I have a hard drive with Win 7 with programs, etc. I also have, installed, a hard drive with Win xp, No programs. I want the "Dual Boot" option on startup so that I can choose either option without conflicts. bg

yes --
But you will loose all of your files and folders when you format the hard dive to install win xp
you cannot run 2 operating systems on the one hard drive unless the hard drive is partitioned ( in effect having 2 hard drives on the one disc) as it causes massive conflicts in operation
Why any one would install an out dated , unsupported operating system like win xp in place of win 7 beats me
of course if you insist in doing it you could always install and extra hard drive in the computer and run it as an extra hard drive and install the win xp on it and still retain all of your files and folders

Which version of xp are you trying to install 32 or 64 bit ?

Your ability to install a second operating system on your Windows 7 system hinges on one thing: partitions. If your computer has only one partition, you can't dual-boot your system without erasing all information on your computer. Two hard drives, or two partitions, enables you to dual boot. Check this information first, before proceeding.

Click "Start" and type "disk management" into the search bar. Click on "Create and format hard disk partitions" in the list of programs to open "Disk Management." Look at the list of partitions and available drives. The information here will be different on every computer. "C" is your primary hard drive and active operating system partition, and this drive contains your Windows 7 installation. You can't install Windows XP here without formatting the system. Check for secondary drives and partitions in Disk Management. Your system may have a "D" or "E" drive. Some computer manufacturers create a hidden partition with recovery software: don't remove this partition. If you have a secondary partition called "D" with more than 2GB of free space, you can install Windows XP here. b> Installing XP b> Insert the Windows XP Setup disc into your CD or DVD drive and close any windows that appear. Shut down your computer with the disc in the drive. Turn the computer on and look for a message saying "press any key to book from CD." Press any key on your keyboard when this message appears. Most computers are configured to look to the CD or DVD drive first, before booting to the operating system. If your system doesn't recognize the disc, you will have to enter your BIOS and change the boot order. Look to your manual for information on changing the boot order. Press "Enter" on the "Welcome to Setup" screen to load the Windows XP setup program. Read the license agreement and press "F8" to accept. Windows will detect that an operating system is already installed on your primary partition and present a list of other partitions to install XP. Use the arrow keys to select your secondary partition ("D") and press "Enter" to confirm that you want to install XP here. Then choose what to do with the partition: leave the file system intact or format the partition using FAT32 or NTFS. Windows XP supports both file systems, but requires NTFS on partitions larger than 32GB. You don't need to format the drive to install XP. Follow the prompts on screen to enter your personal information, serial number, and date and time. The setup program copies files to your PC and reboots -- don't press a key to boot to the CD. When you have to operating systems installed, a DOS screen appears asking you to choose an OS; press the down arrow key to highlight Windows XP and press enter to complete the setup. You will have to choose this every time to boot into XP, otherwise your computer will boot to Windows 7 by default. Hope this helps.

b>

You have to reformat your boot drive before you can replace Windows 7. Once you reformat you can reload XP from the install disks.

you might be able to configure your set up using "Fdisk" a utility that erases and partitionjs your hard drive.Do a search and get to know its workings.
Good Luck

Davey Snake

Not sure what you have done so far. You need to divide your hard drive into two sections. Install XP first on to one section. Then use a program to manage your computer start up, the one I use is called Easy BCD this is a free program and works great. Once you cut your hard drive and install XP make a copy of your start up partition. Install the Easy BCD program and make a back up again. Then Install Win 7. Then on the Win7 side install the Easy BDC program and set up the menu choices. I run a 3 way boot with XP and Ubuntu. Hope this helps Fix Ya up.

Hi.

The "tfght" message means that some of the files, folders and sub folders are compressed.
Boot the Windows 7 DVD, choose Custom install, on "Where do you want to install Windows" screen, click on Load Driver. Now use the mini-explorer which pops up to rightclick on System HD then choose Properties. Uncheck "Compress Drive to save Disk Space" for All Files and Sub-Folders. Restart.
That should solve the problem.
However you may have to start again. Click on the link below for an in-depth guide on how to dual boot XP and Windows 7.



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




Good luck and regards.

Certainly, any files that you write using Windows XP will be able to be read with Windows 7.

I'm not familiar with the CEEDO program -- did the author update it for Windows 7 ?

Your laptop probably has a SATA hard drive, windows XP only provides with PC's/laptops with a PATA hard drive.

You have to make up your mind what your really want to do.

1) Do you want a dual boot machine, working off XP and Win7?

Here's one web site:-

http://webtrickz.com/how-to-install-windows-xp-over-windows-7-in-a-dual-boot/

2) Do you want to replace Win7 with XP.

Here's a web site which covers that :-

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Install-Windows-XP-On-SATA-Without-a-Floppy-F6-47807.shtml

Why do you need to duel boot???
It is impossable for Windows XP to be Duel Booted to Windows 7.
There IS a way, but it would be to hard