I've even lent him my XP copy but it still doesn't boot with the XP CD.
BTW I'm not looking for the solution, I just want to know if it is possible.

Anything, under the right circumstances, is posssible..

 

[sup3rsprt]

check the disc, drive and bios settings

specifically USB keyboard support if he has a USB keyboard. If anyone has been building computers for a while he knows about this annoying problem. "Press any key..." doesn't work if the keyboard is disabled in the BIOS... (and some BIOS don't even support USB keyboards)

 

[Barman58]

Yes I think we've all seen that one

Sorry your Keyboard is hosed
Press a key to continue

​

 

[sup3rsprt]

lol

And what makes it even more annoying is that none of my keyboards have an "any" key..

 

[Barman58]

I remember that a certain major manufacturer changed the entry in their manual in the 1980's from "press any key" to "press a key" as the helpdesk were getting too many calls for people who couldn't find the any key

 

[sup3rsprt]

hehe, too bad nobody ever reads the manual

For those that don't know, the "Press any key ..." message is the BIOS code when it detects a bootable disc. So at least we know the disc is bootable.

 

[The Cool Guy]

Hey guys I've changed all the settings and stuff in the BIOS and checked everything. Sorry i didn't mention that. Everything is alright and even the keyboard is enabled and all that.
Just that it stays grey after pressing the key.

 

[sup3rsprt]

Seems like a hardware conflict then, and/or a bug in the BIOS. I've seen problems similar to this before. Sometimes the computer even seems to press any key by itself (the CD or DVD automatically boots without any user input, which should not happen considering the hard disk was selected as first boot device).

 

[Barman58]

In this situation I would look seriously at the actual drive. Is it possible for you to swap the drive out for a known good item - for testing. The best alternative is a usb CD/DVD drive if you can get access to one - mine has saved no end of time for me, so much so that I tend to use it by default with customer installs, not even bothering to check the built in units until after the OS is up and running.

 

[matt_0978]

:huh: hmm...try installing off usb, it's really quite simple if u have UltraIso:

with UltraIso loaded up stick the xp disc in the drive and press F8
Output Filename directory as I dunno, lets say c:\users\<username>\Desktop\XP disc.iso
Output format..Standard Iso..press Make
In the bottom pane locate the newly created image, double click on it
Bootable, Write Disc Image, choose the folder of ur thumbdrive, press Format when complete then press Write..
..Reboot

in BIOS set boot order as USB first then continue booting.

if that doesn't work post back for another straight forward but rather lengthy solution.

 

[The Cool Guy]

Hey guys thanks for the tips and as I said, I don't want any solutions, just wanted to know if it's possible. Thanks again

PS- I knew that XP could be installed over 7 but just wanted to ask

 

[jnawrocki]

On some older PC BIOSs, USB ports are not enabled on entry to post. If you have a ps2 type keyboard port and you are currently booting with a USB keyboard, try using a ps2 keyboard and the problem might go away.