Doing dual boot Win XP/7

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pillar

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Well I found a tutorial on how to dual boot (not sure if its the best direction, so please tell me otherwise) since I still have a RC copy of Win 7. Tried burning it onto a dvd+r, but Nero is saying that the ISO file cant be burnt since its over 2gb. Any ideas?

PS- I will be backing up my info onto my new 1tb drive (which im so thankful it was on sale, not to mention it was the last 1 on the shelf).
 
RC meaning Release canidate? If that is the case, you need to purchase a Release copy of Win7. The RC will shut down / reboot every 2 hours on ya.

Side note: Win7's partition tools are on par with most Linux distros. I'd use your Win7 boot disk to partition your drive.
 
I dont care about Win 7 RC shutting down on me every 2 hours. I just want to try it out, thats all. I do plan on buying a full copy of Win 7 tho. The big question is, should I get Win 7 Home Premium or Professional. I have XP Pro right now.

USMC SatComm TeK Stubster said:
I'm still using the RC and it doesnt shutdown on me, and I never turn off my pc.:P
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If thats the case, then Angellus must have a really bad copy or he/she needs to tune up their computer (no offense).
 
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Ok, so I downloaded ImgBurn, but the tutorial (How to create a Windows Vista / 7 installation disc) talks about having some folders with files. Since I have an ISO file, what do I choose for the boot image? Should it be the ISO file itself?
 
Well unless your security nut you dont really need ultimate, as far as home or professional you will have to compare the features and see which ones you want.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/compare/default.aspx

Right now newegg has a special for professional $124.99 until the 30th, PM me if you want to buy it before then as I plan on getting a copy for myself with the promo code. I can always get 2 copies and we can work out the details later.
 
USMC SatComm TeK Stubster said:
Well unless your security nut you dont really need ultimate, as far as home or professional you will have to compare the features and see which ones you want.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/compare/default.aspx

Right now newegg has a special for professional $124.99 until the 30th, PM me if you want to buy it before then as I plan on getting a copy for myself with the promo code. I can always get 2 copies and we can work out the details later.
Click to expand...

PM sent on that offer.
 
pillar said:
Ok, so I downloaded ImgBurn, but the tutorial (How to create a Windows Vista / 7 installation disc) talks about having some folders with files. Since I have an ISO file, what do I choose for the boot image? Should it be the ISO file itself?
Click to expand...

Yes you use the Iso file all you need to do is burn it to a dvd with enough space to fit it on there and then it should boot up to the DVD if you have the "boot from CD" option in your BIOS enabled.
 
A quick question here. Will there be any noticeable performance difference, aside from security, between Ultimate and Professional?
 
Angellas said:
RC meaning Release canidate? If that is the case, you need to purchase a Release copy of Win7. The RC will shut down / reboot every 2 hours on ya.

Side note: Win7's partition tools are on par with most Linux distros. I'd use your Win7 boot disk to partition your drive.
Click to expand...

the rc is still fully functinal but you are right i think in june it will expire and start teh shutdown bs
 
Vista boot pro 3.3

http://www.vistabootpro.org/

It's a one time fee of $9.95 and it is the best multi boot agent.....i think it's called dual boot pro now or something. But, you get to name the drives and os's whatever you want as well as the hdd's. Win 7 RC I think will only work for a little while longer anyways.
 
HansUllrichGrimminger! said:
http://www.vistabootpro.org/

It's a one time fee of $9.95 and it is the best multi boot agent.....i think it's called dual boot pro now or something. But, you get to name the drives and os's whatever you want as well as the hdd's. Win 7 RC I think will only work for a little while longer anyways.
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Do not waste your money on this. You can do it for free with any partition editor, like fdisk or gparted.

Furthermore, dual booting XP/7 is easy.

I will walk you through the steps real quick.

1) Download Infra Recorder or ISO Recorder (I prefer the former).

1a. Open Infra Recorder and click the 'Write Image' button in the main screen. Select the ISO file, then click "Open". Hit "Okay" in the dialog. Wait for the burn to complete.

1b. On ISO recorder, right click the ISO file, select the burn option, then follow the instructions on the screen.

2) We need to partition your system for dual booting. I personally use a Ubuntu live cd to edit partitions. This is alot easier than using fdisk. Burn the Ubuntu live CD using the steps in part 1. Then, reboot your computer with the CD in the drive. When it pops up, do not hit anything. 30 seconds later, it will load the live CD. DO NOT HIT INSTALL. This will install ubuntu. We don't want that. Instead, go to "System" on the top nav bar, then to "Administration", then to "Partition Editor". We are going to want to create some free space for the 7 install. Click on your XP partition, hit "edit", and decrease its size by the size you want the 7 install to be. Hit okay, then, click the free space, hit "New", and create a NTFS partition the size you want the 7 install to be. Shutdown the computer and remove the live CD.

3) Insert your Windows 7 CD. Follow the on screen instructions. When prompted, select to install 7 side-by-side with XP, instead of upgrading. Select the second partition for this purpose. Wait for install. Enjoy.

If you have any problems, or need any help, click the "Tech Support" link in my sig. Someone will be able to help you.
 
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Angellas said:
RC meaning Release canidate? If that is the case, you need to purchase a Release copy of Win7. The RC will shut down / reboot every 2 hours on ya.

Side note: Win7's partition tools are on par with most Linux distros. I'd use your Win7 boot disk to partition your drive.
Click to expand...

im not sure where you got your info, but im using the RC and it does not shut down unless i tell it to.

Additionally I have dual booted the win 7 beta with xp in the past so there should not be an issue with the RC.

-Blue
 
Blue Stealth said:
im not sure where you got your info, but im using the RC and it does not shut down unless i tell it to.

Additionally I have dual booted the win 7 beta with xp in the past so there should not be an issue with the RC.

-Blue
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Yeah i think the retail salesman in him is coming through in the "You need to buy WIN7 NAO!"

I'm sure that's what microsoft probably wrote in a mass email to retailers, and what they suggest retailers like best buy/geek squad say to customers who come in and have the RC installed on their system.... but really... you do not need to replace the RC at all yet.

Dual boot is cake, read what dude wrote bout.. use fdisk or partitionmagic or something, it'z ez
 
hey guys, heres the latest info... i was able 2 edit the partition & create a new partition for win 7. however, i used imgburn 2 burn the win 7 iso file onto a dvd, but when i put the bios to load from the cd/dvd drive, it wont recognize the dvd. any ideas?

also, when i have the dvd in the drive tray, for some odd reason, it doesnt show the iso image on the disc. any possible reason for that? i can def burn another dvd again (i have like over 25 dvds available to burn, so thats not an issue). it does show that the disc is filled up to 3.04 gb, but nothing shows.
 
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pillar said:
hey guys, heres the latest info... i was able 2 edit the partition & create a new partition for win 7. however, i used imgburn 2 burn the win 7 iso file onto a dvd, but when i put the bios to load from the cd/dvd drive, it wont recognize the dvd. any ideas?

also, when i have the dvd in the drive tray, for some odd reason, it doesnt show the iso image on the disc. any possible reason for that? i can def burn another dvd again (i have like over 25 dvds available to burn, so thats not an issue). it does show that the disc is filled up to 3.04 gb, but nothing shows.
Click to expand...

you most likely burned the disk as a data disk as opposed to an ISO image.

in other terms, you simply copy and pasted the iso file to the dvd, causing the optical drive to not detect the fact that its an ISO file, not just plain data. This affects how the computer opens up the data. You need to make sure you burn it as an ISO disk. not just a typical plain data structure.

-Blue
 
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