Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

Hello everyone,

I'm unsure if my current configuration is ok to try a dualboot. I've read the tutos many times but cant figure it all out .

My current configuration is as follow :
Board: P55-GD65 (v1.0), bios V1.10
SSD1: INTEL SSDSA2M080G2GC (windows 7 x64 on it)
SSD2: planning to buy one to host WinXP PRO SP2 x32
RAID1: 2 SATA SAMSUNG 1TO drives

So i already have win7 installed, and i need a winXp to play an old game (Priston tale) that does run poorly on win7 (I have another pc with inferior specs running the game much better, but it's very noisy and cant stand having it powered on).

My main concern is :
Will I loose the RAID1 data when installing XP ? If i did get the tutorial right, i do not need to load the RAID drivers (F6) at boot time, but then I'm afraid of winXP reverting the raid drives to normal, clearing them or messing it up...

I plan on doing a "create a system image" from Win7 first, but I'm not sure if that will help in case of a failure (some win7 files -user docs data, app data- were moved on the raid, via symlink).

On a note: having a 2nd SSD is not a requirement, I have nothing against installing XP on the raid array as long as i don't loose any existent data on it...

I hope that I gave enough info's for you guys to understand my concerns, and that you can give me some advice.

Any insight appreciated !

Hello Brink,

Here is the screenshot of the disk management view.

I've also added the Storage System View shown by Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

I was having issues with the SATA DVD/RW drive (it was disappearing randomly from the system) so I've disconnected it, and you can't see the 2nd SSD drive yet (on my way buying one today).

Thank you for your help!

By installing to the SSD with the 1tb still plugged in, it placed the boot files on the 1tb System Reserved partition. This is why all other HD's should be unplugged during install.

You can either leave this as it is keeping mindful that Win7 cannot boot without the 1tb plugged in, or you can repair it by marking C Active, then unplugging the 1tb array long enough to run Startup Repair - Run up to 3 Separate Times until the System flag is on C signifying it has its own boot files now.

Once this is done you'd plug back in the 1tb making sure the SSD remains first to boot in BIOS setup, mark System Reserved Inactive so you can delete it: Partition - Mark as Inactive - Windows 7 Forums.
Partition or Volume - Delete

Likewise you'd unplug all other drives when you install XP to the SSD, afterwards setting Win7 SSD to boot first and using the one-time BIOS Boot Menu key to boot into XP if needed. If you don't like this arrangement, you can install EasyBCD (click Download - no Name or Email required) to Win7 to add XP to a Windows Dual Boot menu.

If unplugging the RAID to do the repairs is not something you want to do then you can move the System boot files to C using EasyBCD, mark Inactive and Delete System Reserved, then unplug Win7 SSD during XP install. The downside to this method is you will lose WinRe from the F8 boot tools menu since Easy does not rewrite the link. Bootmgr - Move to C:\ with EasyBCD

Hi Greg, Brink, thank you for your prompt reply.:)

So, I went to the store and came back with a Kingston SV300 (60gb).

1- I first deleted the "System Reserved" volume and relocate the MBR on the win7' SSD

2- I then tried to claim the unallocated space (100MB) after reading Partition or Volume - Extend, option 2. But no chance : it seems I would need Partition Wizard according to Brink (that 100MB lost isn't a problem after all)

3- After disconnecting all drives but the SV300 and the DVD, I did try to install XP on it following Greg's steps, but I was banging my head on a BSOD, until I'd changed the on-chip SATA Controler RAID mode in bios setup (from RAID to IDE)
Problem is I didn't follow Brink's advice to get XP's RAID driver handy during setup (no floppy)

4- I've modified the MBR using easybcd to add the winXP boot


So both OS are now booting properly! , but only if I choose on-chip SATA=RAID to boot win7, and IDE to boot XP (if I set to RAID, xp boots then BSOD followed by instant reboot): not very practical to enter Setup, change this setting, and the boot order that is also messed up everytime i switch the raid mode.

I'm doing some research to see if letting the raid mode to IDE would cause any trouble to my win7 setup, but I'm not sure yet.
Maybe I'm better off trying to reinstall winXP with RAID or AHCI loaded (USB drive, slipstream ? not sure again). I've browsed XP forums and some users managed to activate the drivers post-installation, with a bit of registry hacking, but I feel it's not worth it in my case.

I'm close to my goal, so thanks a lot to you guys!.
If you got any other advice, I'd be glad to read it :)

Hi Rykho

3- After disconnecting all drives but the SV300 and the DVD, I did try to install XP on it following Greg's steps, but I was banging my head on a BSOD, until I'd changed the on-chip SATA Controler RAID mode in bios setup (from RAID to IDE)
Problem is I didn't follow Brink's advice to get XP's RAID driver handy during setup (no floppy)

Set the BIOS to raid,
You could use Paragon Adaptive Restore 3.0 for adjusting the WinXP SATA Controller drivers.
Paragon Paragon Adaptive Restore - Overview

Hi theog,

thanks for the tip, but I could not get my hand on a working demo of the adaptive restore product, so i opted for the reinstall with a slipstreamed iso, although it was painful.

Now everything seems to be working perfectly.

Lots of thanks to you guys for all the help!

So long !

Hello!

I have this... I brought a laptop, few years ago with preinstalled Win7. I'd love to install XP on it too, but what if I don't have an installation disc of Seven? Just non-used XP disc.

I'm really scared of damaged Seven.

(I don't know if it is consulted, there is too many pages )