wrote:
> Have an application (Quickbooks, old version) runs flawlessly on XP,
> need accounts, register and report functions only.
>
> Does Winodws 7 support a boot manager so that I can install my copy of
> XP?
>
> Thank You!
>
> Wayne Dengel
> Sarasota, FL
>
To install WinXP, after Windows 7 is installed, try this. This
method is for a desktop, with two separate hard drives.
1) Use a separate disk for WinXP.
2) Unplug the Windows 7 disk.
3) Do the install from the WinXP CD to the new hard drive.
4) When all is working, shut down and plug in the Windows 7 disk.
Change the boot order in the BIOS, to pick up the Windows 7 disk.
5) Now, when you boot, you should be back in Windows 7 again, with no
sign of WinXP.
6) Either use bcdedit or use EasyBCD to add an entry to the Windows 7 boot menu.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EasyBCD
Bcdedit would be the "microsoft way" to do it.
7) Now, on the next boot, Windows 7 will start to boot. It'll stop at its
boot menu. And then you get to make a choice of booting WinXP or Win7
from that menu.
An alternative way to select the boot OS, is by using the BIOS popup boot menu.
But the BIOS on my laptop is such an ugly piece of work, I wouldn't bother
trying. I have a couple desktops, where the BIOS boot menu is perfectly good
for this kind of OS selection process (two disks, BIOS selects disk at startup).
On one computer, I press F8 to access it. On the other computer, I press F11.
And that gets me a BIOS popup boot menu.
*******
This would be for a computer with a single disk, and having enough room.
You can try installing WinXP on your Windows 7 disk (dual boot). If you
do that, WinXP won't know what Windows 7 is. (I.e. This install violates
the "most modern OS goes last" rule). WinXP will load its own MBR boot code,
wiping out the Windows 7 boot code. Now, after you're finished, WinXP boots
but there is no sign of Windows 7. *And*, you can't add Windows 7 to the
WinXP boot menu (boot.ini), because Windows 7 is not based on the same boot
methods as WinXP.
Now, you'd need to repair the Windows 7 boot capability, then use EasyBCD after
that is finished, to add WinXP to the Windows 7 boot menu.
I don't have a Windows 7 installer DVD on my laptop. But, the laptop does offer
to burn a 200MB repair console CD. I was prompted to burn that, about a day
after getting the laptop. If you have a real installer DVD (you bought Win7
at the store), then you can also boot that and get to the "Command Prompt".
So after installing WinXP, and losing access to Windows 7, you boot the
repair CD and select "command prompt". And there are a couple commands in
there, to restore the MBR and set up Window 7 so it boots again. Once
Windows 7 is running (and WinXP is not), the final step is to use EasyBCD
or the Microsoft bcdedit, to add WinXP to the Windows 7 boot menu. When
finished, Windows 7 partition will be the one managing things, and the
Windows 7 boot menu will be offering the choice of OS to be used.
(Note - some of the advertising on this page, looks like it is part of the
procedure. This is *not* a very good way to design a web page...)
http://www.technostarry.com/windows/...ng-windows-xp/
bootrec /fixmbr (press enter)
Bootrec /fixboot (press enter)
This article, describes what fixboot and fixmbr options do.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927392
Before starting all of that, if it is a laptop, verify the partition
structure first, and make sure at least one primary partition is available
for WinXP. And, that there is disk space for it. (Using a primary partition
might make it easier to erase Windows 7 later.)
If using this method, *back up the entire hard drive* before starting.
This method, of doing a dual boot on a single disk, with the wrong
OS installed last, is bound to foul up. If you back up the entire hard
drive, you won't have regrets later. You can just keep restoring from
backup, until you get the recipe right :-)
It is for that reason, that installing separately on two disks is the
best way to do it. But if you're stuck with a laptop, with limited
options, you can always try to do it this way.
HTH,
Paul
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