Can I install XP for dual boot AFTER Win 8.1 is on my system?

[Tealwood]

I have 2 hard drives on my new build, my first one and I'm proud that it's up and running well. I'm running Windows 8.1 Pro and have found some older software that won't even install ... some that worked fine on Win 7. Can I create a bootable flash drive with Windows XP and service pack on it and install XP on my 2nd hard drive? Microsoft says you have to install the older version first, but I don't want to have to re-install 8.1. So I'm hoping that booting directly to the Win XP installation would by-pass Win 8.1 and not cause any conflict. Am I right? I sure don't want to mess up my system!

Second part of the question is how do I re-format the 2nd hard drive? Right now, Windows 8.1 is recognizing it as part of my system, so I assume it would need to be clean. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[EasyLover]

Not possible. You will have to install Win XP first and then to create dual boot install Windows 8.1.

You can format the second hard drive during windows installation setup or using windows 8.1 Format option.

 

[Tealwood]

Not possible. You will have to install Win XP first and then to create dual boot install Windows 8.1.

You can format the second hard drive during windows installation setup or using windows 8.1 Format option.

So, I have to completely uninstall Win 8.1? Will that mess up any of my programs? I don't have to re-format my drives to install Win XP, do I??? That I'm not about to do ... not after all the hours I've spent installing software and transferring data to this new system!

Another question. IF I do this and install XP on my small drive, should I expect any issues with re-installing 8.1 on my 2 TB drive? I ask because I'm aware of problems people have trying to upgrade from XP to 8.1.

Thanks for your help.

 

[EasyLover]

Not possible. You will have to install Win XP first and then to create dual boot install Windows 8.1.

You can format the second hard drive during windows installation setup or using windows 8.1 Format option.

So, I have to completely uninstall Win 8.1? Will that mess up any of my programs? I don't have to re-format my drives to install Win XP, do I??? That I'm not about to do ... not after all the hours I've spent installing software and transferring data to this new system!

Another question. IF I do this and install XP on my small drive, should I expect any issues with re-installing 8.1 on my 2 TB drive? I ask because I'm aware of problems people have trying to upgrade from XP to 8.1.

Thanks for your help.

No there should not be any issue. People may have problem with HDD size being more than 2TB. You won't face any such issue. Good Luck.

 

[Paul NZ]

Only prob you may have is if AHCI is enabled in the BIOS for 8.1

The XP cd will have to have slipstreamed SATA drivers on it. Because the CD doesnt have any on it

Otherwise it'll crash before you even install XP

 

[EasyLover]

Only prob you may have is if AHCI is enabled in the BIOS for 8.1

The XP cd will have to have slipstreamed SATA drivers on it. Because the CD doesnt have any on it

Otherwise it'll crash before you even install XP

Ohhh! Yes. AHCI will give problem to XP. I totally forgot about it.

 

[Tealwood]

OK, thanks both of you. Need to get this straight before I attempt. Please correct me if I'm wrong, or need to do something differently, or in a different order.

1. Find appropriate "slipstreamed" SATA drivers for XP ... where do I find them? which ones?
2. I make a bootable flash drive with Win XP and SATA drivers.
3. I re-format my D: drive in NTFS format.
4. I disable AHCI in the BIOS.
5. I uninstall Win 8.1 ... but all my software and data files will be preserved.
6. I install Win XP onto my D: drive (from bootable flash drive).
7. I install Win 8.1 onto my C: drive.

Questions:
1. Do I need to enable AHCI BEFORE installing Win 8.1?
2. Do I install Win 8.1 via my bootable disk? Or do it from the XP operating system?
3. How do I make sure the Win 8.1 install only affects my main C: drive? Don't want it to "upgrade" the XP on the D: drive.
4. Will this technically be "upgrading" my C: drive from XP to 8.1? I've heard that causes problems. What's the solution?

 

[EasyLover]

Yes, you would need to enable AHCI before installing Win 8.1. But if AHCI is enabled, Win XP can't be installed or booted to.

You can install Win 8.1 in either way. Don't select Upgrade option rather select custom option

Make sure that Win 8.1 is not installed on the drive on which XP is installed. You can check this in options during installation when prompted for drive

For slipstreamed SATA drivers:

http://www.wikihow.com/Slipstream-Your-SATA-Drivers-Into-a-Windows-XP-Installation-CD-Using-nLite

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/How-To--Slipstream-your-XP-installation

 

[Tealwood]

Thank you ... that's exactly the detail I need. You've been a great help. I may not be able to do this for several days, have a litter of Labrador puppies due, probably will be up all night whelping. But I'll post back when I get this done.

 

[USAFRet]

An easier, safer method would be to run XP in a virtual machine. Unless you are running games in it, everything else should run just fine.

 

[Tealwood]

Well, I do want to run some old games on XP, like Myst, Monopoly, etc. Would LOVE to get my hands on Heaven but it doesn't seem to be available anywhere.

That said, is there something unsafe about doing what is planned? What's the worst case scenario? Could this make the whole system unstable? Or wipe all my data file and programs off the C: drive?

 

[Paul NZ]

You cant just copy sata drivers to the CD. Or a flash drive. You have to do it in XP with Nlite

 

[PINETREE01]

Just an important note. BACKUP YOUR DATA, INCLUDING ANY PROGRAM INSTALATION FILES YOU MAY HAVE DOWNLOADED. I'm pretty sure when you remove the O/S you will lose access to your data. The new install of the O/S will not recognize the data files and programs because the uninstall removes the "Program Files" folders where many files that are needed to run them are located. This is the same situation with many other folders such as "Documents". It is possible I may be wrong. I do still highly recommend you backup your data. You might even want to create an image of your drive. Also consider making a recovery disk set with the utility included with the O/S. You may have already done this when you started your system the first time.