Dual Boot With New Hard Drive
Oct 23, 2009
I currently have a system running XP with two IDE hard drives and 3 partitions.
I have taken Windows 7 as a chance to get myself some much needed extra space! and purchased a new 1tb SATA drive.
I really dont want to lose the exisitng data I have so my original plan was to take my main IDE harddrive with most of my data stick it in an external USB carrier and then start fresh in the system with the 1tb and Windows 7.
What would be cooler would be if I could add the 1tb to the exisiting system and install Windows 7 on that (ideally with that as C and either then have much quicker access to transfer data to the new drive or even dual boot with XP at first incase I have any issues with Windows 7. Can anyone advice me on how easy/risky this is? And what they would suggest to someone trying to maximise the uptime of their PC?
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Dec 30, 2009
I have a Dell Inspiron 1440 laptop with Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit. Some of my older applications do not support this platform. My processor does not support Window Virtual PC and Windows XP mode so I was hoping to add XP as a dual boot. Is it possible to boot XP from an external harddrive or USB instead of having to partition the internal hard drive. Or do you have any suggestions on how I can load XP after Windows 7 is already loaded.
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May 1, 2009
can I dual boot using an ext. Hard drive. I found an old 250gb phanton hd I've never used. Figured I could throw it in there. Would vista dual boot to that. Or no??
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Sep 7, 2009
I have a 300gb harddrive that i shrank by 50gb to make room for a windows 7 rc1 32 bit dual boot. I now need to extend the partition because i have almost filled it up. When i shrink the main partition (the 238gb one) that has vista on it, it won't let me extend the windows 7 partition onto it.
This is what it looks like in diskmgmt.msc
Vista (188gb)/Unallocated space (~50gb)/Windows (50gb)/HP_RECPVERY (9.91gb)
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Jan 11, 2013
I have just replaced the hard drive on my laptop as the original was starting to fail. I created an image of the windows 7 pro 32bit original drive. I replaced the hard drive and installed a clean 64 bit version of windows. I have also installed a clean 32 bit version as a dual boot. I now want to use the original image of the 32 bit system and install this on the clean 32 bit installation.I have tried this using the image software I have (snapshot) but cannot get it to work.
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Jun 21, 2010
Is it possible to dual boot windows 7 and ubuntu, with ubuntu on a external hard drive? I can connect my external hard drive via USB 2.0, USB 3.0 or E-SATA. I want windows 7 as my main OS.
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Sep 29, 2011
About 6 months ago I set up a new machine dual boot using GParted with the following configuration:
/dev/sda1 ntfs (Windows 7 system reserved) 100 MB
/dev/sda2 ntfs (Windows7 C: drive) 99 GB (includes 4 GB of preloaded page file space)
/dev/sda3 ntfs (Shared drive - Windows7 E: Drive / Ubuntu sda3) 801 GB
/dev/sda4 extended partition 32 GB
/dev/sda5 ext4 (Linux Root) 30 GB
/dev/sda6 linux-swap 2 GB
I set it up so that I could access my E: drive from either the windows or ubuntu operating system. It has worked perfectly so far (about 6 months). But, here is the problem:For some reason as the share drive (my E: drive / sda3) grows Windows thinks that the windows system drive (sda2/c:drive) is also growing. So that now I have a low storage warning stating that there is only 8.76 GB of free space left on my 99 GB C: drive. When, in reality, there should be about 77 GB of free space. I've made hidden files/folders viewable and downloaded treesizefree so I know what should be on the drive. The Treesizefree output shows the expected 22 GB of space but also shows only 9 GB of free space. So, the missing space is nearly exactly the size of my shared drive (sda3/E:drive). So somehow, I think the windows OS is double counting my shared E: drive against my C: drive.
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Mar 14, 2012
I installed Ubuntu on a older Toshiba laptop. When I boot up it asks me to select either Windows 7 or Ubuntu. I want to get rid of the Ubuntu disk partition and give that 2.9 GB space to my primary hard drive. I go into compmgmt.msc but I can't execute any commands on that disk partition.
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Nov 12, 2009
As currently configured, XP is on drive C:, Win 7 was added to drive E:, and the system is currently run as a dual boot. Attempting to boot without the XP drive present will yield a "NTLDR is missing" error very early in the boot process.
I have already tried the following:
(1) I moved the hidden Windows Boot Manager files (bootmgr as well as the associated Boot folder) from the XP drive root to the Win 7 drive root.
(2) After physically removing the XP drive, I rebooted to the Win 7 installation DVD, and used the "Repair Your Computer" option to pull up the "Recovery Tools". Then, using the command prompt utility, ...
(3) I attempted to write a new boot sector to the Windows 7 disk using the command: Bootrec /fixboot, - that yields an error though. The Bootrec /fixmbr claimed success, but ultimately did not make Win 7 drive bootable.
I had to reconnect drive C: just to boot into Win 7 again to write this. I do have files backed up, but to format and reinstall files would take many hours beyond just the time to transfer 400 GB of data, since I have dozens of purchased applications that need to be freshly reinstalled and validated as well. Basically I want my E: drive now to be my boot drive while the C: drive is reformatted and used for general storage.
Any idea how to make my Win 7 drive bootable? Do I need a partition program that is more adept at creating a viable boot sector, or is that even the problem?
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Sep 12, 2011
i have a new work laptop with xp sp3 on it. I want to install w7 64 bit as a dual boot, but only have 1 physical drive. i cannot remove my current installation as it is pre-build from work, but can partition the drive etc. However on trying to install w7 64 bit I get a message saying cannot install windows 7 on efi drive with mbr, not gpt. Can I do what I want without screwing up my xp installation?
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Dec 6, 2011
I have a M2010 running Windows 7 ultimate using raid. I was wondering if I put in a hd in the secondary spot if I could add XP Pro and dual boot. I have some things that work better under XP. I put my old laptop drive in and set the bios raid to auto detect/ata. It booted to 7 and installed drive E:. I didn't change any Matrix software settings so it's a raid/non raid setup.
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Jun 7, 2011
I know at this point it's tricky and i should have done it before installing Windows 7 however...My new physical primary drive now has Windows 7 pro running exclusively the whole partition (cI'd like to add the drive that had XP pro running on the same PC.i'd like to get this running as a duel boot without corrupting the XP drive.
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May 19, 2010
1st. Installed XP on IDE drive, 2nd. installed a Sata drive, installed Windows 7 on that drive, want to remove the IDE drive, is it as simple as disconnecting the XP drive and do a startup repair, or is there going to be an issue with the XP drive being the Active drive, will startup repair make the Sata drive the Active drive?
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Jan 2, 2010
I have Win XP 32 bit on my old drive. I buy Win 7 full retail and a new HD. I set bios to boot from cd etc. Win 7 starts up. It shows the 2 drives, so I select new drive...no problems. It starts install. I leave it to do its stuff.When I come back its up and all ok.I dint get any option to boot from XP. The drive was listed as "SYSTEM" but not old Windows or anything.
Also ASUS chipset drivers dont work and they were listed as 7 drivers.I tried Vista drivers but it normally shuts down and restarts. Nothing.
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Oct 20, 2009
I just have a question regarding installation of Windows 7 to dual boot with XP.
Am planning on doing a clean install on two new SATA hard drives. Will first attach one drive and partition and format it when I install XP.
Should I then go ahead and attach the second drive and partition and format it using XP before I start my installation of Windows 7?
Or, would it be better to attach the second drive and then partition and format it when I install Windows 7? Am thinking that the second approach would be better. By the way, this forum is a great resource.
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Nov 26, 2009
I want to install 7 on a separate hard drive to see how it works & work indepenantly on it's own system. How can I if at all make it so when I am booting up I can toggle in between 7 & xp startups.
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Jan 3, 2010
I setup my pc with 2 harddisk. I dual boot xp 32-bit and windows 7 64-bit on 1 harddisk and other harddisk is for my data storage for xp and 7. The problem is that windows 7 recognize the 2 harddisk and I can access the data but xp won't. Xp can see the harddisk on 'my computer' but it was listed RAW.
Anyone know how to fix it so that xp and 7 can access the 2nd harddisk?
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Dec 1, 2009
i have xp home 32 bit as my OS now and i have another hard drive installed and ready to install win 7 64 bit on to. can i do this with xp running or should i disconnect the HD with xp on it, then when i start the computer it won't see any OS and then i could boot from the win7 dvd and do a clean installl and then re=connect the HD with xp on it.
then when i start computer i should get the choice of which one to boot from or is this not the way to do it?? i want the OS's on separate HD's for now as i am sure that not everything that i want to run will work on the 64 bit win7 until i can afford to get all the programs i use to work on win7.
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Jan 6, 2010
I currently have windows 7 ultimate in a Dell Gx270 P4 2.6ghz I know its old. And i want to Install Windows XP in another hard drive i have, but how do i make both hard drives boot, so i can select which one i want to boot.
I'm doing this because XP mode doesn't work in this computer. And i don't want to partition.
Most information i find in google requires partitioning and i don't want that.
If you know how please post it, or post the Links where i can find it.
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Feb 21, 2011
I have a laptop that has Vista installed on it. I have an upgrade disc for Windows 7 and I am thinking about performing a "clean installation" over the Vista OS - which I know is allowed, on the following link;click here Now, I would like to create another partition (on the same hard drive) and install Vista (using the same disc that it came with the laptop) onto that blank hard drive partition
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Jan 31, 2013
i bought a used computer from a pawn shop with windows xp and windws 7. I boots up 7 but is to slow. windows xp has a password needed to open that i dont know. how can I dump 7 and open xp without the password.
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Apr 26, 2009
ok so im having a weird problem thats probably very easy to fix.
background info: before my Windows 7 install i had 3 partitions
vista 64
xp 32
empty (soon to be linux)
when i downloaded the newest win 7 build i deleted my xp 32 partition and installed Windows 7 on that partition. because Windows 7 creates that "reserve partition" or what ever, it extended my EMPTY partition with my vista partion. which cause it to become a "logical drive" rather than a "boot" drive. aka i cannot figure out how to access my vista OS.. rather annoying since im just toying with Windows 7 atm.
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Nov 18, 2009
I've got a bit of a perplexing problem here that I hope somebody can provide some insight on. Set up the dual boot with your (very awesome) tutorial and everything works perfectly there. Windows 7 was installed first to the C: drive, XP is on an E: partition of the same drive. The D: drive is a second physical drive that is just used for file storage. If it matters, both physical drives are paired drives in Raid1.
The problem comes when I've loaded into Windows XP, I can't access the D: storage drive. It reads as size 0, and can't be formatted or read.
Under Windows 7, everything works. I can access the storage drive fine and have no problems using it.
I originally thought it was a permissions thing because the D: drive was formatted in Windows 7, but in XP I can read from the Windows 7 C: drive just fine.
I am at a loss, can anybody offer any suggestions as to why the drive would read fine under 7 but not when in XP?
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May 27, 2009
I installed windows 7 on my desktop where XP was already installed. Now, unless I have the RC1 DVD in the drive, the computer automatically boots to XP with no option. If I leave the DVD in the drive it gives me the ''press any key to boot from CD or DVD" then automatically goes to Windows 7 if I dont press anything. I used BCD while in 7 and it didn't seem to have an effect.
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Jun 14, 2009
1. My machine has XP on a single hard drive w/ 3 partitions. In order to try Windows 7 the easiest thing for me to do is to install it on my E: partition. If I boot into Windows 7, do the drive letters change around or do the Windows 7 system files still show up as E:WINDOWS?
Are there any downsides to this installation that I don't know about? If I got tired of Windows 7 would it be a problem to get rid of the bootloader?
2. My original plan was to buy a second hard drive, install it by itself, and load Windows 7 onto it. Then reconnect the original hard drive and dual boot by changing the boot order in the BIOS. What does this do to the drive letters?
I would have one hard drive with 3 partitions and another hard drive with one partition. If I boot Windows 7 I'm guessing that its hard drive would become C: and the other hard drive would become D:, E: and F:. But what happens if I boot XP from the other hard drive? Does it stay C:, D: and E: and the second hard drive becomes F:, or do the letter scramble differently?
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Dec 6, 2009
I've just got a new HP laptop with windows 7 Home Premium.
Anytime Upgraded to Ultimate.
i want to boot to windows XP (SP2) on this new laptop..(Not necessarily Dual-Boot). there is only on program i need to use under XP.
the dual-booting tutorials here are quite in depth and potentially problematic for none techie like me. i would prefer not re-partion the drive and 'hide' one operating system from the other, so what i would prefer to do is this...
1. Plug in an External hard drive (USB 2.0).Clean and factory formatted.
2. Go into my BIOS > Disable boot from internal hard drive > enable boot from CD Drive (first)
3. Exit BIOS having saved changes
4. insert win XP Install disk in drive.
So, in theory XP Install should be like on a brand new machine.
when i want to use windows 7 i would reverse the BIOS changes and make sure external drive with XP is not connected.
So, windows 7 would not know XP is even in use.
Is all this viable... or is there something that would prevent it from working?
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Feb 15, 2009
I have a simple xp 32 computer and would like to dual boot (from a partition) with windows 7. my problem seems to lie in whether i have enable my usb to be bootable as a dvd install of windows 7. it seems very complicated, and i am interested in figuring out whether it was possible to simply create the partition (with gpart) than in windows mount windows 7 and when it asks where it wants to be installed, I would than chose my new partition.
I don't know... (don't want to screw up)
I hope this makes sense...
I really would like to try widows 7, and any help would be very much appreciated .
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Dec 30, 2009
Well, I did a dual-boot system with Vista 32-bit and 7 64-bit. Now the problem is that, when I'm in Vista, the drive letter of Vista would be C: and 7 would be in B:.
But when I'm in 7, its partition would have the letter C: while Vista would have B:.
Is this normal? What would happen if I installed a program on the path C: in Windows 7?
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Jun 1, 2011
I ve managed to install Win XP after Windows 7 installation as in tutorial. Win 7 is on Drive C and Win XP on drive G. Then Ive decided to only keep the XP version and move it on drive C (currently occuied by Win 7).
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Mar 7, 2012
I have a Sony C series 64 bit laptop. I have a 2.5" IDE drive from my old laptop which has XP.
I was thinking to image Win 7 on my Sony to a cd; so that I have a clean disk. How can I then clone my XP ide drive onto the new laptop drive - which is an Hitachi ATA (mSata?) - so that I will have a dual boot system? Although if the XP works fine, that is what I will use.
I do a sysprep 1st, then use Bart PE. However I believe Bart PE only goes to XP SP3, and I only have the whole drive - with all my docs on it. No installation disk.
Do I need to do a "sysprep"? Is it possible to "slipstream" a whole drive with all the necessary drivers? Will it be an issue if the XP is 32 bit, and my new machine is 64bit?
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Oct 16, 2009
I have Windows 7 RC1, and am trying to install XP on a separate drive but am getting the following error:
"Setup could not load the keyboard layout file KBDUS.DLL.
Setup cannot continue. Power down or reboot your computer now."
I restart and am able to go back to Windows 7...Any ideas on how to get around this??
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