Multiboot win 7 and XP

[Allen Drake]

I am looking for some recommendations on the easiest way to multi
boot win 7 and XP when I already have drives with both installed. I
have read so many posts regarding this but none that apply directly to
my search. Most explain how to install one or the other OS. I did find
OSL2000 application but I am not sure if I should just go ahead and
download and run before I know if this is a valid and trusted
solution.

Right now I have the case open with both drives installed and always
boot to Win 7. If I want XP I simply unplug the Win 7 cable. Switching
cables works fine but it would be nice if I had a menu that I could
select from at boot up.

Thanks for any replies regarding this topic.

Al

 

[Allen Drake]

You don't have an option using the BIOS? That is, there isn't an F key
you can press at boot up that will let you choose if you want to boot
from the DVD ROM/RAM or one of the hard drives? You will have to have
both hard drives connected for this to work, naturally, and I am
assuming you have SATA drives.

Yes AAMOF I just discovered this on my ASUS MoBo. At boot up the
screen went by so fast I had to boot several times to write down the
selections. Now I will have to move that XP drive to that machine
unless I can find that feature on my GIGABYTE GA-P35-S3G.

 

[VanguardLH]

I am looking for some recommendations on the easiest way to multi
boot win 7

"Windows 7" doesn't specify WHICH edition of it that you have. Some
editions support XP Mode so you don't have to reboot to get access to
the other OS.

 

[Jolly polly]

On my ASUS board, it's F8.

yes use F8 for a one off boot or BCDEDIT to edit your boot loader, don't
forget to backup first

 

[Art Todesco]

"Windows 7" doesn't specify WHICH edition of it that you have. Some
editions support XP Mode so you don't have to reboot to get access to
the other OS.

While the XP mode (Virtual XP machine) is very impressive and does work
for some stuff, I have some application that don't work at all. I think
you have to have Windows 7 Professional in order to download the Virtual
XP software.

 

[Allen Drake]

"Windows 7" doesn't specify WHICH edition of it that you have. Some
editions support XP Mode so you don't have to reboot to get access to
the other OS.

Actually I was off the mark when I referred to Win 7 and multi boot.
I really meant to ask about multi boot to either W7 or XP with two
drives in the system. I did find boot select menu that allows one to
specify which drive to always boot to by pressing F12 on my Gigabyte
board but for some reason that doesn't work. As stated I am unplugging
one cable and it will always boot to the live connection. I can then
plug it back in and it will always boot to last known good
configuration. I do remember several years ago a friend had a problem
with his system that always brought him to a boot menu even though he
only had one drive and one OS present. I was hoping to find what did
that so I don't have to press an F key in time to make a section. More
key strokes and with so many systems here I forget which key to press.
I figured someone had a nice application that would do what I want. I
did find a few but I hesitate to download and install things that I
know nothing about. That's how my XP registry got so bloated and takes
far to long to load.

 

[Roy Smith]

I am looking for some recommendations on the easiest way to multi
boot win 7 and XP when I already have drives with both installed. I
have read so many posts regarding this but none that apply directly to
my search. Most explain how to install one or the other OS. I did find
OSL2000 application but I am not sure if I should just go ahead and
download and run before I know if this is a valid and trusted
solution.

Right now I have the case open with both drives installed and always
boot to Win 7. If I want XP I simply unplug the Win 7 cable. Switching
cables works fine but it would be nice if I had a menu that I could
select from at boot up.

Thanks for any replies regarding this topic.

Download EasyBCD which will allow you to edit the BCD boot store and add
your Windows XP drive to a boot menu. You can get a free version here:

http://neosmart.net/download.php?id=1


--

Roy Smith
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Thunderbird 5.0
Saturday, August 06, 2011 5:39:04 PM

 

[nomail]

Download EasyBCD which will allow you to edit the BCD boot store and add
your Windows XP drive to a boot menu. You can get a free version here:

http://neosmart.net/download.php?id=1

GAG Boot Manager is another good, free, option:
http://gag.sourceforge.net/

Pete

 

[Allen Drake]

Download EasyBCD which will allow you to edit the BCD boot store and add
your Windows XP drive to a boot menu. You can get a free version here:

http://neosmart.net/download.php?id=1

Thanks Roy, That is just what I was looking for. I just installed it
and it works great. I will put it on my wife's system so she can feel
comfortable knowing she didn't lose anything when she first fired up
Win7 and nothing was there from before. It's a whole lot easier than
having to show her how to navigate to that drive.

Regards.
Al