kachibi

All check ! I have all the appropriate drivers, including the ones needed for XP to detect the hard drive (someone kindly posted it online). So I can reach that blue installation screen where I pick my partition - I'm just scared to continue. For the record: I have an HP Mini 311

I just found out Microsoft brought back to student deal for Windows 7 Pro Upgrade($40) - I'm downloading the ISO as I type this. If all is correct, I will actually have a recovery option for Windows 7 now. Is it convenient (or possible) to dual boot XP with an existing Windows 7 (Pro)? Also, I've edited my first post to be easier on the eyes.

So here's an overview of the situation: - I have a Pre-installed Windows 7 starter edition Professional Edition on my netbook (HP Mini 311-1000CA). - I want to dual-boot with Windows XP - I have made a boot-able USB for Windows 7 and XP Here are the instructions I have found: 1) Make an empty partition on Windows 7 2) Format to NTFS 3) Restart and boot from Windows XP USB 4) Install Windows XP onto the empty partition ... At this point, I believe XP will overwrite my Windows 7 bootloader, and boot straight into Windows XP... 5) Restore Windows 7 to fix the bootloader 6) Repair Windows 7 (People have complained that both Windows 7 and XP failed to boot after this) 7) Use a program like EasyBCD to add fix the bootloader to be able to boot both XP and Windows 7 (People have also complained that EasyBCD couldn't detect Windows XP) 8) Set default to Windows 7 (well I want my default to be Windows 7, I need XP to run certain games) I know it's better to install XP first then Windows 7. However, I don't want to reinstall everything I have on my Windows 7 . So, is there a better way to do this? On a site note: Would I encounter any problems having a dual booted 7/XP? (I've read that XP might mess with my system restore on Windows 7)