Dual-Boot Windows XP

With virtualization becoming more popular, the need to run multiple operating systems on a computer has significantly decreased. Application compatibility was the main reason in the past that users installed multiple operating systems. Old Windows XP applications will not function in Windows Vista? Just restart and boot into Windows. Virtual machine applications such as VMWare Workstation, Sun Virtualbox, and Microsoft Virtual PC now allow you to boot the second operating system on top of your main OS, eliminating the need and hassle of rebooting into another OS. This solves the compatibility problem for most apps, but a virtual machine is not always perfect.

Gaming is one area that remains a problem for virtual machines because 3D support and performance is just not good enough yet. Although Windows 7 has made many improvements in gaming performance, some old classic computer games are not compatible. If you are a gamer, then I will show you how you can dual-boot Windows XP and Windows 7 on the same PC to be able to play your old computer games without issue.

There are a number of ways to achieve a dual-boot system with both XP and Windows 7, but the easiest method that is nearly fully automated is the Windows XP first method. This is where you partition your hard drive in a certain way, or use multiple hard drives, and install Windows XP first on your computer. After you have XP up and running on the first partition you will install Windows 7 on the second partition. The Windows 7 installer will detect the Windows XP installation and automatically set up a boot menu to allow you to select which OS you want to use at power on.