Dual-boot Windows XP with Windows 7

Motherboard connections
IDE0: Master: HDD-0; Slave: HDD-1
IDE1: Master: DVD; Slave: None

IN BIOS
First Boot Device: HDD-0
Second Boot Device: HDD-1
Third Boot Device: Disabled

I installed Windows 7 on HDD-0. HDD-1 had data on it.

I disconnected HDD-0 and installed Windows XP on HDD-1.

In Windows 7
C:\ - Windows 7
D:\ - Windows XP

I reconnected HDD-0. I booted Windows 7. I used EasyBCD to add Windows 7 on D:\ as a second boot device. When I booted and selected Windows 7 it booted fine. If I booted and selected Windows XP it did not boot.

How do I fix this so windows XP boots?

Note: if I select HDD-1 in the BIOS as the first boot device then Windows XP boots.

 

not sure how to read the boot listing above, but xp has to be installed first before win7

 

I already know that if Windows 7 is installed after Windows XP then the setup will automatically create a dual boot. I have done that numerous times over the years.

In my case I installed each one individually with the other HDD unhooked. Now I have both HDD hooked up at the same time.

I know what I want to do is possible because I have done it before. It's that it has been a long time since I have done it and forgot how I did it. BTW, one time I had a tri-boot with two versions of Windows and Linux.

 

Options are: edit the windows boot manager or use a stand alone boot manager to replace the windows boot manager.

I guess the latter is what you were attempting to do using EasyBCD, but because you had disconnected the alternate drive when installing each OS, BCD would not be able to be aware of the other OS, leaving you with two OSs that each still have their own native boot manager.

As you have observed, BIOS will only boot from 2nd device if it finds no 'bootable' on 1st device,

The easiest thing to do, and far superior to multi booting is to use plug-in HDD adaptors, so you just plug in the disk/OS you wish to use.

Alternatively, if you are familiar with Linux, you can use GRUB

I am told that it is easy to edit the Windows Boot Manager, but I have never done so, so unable to tell you how.

 

https://www.techtalkz.com/threads/dual-boot-winxp-freebsd-on-2nd-hd-with-boot-ini.77863/

describes how to do to hdds dual boot, just change freebsd to win 7

 

I decided to give up on my current setup and start over. There should have been a way to do what I wanted but I already wasted too much time on it.

Before:
HDD-0: 80GB HDD with Windows 7
HDD-1: 40GB HDD with Windows XP
Now:
HDD-0: 40GB HDD with Windows XP
HDD-1: 80GB HDD with Windows 7

This time both drives would stay hooked up.

Process:
1. Reinstall Windows XP Pro on HDD-0
2. Reinstall Windows 7 Home on HDD-1
3. Use AOMEI Backupper to back up both drives

Now the dual-boot is working like I wanted.

Here is how Disk Manager Looks:
Disk 0: Internal 40GB HDD for Windows XP Pro
Disk 1: Internal 80GB HDD for Windows 7 Home
Disk 2: External 200GB HDD for Backup



Now to fix the boot menu

 

very old tutorial and difficult to understand though

 

Update: This is how my computer had been running.
HDD-0: 40GB HDD with Windows XP
HDD-1: 80GB HDD with Windows 7

I ran Hard Disk Sentinel which showed a bunch of reallocation errors on HDD-1. Unfortunately, before I received the replacement drive the disk failed. I then realized I had a spare Maxtor 250GB IDE drive I had not used in a long time. It was over 18 years old but Hard Disk Sentinel showed its health to be 100%. I replaced HDD1 with this drive.

HDD-0: 40GB HDD with Windows XP
HDD-1: 250GB HDD with Windows 7

I had a backup for HDD1 that was made on August 14 with AOMEI Backupper. I booted the AOMEI Backupper USB flash media and restored it to the new drive.

The dual boot menu was still there but unfortunately I could not boot into Windows 7 anymore. I thought I would boot into Windows XP and fix the boot that way. EasyBCD 2.4 was not on this drive so I tried to install it. The install failed because it couldn't connect to the Internet and download and install .Net 2.0. I then located an old copy of EasyBCD 2.0 and installed it with no problem. When I ran EasyBCD it showed that both entries were there. The solution I found was just to delete the old entry for Windows 7 and create a new one. Now I can boot into both Windows XP and Windows 7 again.

Note I forgot to mention that after I pulled the failing 80GB drive today I put it into an external enclosure and used AOMEI Backupper to create a backup. Since I did not want to trust that backup fully I am just using the user data from it to recover anything important that was added after August 14.

I have a Western Digital 250GB IDE drive coming tomorrow. I have four other Western Digital 80GB IDE drives on backorder. Since I don't know how old they are and their condition I will use Hard Disk Sentinel to test them. If their condition is not good I will take advantage of Amazon's free return policy.

BTW, I have at least a couple other IDE hard drives that show caution in SMART because of reallocated sectors. Hopefully I can hold out until I have enough replacement drives. The speed in which the 80GB hard drive failed completely today shows that the others could fail anytime without warning.

 

I have found the availability of IDE drives to be scarce. Any I've seen for sale are quite expensive. I saw on Ebay and purchased 3 SATA to IDE adapters (enabling a SATA drive to work on an IDE port) but have not needed to use them so I do not know if they work. I used the "make an offer" option and got the three for $12.

 

What I got today was a Western Digital WD2500JB Caviar SE IDE 250 GB Hard Drive. CrystalDiskInfo said it had 0 hours use, i.e. it was never used. Health showed 100%. It had been manufactured in 2006. Unfortunately, that was not to last. I formatted it tried to copy some data to it. After 2GB of data were copied the USB connection was lost. I reconnected the drive again and checked its health status. Now the status said drive failure imminent with health at 0%. I think it said it had 241 bad sectors where before it had none. I was really disappointed. Fortunately, I bought it on Amazon so I can return it for free and get a refund. I should have known that drives can deteriorate over time whether they are used or not. I am also going to cancel the drives I have on backorder. They would probably not be any better.

I only use IDE drives with two desktop computers. They are almost twenty years now. One of them has a motherboard that came out in early 2003 with 2 IDE connectors (4 ports) and 2 SATA ports. When it came out there weren't any SATA drives for sale. The SATA ports are SATA 1.0 (150 MB/s). For the other computer I have a IDE/SATA PCI card I could use with it.

I now have to decide what to do. I either have to find replacement drives or retire these old computers. If decide to keep these computers going I may find some much newer SATA drives. I should have done that a long time ago. I have used IDE drives until now because it was easier to deal with. I can't wait too long because I think all my remaining IDE drives will fail soon.

BTW, I also have an old laptop that I got in 2004 whose 80GB IDE drive is starting to show a few SMART errors. The drive could fail any time.

 

ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboard
o 2 Ultra ATA133 Port
o 2 SATA 1.0 Ports
Driver for
• Windows XP


Syba SD-VIA-1A2S PCI card
• 1 Ultra ATA133 Port
• 2 SATA 1.0 Ports
Drivers for:
• Windows 8
• Windows 7 32/64-bit
• Vista 32/64-bit
• Windows XP 32/64-bit