Resolved Dual boot for XP and Windows 7

My hard drive is partitioned as follows:

C: Windows XP (System) 20GB Primary
D: Programs 5GB Primary
E: Data 15GB Primary

Unallocated: 360GB Logical

I have transferred my Files and Settings to an external drive.

I want to separate the System from the programs and data for Windows 7 as above but with larger partitions.

1. All future partitions have to be logical as I already have 3 primary partitions, is this OK? (I don't know how to change a primary to a logical without formatting)

2. What changes do I have to make to the Windows 7 Registry to direct the program files to a partition other than the Windows 7 system partition?

3. Do I also need a separate partition for the data files or can both operating systems pull data from the same partition?

4. Where should I tell Windows Easy Transfer to put the files it will transfer back to the new system?

Thank you

Jim

 

Thanks for the input Tony.

The reasoning behind separating the programs from the system is to increase access speed. It is my understanding that more compact partitions reduce fragmentation and separating the programs assists in this.

The Windows 7 registry is different from XP and while I can have an educated guess at what to change to redirect the programs, I would prefer to get it from someone who knows if you can help me with this.

Just to clarify, what is the advantage of putting a second system on a primary partition? It seems to work OK on a logical one, or am I missing something?

Your point about the second drive is well taken but I gave up that route a while ago when I installed Shadow Protect which gives me continuous backups. It's bailed me out of a couple of HD failures painlessly. When my main drive fails, I just restore to the blank second drive temporarily until I can replace the main drive.

Thanks

Jim

 

A - From 'Primary' to 'Logical' will require a format. And a base level change since logical drives are in an 'Extended' segment. Microsoft expects to find 'Primary' partitions and then an 'Extended partition or segment, containing 'Logical' partitions.

B - Having applications on another drive is simple if they are smart enough to ask where you want to install them. Change the location to "X:\new program" and you are good. NOTE: this will not relocate 'DLLs' or drivers that need to to be in the 'Windows' and 'Windows\System32' folders. And you probably shouldn't try that either.

c - Unless you are spending equal amounts of time in both OS's then consider using a virtual machine for the lesser used. I find it to be much easier. And if your system supports 'XP mode' you can have both at the same time. Legacy apps in an invisible window is so cool.

 

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

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