Win XP Pro->Win 7 64 Dual Boot Questions

tim wrote in post #12398986
I actually like XP better. It's simple and does what I want, and I understand it. Win7 doesn't add anything new that I need, and tries to make things easier for people who aren't good with PCs. That makes it harder for someone who knows what they're doing.

What he said.

Well, thanks again all for the input!

I wouldn't be bothering much about the upgrade except for the benefit of the 64-bit use of memory, but that does to me present a pretty compelling argument, so I'm taking it seriously!

tonylong wrote in post #12404535
Well, thanks again all for the input!

I wouldn't be bothering much about the upgrade except for the benefit of the 64-bit use of memory, but that does to me present a pretty compelling argument, so I'm taking it seriously!

You could always look for a copy of XP/64.

XP/64 is the weird stepchild of operating systems. It was never widely used or supported.

Yeah, I've thought of that over the years (I've had XP since, well, after SP1 was released). But whereas XP pro has had a great deal of support and is quite stable and reliable, you just don't hear much about the 64 bit version (and some apps won't work with it but will work with Win7 64 from what I gather).

Two things, one minor, the other maybe something to consider.
1) Tony, get the motherboard doco off the net.
2) I have been thinking of just this recently - dual boot XP/Win7-64. I watched as a friend did it with Vista and Win7. He did this: Disconnect the original XP drive and clean install Win7 on the new drive. That way it does not write the (small-invisible-sector-whose-name-I've-forgotten-but-can-be-troublesome-when-your-disks-play-up) on the XP drive. It dual booted - with a choice of OSs - quite well.
Am.

I havent read through all the posts, but you could try win7 pro or ultimate and download the xp/sp3 compatibility addon for free. supposedly it lets you install older programs for xp and exist in the win7 environment. You'll need more memory though.

This is my plan for a new laptop I am configuring/buying.

ameerat42 wrote in post #12411782
Two things, one minor, the other maybe something to consider.
1) Tony, get the motherboard doco off the net.
2) I have been thinking of just this recently - dual boot XP/Win7-64. I watched as a friend did it with Vista and Win7. He did this: Disconnect the original XP drive and clean install Win7 on the new drive. That way it does not write the (small-invisible-sector-whose-name-I've-forgotten-but-can-be-troublesome-when-your-disks-play-up) on the XP drive. It dual booted - with a choice of OSs - quite well.
Am.

Do you mean the documentation for the MB? If so, I'll do that if I can't dig up the manual, I just like to have the paper on hand! And yeah, your approach is something to consider.

40dbaby wrote in post #12412037
I havent read through all the posts, but you could try win7 pro or ultimate and download the xp/sp3 compatibility addon for free. supposedly it lets you install older programs for xp and exist in the win7 environment. You'll need more memory though.

This is my plan for a new laptop I am configuring/buying.

That is a consideration as I move forward -- some things will be compatible, and other things will require the 32-bit/XP compatibility thing if I want to hassle with it!

Again, all, thanks for the input and I hope that I'm not the only one getting some benefit!

ameerat42 wrote in post #12411782
Two things, one minor, the other maybe something to consider.
1) Tony, get the motherboard doco off the net.
2) I have been thinking of just this recently - dual boot XP/Win7-64. I watched as a friend did it with Vista and Win7. He did this: Disconnect the original XP drive and clean install Win7 on the new drive. That way it does not write the (small-invisible-sector-whose-name-I've-forgotten-but-can-be-troublesome-when-your-disks-play-up) on the XP drive. It dual booted - with a choice of OSs - quite well.
Am.

Much cleaner way of doing it, if you don't mind opening the box and playing around inside.

40dbaby wrote in post #12412037
I havent read through all the posts, but you could try win7 pro or ultimate and download the xp/sp3 compatibility addon for free. supposedly it lets you install older programs for xp and exist in the win7 environment. You'll need more memory though.

This is my plan for a new laptop I am configuring/buying.

You are referring to XP Mode?

My 3 year old notebook (T9300 CPU with 4GB ram on Wind 7 Pro 32 bit) runs XP mode OK but I wouldn't be relying on it to deliver the sort of performance you are used to in a straight XP machine.

The Access 97 based programs that I use XP mode for can be painful at times (I've researched a fair bit on what to do to improve it to little avail). I expect that the newer Sandy Bridge processors or a Core i7 quad core would do a better job than the hardware I have at hand but I still wouldn't be trying anything in Lightroom/Photoshop/DP​P/etc in an XP mode if I had a straight XP installation handy unless it was on a nice powerful machine.

I should know in a few weeks when my new notebook turns up what it's like with newer hardware