Moving up to Win 7 but how about my installed programs?

[dbonniwell]

I want to keep adobe program I got legally from my last company. It allows me to make PDF files not just read them. Since it was a company disc I no longer have access to it.

I will be taking XP Home 32 bit off my system and replacing it with Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. (my hardware is very much up to date)

Can I keep the Adobe program by just swapping out the hard drive with an identicle one with nothing on it? and If I need that program again I can put the HDD with Win XP home and adobe on it back into the computer. I have 2 hard drives in my system but one is unplugged.

In other words I would have aHDD with XP home with Adobe program on it. and Win 7 HDD without it I can swap out if needed. They make external holders that allow you to do this do they not?

Thanks in advance

 

[kimsland]

Yes

As long as your Windows 7 is not upgrade media (as most are it seems)
By "upgrading" you are losing the XP license, unless you then downgrade again one day (ie you normally won't need XP again)

Practically it can be done though

 

[EXCellR8]

I'm guessing that Adobe Acrobat is the piece of software in question. You could always just dual boot XP and 7 which would just prompt you to select which OS you boot from. This way you wouldn't have to swap HDDs each time you need to use the software and you could just use the second disk for storage when you plug it in.

 

[dbonniwell]

It is the full retail version of Win 7, not an upgrade.
I once had a dual boot system but did not like it because it seemed buggy, I shall research this more though
with XP already installed, can you still configure a dual boot?

 

[kimsland]

How to dual boot Windows XP and Windows 7 (XP installed first): http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_windows_xp_and_windows_7_xp_installed_first.htm?page=2

 

[EXCellR8]

^Good link there, it basically explains the process of reorganizing the partitions so that another OS can be installed - so yes, you can still dual boot with XP already on the primary hard drive. It's not a difficult process by any means, so you should be able to get it done in a few hours. As far as it being buggy, I can't really foresee anything being wrong with doing it. I personally dual boot XP and 7 and it works just fine. You just need to remember which C: drive is which (both OS will have a C: drive on the same hard drive) and make sure to choose what the primary OS is. That might sound a bit confusing, but it's really not. Just post back if you have any problems.

 

[LNCPapa]

On a different note - there are plenty of open source or free pieces of software that will allow you to make pdfs - even in Windows 7. Some of them are quite polished and function very well. Is that an option?