Windows 7 / XP Dual-boot questions.

[pope7]

I have a few quick questions, and I figured you guys might be my saviors!

I currently have an old XP box with a Athlon x2 3800+ in it, and an old motherboard. I just got a new motherboard and a Phenom II X3 720, and I want to switch them out. At the same time, I want to install windows 7. CURRENTLY, my plan is to just clear off a hard drive, and install 7 on it while the old MB and processor are in, and THEN switch the hardware. I guess my noobish questions are:

Is that even possible? Will a clean install of 7 recognize the new processor and motherboard without issue?

If I install 7 on a different drive than my XP install, can I dual-boot with the new hardware, once they are installed? I plan on shifting away from XP finally, but it would be nice to be able to boot into it still if I forget something. Will the new hardware make this impossible?

What are the steps to dual-booting XP and 7 on different drives?


Thanks for any help!

 

[boonality]

1. If you replace your motherboard you have to load windows from scratch after or you will have LOADS of issues, drivers being a big one.
2. You won't have any problems recognizing your new hardware, provided you put a clean operating system on after you install the hardware.
3. You won't be able to dual boot your existing XP because it will need to be re-installed as well, for the same issues as in answer #1. But you can dual boot, just install XP first, when you install windows 7, it will configure the dual boot for you and give you a boot menu to choose your operating system to start when you power the computer on.

 

[pope7]

Thank you, so much!