Windows 7 dual boot and other questions

[glarsen84]

Hello,

I'm going to buy a W7 very soon, so i can use all my ram (currently using 32bit XP and got 6GB) and i've also heard that W7 utilize i7 better than XP.

I fear, that I'm, going to encounter stability and reliability issues on W7, and would therefore like to dual boot with XP (please tell me, if i'm being too hysterical ).

I would like to hear, if there's any problems regarding dual booting W7 and XP on a partitioned HD, and if it's recommended at all?
Is it fine to use the XP install disc to make the partitions?
I don't like tweaking, so is it best to install W7 or XP first?

Also, i'm going to use my PC for gaming and movies, so i guess the Home Premium is enough for me? I would also like to password protect private folders because i never log out when I'm AFK, but i guess W7 ultimate doesn't support that?

Thanks and regards

 

[alphnumeric]

One thing you can do is download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. That should flag any potential problems before you even install Windows 7. I dual booted XP and windows 7 with no problems. If you are going to let windows handle the dual boot you want to install XP first. Windows 7 will update the boot loader and setup the dual boot when you install it. It should not be a problem using XP to partition the drive during the install. The only problems doing it that way is if you decide to remove windows XP latter on. You could end up not being able to boot into Windows 7 after removing XP. The boot loader will be on the XP / boot partition.

 

[glarsen84]

Thanks for the reply

I got one weird question here; If i buy the Ultimate edition, will the XP mode be as stable as XP on it's own partition, or is dual booting recommended here?
I'm deciding rather to dual boot Premium+XP, or just use Ultimate with XP mode.

 

[Eric Legge]

You can install Win7 on a partition made by XP using NTFS file system (not FAT32).

It is a very straightforward process. Install Win7 with a version of XP already installed (not upgraded to Win7) and Win7's setup creates a boot manager that allows you to choose which version to boot.

It is against the EULA to install Windows 7 Upgrade version on a partition on a PC's hard drive running Windows XP and then dual-boot both versions, because according to the licence the OEM or retail XP licence is invalidated.

Read this forum thread:

http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/index.php?showtopic=29672

 

[alphnumeric]

If your processor supports that version of Virtual PC I think XP Mode is the way to go versus dual booting. I think you will find that dual booting just to run one or even two apps in XP will end up being a pain. I have XP mode installed on my new PC but haven't had a need to use it "yet". I haven't played with that PC much except to make sure everything worked and it has been boxed back up and put under the tree so I won't get to play with it until after Christmas.