25
Oct
2009
Windows 7 and XP Dual Boot Installation
Before you Install for a Dual Boot, Backup your XP boot drive just to be safe. I used Acronis True Image and Created a Recovery Boot CD.
The XP installation is on my C: drive. I already had a 2nd partition on my drive where I will install Windows 7. In “My Computer” I labeled the 2nd partition “Win7″. If you have a 2nd Drive that will also work or you can use partitioning software like Partition Magic to resize a large drive to have 2 smaller partitions. Make sure the partition is formated as NTFS. After cleaning off my 2nd partition I make sure the XP install is not using the 2nd partition for Virtual Memory.
Now for the Windows 7 DVD:
I am installing windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. Unless you have a good reason to install the 32-bit Windows 7 because of software or hardware compatibility issues, installing the 64-bit version is recommended.
I double check the DVD drive is set in the boot priority before the Hard Drive, Insert the Windows 7 DVD and then Reboot. Your system should come up with something similar to “Press Any Key to Boot From CD…” and do as directed.
After the first couple of screens booting from the DVD, it seemed to take quite some time without much happening. I feared a system lockup and rebooted, but the next time I allowed it to just wait it out and then it gave me my options for install. To setup the Dual Boot, you need to select “Custom Install”, then select the partition you want to install to. Then I see the “Copying Files” notification and then after a while, it will change to “Installing…”. I let it do it’s thing and then came back a short time later.
It will ask the normal questions, Time Zone, Time, Date, and then it will ask what kind of network you are connecting to. Then you get to create a user account. That’s about it and your in your new Window 7 installation.
You then should be able to reboot and get a boot option for “Windows 7″ which is the default value and “Earlier Windows Version”. If you don’t make a selection it will boot to Win 7 after about 30 seconds.
Scott B
Thanks for the tips. I am thinking about doing this on The Little Dojo computer as I am having allot of freezing problems with it and XP.
[...] The XP installation is on my C: drive. I already had a 2nd partition on my drive where I will install Windows 7. In “My Computer” I labeled the 2nd partition “Win7″. If you have a 2nd Drive that will also work or you can use partitioning software like Partition Magic to resize a large drive to have 2 smaller partitions. Make sure the partition is formated as NTFS. After cleaning off my 2nd partition I make sure the XP install is not using the 2nd partition for Virtual Memory. — Dual Boot Windows 7 [...]
Best way to see if it’s a good idea to upgrade is to look at your software and hardware. Make a list of what you use, check the vendors site to see if you can find Windows 7 compatibility.
It can start to cost some money to upgrade software and hardware if it does not work with Win7. If you want to Dual Boot, do you have space for the seperate install? Seperate partition or Drive would work if you can empty it out. If your space is limited then the cost of a Hard Drive would increase the cost of upgrading.
[...] With multiple computers this 3 pack upgrade, you can upgrade your least used computer and test it. This allows you to find out what software/hardware may or may not work. This is similar to my situation where I installed a Dual Boot with XP and Windows 7. [...]