Dual boot using SSDs XP & W7

monton

Posts: 109   +2
I just built myself a new computer. I have a Samsung 830 128GB SSD as a Windows7 HP 64 boot drive - Sweet! and fast.

I have a legacy Canoscan Lide80 scanner that has no driver support for W7. I installed VMware player and installed XP pro so I could use the scanner but have not been successful at getting it to work. I have tried to connect to the scanner in VM and get the message that the scanner is being disconnected from the host but then fails to load the driver in the VM. I'm not opposed to tinkering with it in the VM some more.

I suppose I could create another VM and install Linux which would have scanner support

My next thought was to use an old Intel V25 40GB SSD as a second drive with XP pro for a dual boot system.
My question is whether the TRIM function in W7 will monitor the 2nd drive with XP? Will the utilities from Intel or Samsung keep the V25 functioning smoothly?

Is it a worthwhile use of the V25?

Any general thoughts/discussion on this?

Thanks
Monton
 
Upgrade (one option is Windows Anytime Upgrade) to Windows 7 Professional and then use XP Mode. XP Mode has better integration with the OS than other VM's. Another solution would be to simply replace the scanner. Either option would be less headache than dual booting in the long run.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to talk you out of dual booting. I personally think you would be happier by replacing the scanner and not having to deal with Dual Booting or managing VM's.
 
Thanks Cliff.
I have the hardware and software (XP) already so was trying not to have to buy a new scanner. Not that they are very expensive. I'll look at W7 Pro as an option. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll post my results to this thread
M
 
Try dual-booting to test. It doesn't take more than a couple hours to set it up. IMO Win7 Pro upgrade isn't worth the money just for XP mode.
 
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