Posted in Desktops on October 12th, 2009 by admin
Dave asked:
I am buying a Windows7- 64 bit machine with one sata hard drive. If I add another sata hard drive, can I load XP -32 bit on that 2nd drive?
I am buying a Windows7- 64 bit machine with one sata hard drive. If I add another sata hard drive, can I load XP -32 bit on that 2nd drive?
October 13th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Yes, you can. You can also run both OS’s on the same HD’s. I would recommend partitioning the 2 drives then installing each OS on separate partitions.
October 13th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Yes you can. Install XP first so that Windows 7 will be the default boot loader. If that’s not an option, use EasyBCD to correct the boot paths. Remember to set your BIOS to treat the hard drive with the desired MBR as the first boot device.
The answer above me, while correct, has an erroneous recommendation. It’s desirable to keep the OSs on separate drives, when possible, so that each will be utilizing the outer rims of the platters. This increases system performance. If you have both on the same drive, the second OS will have a decrease in performance.
October 14th, 2009 at 11:04 am
you don’t even need another hard drive. you can load the two operating systems onto differente partiaions on the same drive.
October 16th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
yes..
October 16th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
If you’re running 7 in 64bit then optimize the other drive by staying with XP 64 bit… dropping back to 32 bit will still work but since the CPU/Motherboard can run in 64 bit have some fun with it.
October 18th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Hi
Yes, you can do that.
But you’re gonna need special software like Acronis OS Selector, or change the msconfig.exe boot parameters to see both of the systems installed and be able to select which one to boot.