How to dual boot 2-OSs on 2-independent HDs?

H

Half.Life

Member
Hi,

Have laptop with two HD compartments.
BIOS only boot from main bay.

- W7 was setup on HD1
- then XP was setup on HD2
Each setup was done in main bay with no drive in 2nd bay. Therefore each OS is independent to each other.

1) How to use EasyBCD to dual boot the two OSs.
2) Which HD should I place in bootable bay:
HD1(W7) or HD2(XP) ?

thx
 
Get the latest build of EasyBCD from here.

1) From Windows 7 > EasyBCD > Add New Entry > 2k/XP/NT Type > Let it autoconfigure.
2) Windows 7 / HD1
 
Half.Life said:
Hi,

Have laptop with two HD compartments.
BIOS only boot from main bay.

- W7 was setup on HD1
- then XP was setup on HD2
Each setup was done in main bay with no drive in 2nd bay. Therefore each OS is independent to each other.

1) How to use EasyBCD to dual boot the two OSs.
2) Which HD should I place in bootable bay:
HD1(W7) or HD2(XP) ?

thx
Click to expand...


kairozamorro said:
Get the latest build of EasyBCD from here.

1) From Windows 7 > EasyBCD > Add New Entry > 2k/XP/NT Type > Let it autoconfigure.
2) Windows 7 / HD1
Click to expand...

Hey! That simple!
It works like a charm, It was Easy like 1-2-3... !
Thanks so much my friend!

I have another problem. Actually this is to prepare the system in case something goes wrong.
Let assume my computer is configure as it is now:
> Win7/HD1 in main bay
> WinXP/HD2 in second - bay.

Let assume that Win 7 / HD1 crash... and I put Win XP / HD2 in main bay.
1) Will the computer boot Win XP ?
2) What should I do if it don't boot?

Thx
 
Last edited:
The auto-configure copied the necessary XP files to W7.
It didn't alter the XP HDD, which should continue to work independently if you boot from it.
 
Terry60 said:
The auto-configure copied the necessary XP files to W7.
It didn't alter the XP HDD, which should continue to work independently if you boot from it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this information. It will really ease my job!

I dual booted my system too soon. I got problems with " system restore points" a few months ago. Dual booting XP-Vista lead to XP destoying and desactivating all my Vista restore points. I was in real trouble because I couldn't restore my computer after a faulty software installation: See Microsoft page.

" No restore points are available when you use Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008-based operating systems in a dual-boot configuration together with an earlier Windows operating system "

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926185

Overall they offer two solutinons: One is a registry hack and the other you must turn on bitlocker on your Vista/W7 boot drive.

Hope this tip will help anyone who were not aware about that.

Thanks again Kairozamorro and Terry60 for your great and prompt help!
 
That hack seems to work for most people but not everyone. (Never diagnosed evidence of what the success/failure criteria are).
If from XP, you can't see W7 folders or files in Explorer, you're safe.
If you can, your restore points aren't safe.
In the latter case, we have an alternative solution.
 
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