Dual Boot XP and Windows 7 (each) on TWO Individual Hard Drives

[japentz]

Hello,


This really should be very simple yet, I am unable to find a straight, direct answer. Respectfully, please do NOT link the dual boot on "one" hard drive from the sevenforums.com Been there done that. It does not apply.

TWO SATA Drives - want an OS on each, dual boot menu upon boot up.

1. I have Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit) ALREADY installed on a SINGLE (SATA) hard drive.
2. I have a clean blank other SINGLE (SATA) hard drive upon which I will install Windows XP Professional (32-bit).
3. Please understand this is TWO individual hard drives, I want an Operating System installed on each individually. (win7 on ONE, XP on the other)
4. I'd like a boot menu to come up giving me a choice to boot to either the Win7 drive OR the Win XP Prof. drive.


Sorry for over repeating what I want to happen, but wow, every place I've been has a meandering of "what to do" and no direct "how to".

Thank you kindly for a direct, precise response.

Regards ,
JP

 

[Hawkeye22]

You need to install the older OS first. Install XP on one drive. When finished, install Win7 on the other drive. Yes, it's that simple.

Microsoft reccomends that you always install oldest OS's first then the newer ones. You can have a newer one installed first, but then you've got to jump through a few hoops and mess with the boot loader to get it to work properly. If you install the oldest OS first, it's a much easier affair.

 

[japentz]

Hello,
Originally, I had XP on one drive. I tried to install Win7 but it did not just work. I ended up disconnecting the XP drive, then installing Win 7 individually on the other. I'd have to change the boot order in the BIOS. The XP drive died.


My question was "HOW" do a create a dual boot even if I have XP installed first?

I have all my user files stored on the Win7 Hard drive which is 1TB


again, TWO hard drives. I want dual boot. I want a single OS on each drive, per my original message. I want a boot menu to happen.

Thank you.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8057-dual-boot-installation-windows-7-xp.html

Go to this link it explains everthing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Hawkeye22]

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8057-dual-boot-installation-windows-7-xp.html

Go to this link it explains everthing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And you'll notice that method one section 2: To Use a Separate Hard Disk Drive than the XP Drive, is exactly as I stated in my last post.

 

[japentz]

Hawkeye22 I did appreciate your post on that.

I have an ASUS M2N32-SLI deluxe board. It has 8 SATA ports. I'm also concerned one of the ports may be bad (SATA1) but I am unsure how to determine that. my original XP drive was plugged into SATA 1 and the Win 7 drive was on SATA 2. However, I'd have to choose in the BIOS which i would boot to.

I'd never had to load SATA drivers. Or I don't remember such when i had the fresh new drive. I built the system myself and I believe just booted the XP disk and did partition and format.

I apologize for my ignorance but I must ask why the following was at the top *and I have SATA as stated, not RAID). It states I need to load SATA drivers for XP. It says to do so from a floppy. I can actually do this IF I had the correct drivers. I went to the link on how to Slipstream (unsure of what slipstream means as far as computers go), but well all I have is a blank floppy disk. and a clean new 500 GB hard drive to install exp on.

It reads -

Warning
If you have a RAID setup, you will need to have the XP RAID drivers on a Floppy disc available to select and load at the F6 prompt while installing XP.

If you have a SATA drive, then you will need to do either one of these options to load the SATA drivers for XP.

How to Slipstream SATA drivers into Windows XP setup CD with Dual Boot of Windows 7 or Vista (link)
How to Load SATA Drivers in Windows XP Setup on your Dual Boot PC with Vista or Windows 7 for how to load your SATA drivers from a Floppy disc at the F6 prompt while installing XP. (link)


I do apppreciate your response truly. I've not put the new drive in the computer at all. I am sitting here looking at it.

 

[japentz]

also, it does say I need to use 3rd party software to accomplish this. I would think there would be a microsoft way of doing this. I've just not used 3rd party software to install windows before. I am cautious in using third party software. I'm old school in that way I guess.

Thanks again for your help and talking with me about this.

JP

 

[Hawkeye22]

SATA ports have two modes, IDE and RAID/AHCI. IDE mode is backward compatable with all IDE drives and also sets SATA drives to IDE emulation mode. XP does not have native SATA drivers built in so it requires RAID/AHCI drivers to be installed at install time via the F6 function. Most bios's default to IDE mode which is why you never ran into this situation. If you had changed the bios to AHCI or RAID, then the XP install would have failed without using the F6 additional drivers step. Some people don't like to use the F6 during an install so they will create a slipstream cd/dvd. This is a modiffied XP install disk that has the AHCI/RAID drivers merged into the windows installer, thus during the installation you can bypass the F6 routine.

Windows 7 has native SATA drivers built in so you don't run into this problem.

Anyhow, running a SATA drive in IDE mode disables SATA features such as hot swap and NCQ.

 

[WyomingKnott]

OP

It's easy to do this so that you choose the boot drive in the BIOS. Disconnect the Win7 drive from the PC, install XP on the other drive, and reconnect the Win7 drive. Then you have to pick which drive to boot from in the BIOS.

The reason is the MBR. Forgive me if you already know this, but there is one (or no) Master Boot Record on a given hard drive. If you install a Windows OS and there is no other Windows install visible, the process will install an MBR and boot loader on your target drive. If you install a Windows OS and there is a visible Windows install, the process will overwite the MBR on the existing drive and NOT write an MBR on your installation drive (assuming that it is a different drive).

So if you install XP while the Win7 drive is attached, you will destroy the Win7 MBR / boot loader. If you install XP while the Win7 drive is detached, you will have to pick which drive to boot from IN BIOS, as you have to select the correct MBR.

If you want to boot to a menu that offers you both OSes, you have to do like it says in the SevenForums article. Except, install XP on the other drive instead of another partition on the Win7 drive. You will still screw up the Win7 boot partition and have to to the repair and the add of XP to the Win7 startup.

Even though your installation partition is on a second drive, if you want a boot menu you have to repair the Win7 MBR / boot loader so that it is a Win7 version and so that it knows about the XP installation.

Does this make more sense out of why people are telling you to do exactly what you said you weren't going to do?

==============================================

Sigh. I use too many words, and sometimes don't make myself clear. Here's a summary.

If you want a boot menu from the Windows boot sequence, you need to do the install-XP-and-then-patch-Win7-boot sequence. It may not make sense, but it's quick, it works 100.1% of the time, and there are a lot of people here, myself included, with experience who will help you.

The fact that XP is in a partition on another drive is not relevant; you still need the initial boot loader to be the Win7 boot loader and to know about both.

Direct, precise response. Do these steps. It will work.
■ Back up everything.
■ Install Drive II in the machine.
■ Boot up your XP install disk and install XP. Pick a partition on Drive II. You have just hosed your Win7 boot sequence.
■ Get XP to run.
■ Boot up your Win7 install disk and do a Repair Install. Now you can boot Win7, but probably won't get a boot option for XP. If you do get a boot option for XP, you are done.
■ Download and install EasyBCD in Win7. Use it to add the XP boot. I won't give directions here; the ones on their site are perfectly good.
===============================================

There is another way, but it is ugly and risky. If ya wanna know anyway, ask. It's something I have avoided doing on my machines.

 

[RetiredChief]

Why do you have to go into Bios to change boot order.

I have XP and Vista on two pair of raid0 HDDs. (also had Win 7 RC on a 3rd seperate HDD for a while).
You set the boot prioity to the drive most often used. When you power on you hit F12 (Gigabyte MB) during post. This brings up a list of drives to boot from, ie HDD1, HDD2, SSD, DVD what ever, you select and computer boots to that drive - This DOES NOT change boot prioity. If you reboot it will revert back to drive set in bios.

This method is much better than screw*(%^#@$ with a inbetween software boot loader.

 

[pjmelect]

One problem with dual booting Windows XP and Windows 7 is that when you boot into Windows XP it will delete Windows 7 restore points. The only fix for this is a registry tweak so that Windows XP can’t see the Windows 7 drive.
Have you considered using the virtual Windows XP on Windows 7 it is very good? Virtual Windows XP can be installed on either Windows 7 ultimate or professional versions.

 

[WyomingKnott]

Why do you have to go into Bios to change boot order.

I have XP and Vista on two pair of raid0 HDDs. (also had Win 7 RC on a 3rd seperate HDD for a while).
You set the boot prioity to the drive most often used. When you power on you hit F12 (Gigabyte MB) during post. This brings up a list of drives to boot from, ie HDD1, HDD2, SSD, DVD what ever, you select and computer boots to that drive - This DOES NOT change boot prioity. If you reboot it will revert back to drive set in bios.

This method is much better than screw*(%^#@$ with a inbetween software boot loader.

Chief

That boot menu is part of the BIOS. Previous references to choosing the boot drive in the BIOS were referring to the BIOS boot menu. It ain't setting the boot order, but it is selecting the boot drive in the BIOS.

 

[japentz]

Hello all!
Thanks for the wonderful help. I was able to get a dual boot menu. I loaded XP professional without the Win7 drive attached. I then used the EasyBCD 2.0 software and got the dual boot I wanted.

Then it worked. I could boot to XP or Win7

So, the pc was upon my work table, I brought it down to its place on the floor under my desk very gently. I decided I would boot to Windows XP as the primary OS.

To do the whole process I used a PS2 mouse and a USB keyboard. Then;

I also decided to install my wireless mouse and keyboard, which consists of a Microsoft USB Wireless desktop receiver.

When I did this and attempted to hit Enter for Windows XP on the dual boot menu, I received the following error on a black DOS looking screen.


*********************************************

Windows Boot Manager

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem

1. Insert the Windows Installation disk and restart the computer

2. Choose your language settings and then click next

3. Click Repair computer

If you do not have this disk, contact your system administrator or the computer manufacturer for assistance

File: \NST\ntldr

Status: 0xc000000f

Info on the selected entry could not be loaded because the application is missing or corrupt.

*****************************************

I am able to boot to Windows 7 just fine. Its great. However, the above does not say which Windows Installation disk to insert. Windows 7 or Windows XP.

I do not wish to hose either drive. I did put in the Windows 7 disk and reboot as I had that on SATA 1 but it just hung on the sky blue screen with the dove and vines.

If I boot to the XP CD then I would probably hose up Windows 7 as that is on SATA 1


What to do . . . . Windows 7 works from the dual boot menu. Windows XP professional gives the above error.

 

[pjmelect]

I don’t know why you are making such a chore over something so simple. To make a dual boot system on two disks simply install Windows XP first and then Windows 7. Windows 7 will the install its boot manager onto the Windows XP disk (or partition) and will then give you a choice of operating system to boot from.
Simples.

An alternative way to do this is to install XP on one of the disks, remove it then install Windows 7 on the second disk, reconnect the XP disk and use the BIOS to select which disk to boot from. (Not recommended)

 

[japentz]

I did that. Plus I came here for advice on how and followed it. No need to be rude

 

[RetiredChief]

@ WyomingKnott
"That boot menu is part of the BIOS. Previous references to choosing the boot drive in the BIOS were referring to the BIOS boot menu. It ain't setting the boot order, but it is selecting the boot drive in the BIOS. "

You correct, I was getting at, you do not need to go to Bios and change boot order. I over simplified explaination. But I do perfer this method over the software boot manager.

 

[Hawkeye22]

If you install XP first, then win7, there should be no need to use EasyBCD. The windows 7 install will take care of the boot loader.

You can also do like others have said and install XP on one drive, win 7 on the other and use your F12 boot option (your's may diifer) to select the drive to boot from. If you go this route, I recommend that the win 7 drive is not connected to the motherboard while XP is being installed. Then, when installing win7, make sure the XP disk isn't connected to the motherboard. Only connect both drives after both OS's have been installed. This will ensure that each OS has their boot loader and OS installed to the correct drive.

 

[gcgjohnson]

I never trusted Windows upgrades. I always added a new drive for the new OS. I have triple boot XP, Vista and now Windows 7 pro 64. I am now sick of whirring hard drives and have a 128GB Intel SSD on it's way. I have no need for Vista, but there are programs that I use that will run on XP but on on Windows 7. One of these programs runs 10 times faster on XP than on Win 7 virtual mode.

I don't plan to dual boot this time. I rarely use XP, so when I do, I will simply select it in BIOS. The rest of the time, I won't even turn on the noisy mechanical hard drive.

To answer your question, the best way to dual boot that worked for me was to load the SATA drivers from a floppy and install XP. Then I installed Vista and then Windows 7. I used BCD to name the boots Win XP Media Center, Vista Home Premium and WIN 7 Pro 64.

Good luck.

Greg

 

[myf1970]

Hello,


This really should be very simple yet, I am unable to find a straight, direct answer. Respectfully, please do NOT link the dual boot on "one" hard drive from the sevenforums.com Been there done that. It does not apply.

TWO SATA Drives - want an OS on each, dual boot menu upon boot up.

1. I have Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit) ALREADY installed on a SINGLE (SATA) hard drive.
2. I have a clean blank other SINGLE (SATA) hard drive upon which I will install Windows XP Professional (32-bit).
3. Please understand this is TWO individual hard drives, I want an Operating System installed on each individually. (win7 on ONE, XP on the other)
4. I'd like a boot menu to come up giving me a choice to boot to either the Win7 drive OR the Win XP Prof. drive.


Sorry for over repeating what I want to happen, but wow, every place I've been has a meandering of "what to do" and no direct "how to".

Thank you kindly for a direct, precise response.

Regards ,
JP

VERY EASY
first install xp then w7
that is all


and thers aprog called hd tune look for it

 

[DSAVL]

Why do you have to go into Bios to change boot order.

I have XP and Vista on two pair of raid0 HDDs. (also had Win 7 RC on a 3rd seperate HDD for a while).
You set the boot prioity to the drive most often used. When you power on you hit F12 (Gigabyte MB) during post. This brings up a list of drives to boot from, ie HDD1, HDD2, SSD, DVD what ever, you select and computer boots to that drive - This DOES NOT change boot prioity. If you reboot it will revert back to drive set in bios.

This method is much better than screw*(%^#@$ with a inbetween software boot loader.

**************************************************************************


Yes I do agree with you Sir..... RetiredCheif,

I believe all the new motherboard comes with the option of BOOT MENU option. Press F12 in Gegabyte...& every motherboards has its own predesigned keys to get menu BOOT MENU with choice; which give you the option to boot up with the desired drives (CD-ROM, HD1 or HD2) As mentioned, need to install seperate OS in different Hard Disks .

Regards,


DSAVLKSA
dsavl@saad.com.sa

 

[andyjee86]

I've just done the EXACT same...

Windows 7 64 Pro on 1 sata, then hooked up another and installed Win XP pro SP3 on another sata.

I made sure the Win 7 drive was disconnected before installin XP on the other,

I then sorted the boot priority in BIOS to Win 7 FIRST...

So when ever I want my XP to boot I just press F12 (Gigabyte) and select the correct drive.

Loveley set up and no messing around so far.

 

[shiba11]

One problem with dual booting Windows XP and Windows 7 is that when you boot into Windows XP it will delete Windows 7 restore points. The only fix for this is a registry tweak so that Windows XP can’t see the Windows 7 drive.
Have you considered using the virtual Windows XP on Windows 7 it is very good? Virtual Windows XP can be installed on either Windows 7 ultimate or professional versions.

I installed Virtual Win XP on my Win 7 Home premium and have everything I want except networking functioning in virtual. Can this be set to work or is it not working because I need Win 7 Ult or Pro?

 

[cameramandd]

You need to install the older OS first. Install XP on one drive. When finished, install Win7 on the other drive. Yes, it's that simple.

Microsoft reccomends that you always install oldest OS's first then the newer ones. You can have a newer one installed first, but then you've got to jump through a few hoops and mess with the boot loader to get it to work properly. If you install the oldest OS first, it's a much easier affair.

Just got new computer with windows7 on it, want to add hard drive from old dieing computer to new one with faster mother board and processor. So is that possible to still do, and if so what steps to I need to take.

 

[anuk07]

Hey there so finally first install xp on one HDD and then disconnect this drive.......then connect other hard drive and install win 7 on it.......then i can connect both drives and turn on the pc..... then i will get the options of booting either from xp disk or from the win 7 disk...... is this is correct.....???

 

[pacific_fighter]

split the drive in 2 equal part's so they have an equal amount of drive space each making sure that in Bios you set the install to your dvd/cd-r/dvd-r drive for the operating system, then proceed with next part,

to have a successful windows xp and windows 7 on the same drive, install windows xp and install all update's till none are left, make sure you have a virus software installed prior to updating xp/7 then shut down computer and make sure you have installed all the driver's needed for hardware, also make sure the driver's you useing are compatible with win 7, now load up win 7 in your cd-r or dvd-r dvd drive, if you need to install 3rd party driver make sure you press F6 so you can install the driver's, go through the process of install till complete and make sure you all network driver's available so you can connect to internet, (what is a good idea is to down load SP1/2 Netframework 1.1/2.0 for xp and Netframework 4/SP1, for win 7, with them installed makes thing easier,) and take win 7 to all install's complete if you have done it correctly on boot up you will get a screen like a dos prompt asking you if you wont to load win 7 or an older version of windows, using the up and down controls on your keyboard you can choose which one to boot up, have done this my self without reading of the web and work's brilliant, I dont have 2 computer's or I would do a video showing exactly how to do this, on boot up you can also force the issue by pressing F8 once the boot file has updated showing 2 operating system's you wont need to press F8, the boot screen if it goe's past the operating system on the drive and load's the newest first it is because you need to do what I like to call (OY I have 2 operating system pillock get back here) by pressing F8 you have to in some cases train the MBR that you have 2 operating system's once it get used to seing 2 operating system's it gives you that option by default, just something I noticed about it, like teaching a baby to walk first time, once you get the display on boot your laughing, hope it help's,

Hello,
Originally, I had XP on one drive. I tried to install Win7 but it did not just work. I ended up disconnecting the XP drive, then installing Win 7 individually on the other. I'd have to change the boot order in the BIOS. The XP drive died.


My question was "HOW" do a create a dual boot even if I have XP installed first?

I have all my user files stored on the Win7 Hard drive which is 1TB


again, TWO hard drives. I want dual boot. I want a single OS on each drive, per my original message. I want a boot menu to happen.

Thank you.