Windows 7 64bit and 32bit XP dual boot

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daemos

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Will i have any problems running a dual boot setup with these two different OS's? My computer is im pretty sure 64bit capable as i built it in August of last year. I have 4 gigs of ram so i wanted to see what it was like to utilize all 4 gigs as i choose 32 bit XP when building this setup. My setup as is:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 (2.66 GHz)
ASUS P5K Premium
G.SKILL 4GB 2x2GB

I will be installing Windows 7 on a separate hard drive to avoid any loss of data from my current hard drive that has XP on it.
 

tentaro

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One question with this since I have done this already is......Can you set up Windows 7 to recognize your secondary drives? I just don't want to screw up my Vista load and I have never real found it necessary before to run a dual boot.
 

daemos

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Ok but will Windows 7 change any of the settings of XP on the other hard disk? like boot settings? or restore points?
 

xJedix

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yea, i had the same problem... all you have to do is going into computer management, then go to disk management. You should see your other hdd, but you'll notice there's no letter assigned to that hdd. All you have to do is right click on it, go to change drive letter and paths, and then assign a letter to it... and you'll be set to go.


As for running 32-bit xp and 64-bit windows 7, yes it works fine... that's my current setup right now and I'm typing this from windows 7. I had a little difficulty with the boot loader, I had to load easybcd on windows xp to fix the boot loader, windows 7 hdd destination was incorrect and it was trying to boot from a non-existent hdd.
 

tentaro

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Thanks for the info but I just went and did it anyway. I knew how to do it, I was just more afraid if there were gonna be any problems when I went back to Vista and tried to use the drive. I was unsure but I have found out now that it is no problem. Thanks anyway.
 

fancarolina

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Simply unplug your Vista drive when loading Windows 7. If the drive has no power you can't screw it up. After getting Win 7 up then you can reconnect your drives. Boot to either Vista or Win 7 depending on what you choose in the BIOS then you can edit your the Boot Manager giving you access to both operating systems.


 

fancarolina

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_________________________________________________________________

Depending on your motherboard's BIOS you may have some issues with all 4gb of memory registering under your 64-bit OS. If so check your Memory Remap settings. You may have to switch this setting when switching OS's in order to take advantage of most memory each OS can address.

I ran a Dual boot of Vista x32 and Vista x64 with memory remapping on I saw 4gb under x64 and 2gb under x32. With memory remapping off I see 3gb under x64 and 3gb x32.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
4gb Corsair XMS DDR2 800
Asus P5B-Plus
2x WD Raptor 74gb RAID 0 Windows Vista x64 Ultimate
2x Seagate 640gb RAIO 0 Data Array
1 WD GP 500gb Windows 7 x64 Beta
GeForce 8600GT 512mb
 

Zorg

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Interestingly enough, Vista SP1 shows all 4 GB instead of the true available RAM.

They did this in response to the multitude of questions about the RAM that was recognized by Windows.

In case you are concerned about whether your RAM is sufficient, ask yourself if your machine can carry out the task, not how much RAM is visible.


RAM :pfff:
 

Zorg

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Extra info for you, disconnect all drives on install. Don't be confused about anomalies with XP and board level.

I thought my mobo failed, yes coincidental isn't it, but I know better now.
 
G

Guest

Guest
you WILL be fine i'm doing it right now on windows 7 :)

love it way more than xp although my boot times are substantially longer
 

daemos

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Ok so i've successfully installed Windows 7 64bit Beta onto a separate hard disk and am now running a dual boot configuration. But almost everytime i try to install either drivers or just putting music into itunes it freezes. First i tired installing ATI drivers for my graphics card. It froze twice in two different places. I gave up... and then now it freezes when im loading music into itunes. I even had trouble installing itunes. Is it just me or are others having theses problems aswell? I know its beta but im just wondering if im doing somthing wrong...
 
Daemos - The first thing to do is check the Device Manager for issues. You can also run the troubleshooting tools - You can navigate there from My Computer, but typing "Action Center" or 'Troubleshooting' in the search box is faster.

IMHO, the improved searching is arguably the nicest feature. Makes memorizing paths a thing of the past. Looking for a hack/setting to put the search box directly on the toolbar, AAMOF.

 

jonpaul37

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if it makes any difference, i have Win XP Pro SP3 32-bit and Win 7 64 bit installed as a dual-boot on the same hard drive... everything works great so far for about 10 days straight, not one issue yet, i am testing both OS's exactly the same, so if i spend 2 hours gaming, i'll spend another 2 hours gaming on the other OS, trying to duplicate everything i do. My specs are in my sig if wondering...
 

jonpaul37

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there was a setting that i found to enable the search box to be put on the taskbar, it appears on the bottom right near the time once enabled... i forgot where the setting was, and i'm at work right now...
 

jonpaul37

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@ Daemos - I have not had this issue, but i have read at least 3 other instances where others have... and the issue is the ATI beta drivers for Win7. What i originally did was use the Vista 64-bit ATI drivers (8.12) and everything has worked great, and since i read those other issues, i never even bothered installing the Win7 beta ATI drivers.

Another issue with those drivers is that people are having issues removing them, they actually have to reformat and reinstall Win7... just an FYI. Hope this helps...
 



Yah - That's the Address Bar, and you can Google/Yahoo/etc from there. But it doesn't have the same functionality of the main search box - i.e. you can't run a command, or call up a program or document that's on your computer. It's not a big deal - Not having one on the toolbar just means I have to press the Windows key first. But being able to do that would be a nice little touch, is all. :)
 

daemos

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I did get Itunes to work in compatibility mode but have yet to install ATI Catalyst. I havnt gotten a chance to try anything else.
 

terr281

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I currently have 4 internal drives:

1. Win XP Pro SP3 32 bit system drive
2. 320 GB data drive
3. 320 GB data drive
4. Win 7 Beta 64 bit "system" drive

And, to duel boot, I have to manually select the Win XP drive within my boot options upon every reboot. (680i lt MB)

I can confirm that Win 7 sees the Win XP drive (and can browse it), but I don't have to worry about accessing the drive. (All data is on the other drives.) Haven't done much testing yet though...
 

sausagemandan

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I installed on another drive and have a dual win7-64bit and xp 32bit if I take the dvd out it won't boot.
Plus have had bad crashes in 7 and had to cold reboot.Freezes and wont respond,now won't boot in 7 at all says cannot auto repair so I have to try repairing from the dvd.Not impressed hard to navigate around corrupted sound drivers.



asus p5n-e-sli
2gig wintech pc6400
dualcore e6600
4870 512
sb audigy 2 zs expro
 

squidds

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i now have a quad boot system of xp with ubuntu installed in but with seperate boot and all so windows 7 32bit and windows 7 64.bit on three seperate partions all run but having trouble setting up network on 64 bit
 
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