Dual-Boot XP/Win7. Small problem.

[VonBlade]

Hi.

I had got XP installed on its own on C. Has been for a while.

To install 7 I shrunk the partition, made a new drive, clean installed 7 to that.

Got the dual boot menu fine. 7 loads fine.

Finished fiddling with that, went to load XP. Loads but never loads explorer. So I can see my wallpaper, but nothing else does anything.

7 seems to have made itself C, and XP G (other data harddrives already assigned).

I believe this might be why XP isn't loading, but from 7 I can't change itself from C. And I certainly can't change XP to C because 7 is there already.

Help

(Yes I appreciate it's my own fault for trying to dual-boot for the first time ever. Yes I know that Linux probably hasn't got this problem )

Any help appreciated. To be honest I'd be happy just to get back to XP without a reformat.

VB

 

[Brooksie]

Did you make the partition in the 7 installation? Like shrink it in XP and leave the unacollated space?

7 has messed up my Vista.. Everytime I boot everything is so slow and horrible (might just be the difference between 7 and Vista ) But I have to keep re-activating vista. So i'm fine with 7 atm (freezes sometimes, but thats a beta) because I really cba to format and install vista again.

 

[VonBlade]

I made the partition in a Linux live CD. XP doesn't come with a partitioner. Well, not one I could find. But....

*fanfare*

Following about ten reboots in vain attempt to get it going again, I booted into safe mode in XP and the bloody thing worked.

So I tried to reboot and verily it did all the stuff it's supposed to (renamed XP to C: when in XP and 7 to C: when in 7).

Strange.

Thanks very much for your help anyway. Of course in the morning it'll be snafu again lol.

VB

 

[Youngie1337]

CTRL+SHIFT+ESC

file > new task > type explorer.

Check msconfig for Microsoft Operating system.

 

[Freak]

I would suggest that you run it in a virtual box.

I used one for the first time, to do this. Easy

 

[hawkinsa21]

I had no problems dual booting Vista and Windows 7. Mind you in Vista it has a built in partition utility that I don't remember XP having. You have to shink the disk then create a new volume on it... if you left is unallocated then maybe it defaulted to a C:\ when if you allocated a new disk and gave it a new drive letter maybe 7 would have used that??

My Windows 7 install is using the J:\... no problems for me