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Any good articles / links about dual-boot 7 / XP systems?

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by stelliger, 2013/07/25.

  1. 2013/07/25
    stelliger

    stelliger Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I am going to install XP and 7 on a dual-boot system.

    Ideally, on this 500gb drive, I'd like to have the following partitions:

    Partition 1: 160 gb, Windows 7 (boot partition)
    Partition 2: 20 gb, Windows XP
    Partition 3: 320 gb NTFS for data files, temp files, swap drives

    How best to install in this configuration? Should I install XP or 7 first? And, if I install XP first, doesn't it insist on being installed on Partition 1? Or does it just put some boot files there?

    I'm open to suggestions about the sizes of the partitions, too. For the most part, the XP partition doesn't need to have lots of room for anything but basic programs, since temp files and any data files will be on P3.

    I would be interested in any tips, but I imagine some people have written some good articles somewhere about this.
     
    stelliger,
    #1
  2. 2013/07/25
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    Install XP first...Then Win 7... From where you're sitting, it shouldn't matter what's on the first partition;)

    If you get Win 7 PRO - it comes with XP Mode - which is a virtual machine and a free copy of Win XP... It's a lot more fun to use then dual booting is.
     
    Steve R Jones,
    #2


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  4. 2013/07/25
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I have been running XP and W7 in dual boot configuration for 2½ years. I installed XP first on C: and created all partitions from within XP. Next, I installed W7 on D:. The installer automatically created the dual boot, letting me choose the default OS (starts after 10 seconds) but also to change from one to the other.

    My partition sizes on a 500 GB SATA II (after 2½ years):

    C: 40 GB for XP, 15 GB used
    D: 80 GB for W7, 32 GB used
    E: the rest for Data

    The active OS will always appear as being installed on C:. It took a while before I understood that and I made a few mistakes ... :eek: ... !

    I don't have a lot installed, Office, Acrobat and a few smaller programs and that indicates that your suggested 20 GB for XP is too small.

    I would let each OS have it own pagefile on its own partition. I would not let one OS mess with the other and neither would I defragment one OS from within the other.

    I have no links but suggest going Google on "Windows XP dual boot Windows 7 ".
     
    Christer,
    #3
  5. 2013/07/26
    stelliger

    stelliger Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks for the info, guys.

    As for Pro, yes, that's what I have, but I also understand that the various programs and drivers which one loads in the XP mode version also encumber the 7 installation. That's partly why I want a separate XP installation; to put the "junk" in that I don't want polluting my 7 install (which would also include software I'm not so sure about).

    One example isn't so much "junk" but it is along the lines of this concern. If I do taxes with TurboTax, I get stuck with an Intuit Update process as well as having to load all the .NET services. I'd rather have that on the extra install, since it's one of those things I use next to never. There are also some equipment drivers I don't want to always have around, but it's for hardware I rarely use. It's nice to have a "junk" install around.
     
    stelliger,
    #4
  6. 2013/07/28
    psaulm119 Lifetime Subscription

    psaulm119 Geek Member

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    The only advice I'd recommend is to install EasyBCD. It makes dual-booting rather simple. You can go into the program and change the default OS, the number of seconds it waits (in an option screen) before loading the default....
     
    psaulm119,
    #5
  7. 2013/07/29
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    As can be done from the Windows 7 boot manager!
     
    Christer,
    #6
  8. 2013/07/30
    stelliger

    stelliger Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Christer, thanks, a lot of good information. I just want to try to avoid having XP on partition 1 (aka C: per se but as you mention when booting to W7 then it would be called C:)

    Utilities like EasyBCD sound interesting but I generally avoid them unless they're widely accepted and even recommended by a number of experienced users. After all, it's not like I NEED to have it to make the dual configuration work.
     
    stelliger,
    #7

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