XP and Windows 7 on same computer?

[kjwood]

I am getting ready to purchase a new computer and could really use some advice. I work from home and log into a hospital which requires that I have windows XP. I was hoping that they would upgrade soon, but it looks like this is not going to happen any time in the near future. I've tried talking with the tech group at the hospital but since I am an independent consultant and don't work directly for the hospital, they haven't been all that helpful. I'm not at all comfortable working on computers (other than my typing), so which ever direction I go in, I will want to purchase my new computer that way.

First of all, when I looked at some popular computer retail websites, I did not even see XP listed as an available OS. Can I still buy a new computer with XP installed on it? Btw, I am looking for a desk top, in case that makes a difference. I would love to get Windows 7 and am wondering if I would be able to buy a computer with both XP and 7 installed on it so that I could use XP when I was working and 7 when I was not. My questioins are: is that possible? Is it a smart thing to do? Basically, what the pros and cons would be? Again, I wouldn't want to install anything at all myself, but hope to purchase it this way - if possible.

Any advice you can send my way would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping to purchase it in the next few days and am completely lost as to which direction I should go in.

Thanks!
Kelly

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

You most certainly could run both on the same machine and boot them independently. I don't know if OEM companies like HP and Dell sell desktops with XP anymore (I'd guess not) but you can purchase a license elsewhere. It's quite easy to get Windows XP and Windows 7 installed on the same PC and we have a guide for that here. If it seems a little out of your league, I'm sure a local computer shop would do it for a minimal fee.

That said, Windows 7 Professional and higher editions have access to XP Mode, which is a free Windows XP Professional virtual machine. This is the cheapest and most logical route for you to take, in my opinion. Most business desktops from companies like HP will have Windows 7 Professional as an option.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

That said, Windows 7 Professional and higher editions have access to XP Mode, which is a free Windows XP Professional virtual machine. This is the cheapest and most logical route for you to take, in my opinion. Most business desktops from companies like HP will have Windows 7 Professional as an option.

Thats true, but it is virtual, and everything that entails, which I really have no idea o.o.

I don't think you can purchase a machine with dual boot on, you'll have to do it yourself. It shouldn't be too hard.

Now the major con is that you'll be short about 10gb of hdd space, not a big deal if you don't use much anyway.
Most likely you should create three partitions, one with w7, one with xp, and one for all your documents. Also, you will have to install OS specific programs on both OS's for them to work.

 

[ReallyMissGamin]

Okay, fair enough. Glad I made it back to this lovely website after having CTD problems with another machine and a game of mine. Quick question. I do not want to install Windows XP first (even though I do not plan to ever format/remove it)...Just because if I do ever remove it....I do not want to have to repair Windows 7 for it to boot right. So, using the method in the guide link. Can I do this basically in a reversed manner? Example Given: I have Windows 7 x64 already installed and want to install Windows XP.... So I figure I can Shrink and Partition in Windows 7, then simply install Windows XP to that freshly new made partition. Can I go about it this way or is it not as simple as that?

Also, another question. Would this partition setup be roughly okay for a 500 Gig hard drive.

C: Windows 7 - 100 gigs
D: Windows XP - 80 gigs
E: File storage (documents, pictures, music etc) - 320 gigs (I do know that I will not get that full amount it is just examples for a 500 gig layout)

Basically my question would be, is 100 gigs enough for Windows 7 (power user) who plans to use Windows 7 on a daily bases? All the stuff so far takes up 31 Gigs of space. Do you think maybe 5 years from now I will be wanting more than 100 gigs space for this? If so I will give it 150-200 MB for Windows 7 ( C: ) partition.

Thanks in advance to any one who might respond, Reallymissgamin!!!