Creating Dual Boot Win7/XP image on Partitioned Drive
I have used Acronis True Image Home 2009 successfully on old WinXP laptop to create images of the drive in the past when I had to replace the old drive. I now have a Toshiba Tecra Win7 (32/64 bit; but I chose 32 when I first turned it on) that I wish to be able to have this same XP image on along with the Win 7 system so I could choose which OS I wanted to use. (My old XP has programs I still want to use--Lotus, Word 2003, etc.)
I created a new image of the old XP (requiring 11 tib files) using Acronis 2009. (The old XP is so full and low on RAM that it takes over 3-1/2 hrs for the image) I used the same program to create a current image of the Win7 before any changes. Both are on an external WD Book.
I used Partition Wizard 7.7 (since I was unsure whether Acronis 2009 could do this) to shrink the Win 7 Drive C by 80GB and create Drive E (both primary), but physically one drive partitioned.
I then "restored" the XP tib images to Drive E and Master Boot Record (MBR) to Drive C (wouldn't let me put it on E).
I used Boot-US (GUI) (not knowing whether Acronis could do this) in Win 7 to set ability to choose system.
I did something wrong. Files are on Drive E, but XP won't boot, and if I click on a word.doc file, Win7's trial Word 2010 wants to install itself instead of my Word 2003 opening up.
I think I was in Win7 when I restored XP from the WD Book. Could this have been the problem that I didn't use my original Acronis 2009 boot CD to move the XP image from the WD Book to Drive E? Or, will Acronis 2009 not work with Win 7? Can I fix this somehow? I have the 2009 manual, but I admit I can't follow a lot of what it says since it uses some terms I'm not familiar with. Should I delete what is on Drive E (and if so, what method do I use?) and try restoring again but with the Acronis 2009 boot CD so I am not in Win 7?
When I look at Win 7 Windows Explorer Directory, it shows Drive C with a little Windows emblem, but Drive E (the attempted restore directory) without the emblem and only as a drive.
I'm wondering if I can restore my original Win7 image and start all over again if possible with an Acronis product that will do everything - partition, set up a dual boot program and put my XP image backup that I already have on that new partition or whether I can fix it with what I've got.
Thanks for your help.
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Forgot to mention,
True Image 2013 (if you can't find the 2009 Plus Pack) could be used to do the restore of the Windows XP installation to your new hardware, with the purchase of the optional 2013 Plus Pack (needed for the Universal Restore option). The 2013 version can restore from the 2009 .tib files.
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Thank you for your very helpful comments.
Would these be the steps to undo and right the mess I made with my new Win7:
1. Restore the original Win7 image taken with Acronis 2009 before any partitioning was done by using Acronis 2013 and Plus Pack. This would be restored I'm assuming to the now partitioned C Drive, leaving E by itself. Do I want the MBR from this to be restored since it'd be the original Win 7 MBR. (I'm assuming it's contained in the image I made)
2. Then use 2013/PlusPack to restore the XP Acronis 2009 to E, that had been partitioned and contains the non-working XP image. Can I leave the old image there or do I have to clean the E drive somehow.
or, instead of the steps above, is it possible to "unpartition" - restore my Win 7 back to it's full C Drive by using sytem restore or factory restore and start all over with Acronis 2013/PlusPack--will Acronis be able to partition, set boot options?
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First,
Can you capture a screen image of your current drive's layout using Windows 7 Disk Management?
It would be nice to see what you have now.
One option with the XP restore to your new system hardware using Universal Restore, would be to perform the XP restore to your system as the only OS installed to be sure you can get XP up and running on the newer hardware. Once done, you could make a new backup of the working XP installation. You could then use Acronis to wipe the disk (with the "Add a new Disk" tool, and restore the Windows 7 partition to the drive first (keeping the partition size of Windows 7 that you have now) including the disk signature and MBR from the Windows 7 backup, then restore the newly backed up XP installation Universal Restore would not be need again) into the second partition (no Disk Signature/MBR/Track 0). Then use a third party utility to add the ablility to boot the XP partition from the Windows 7 Boot Manager ( the free product, EasyBCD could be used for this).
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Here's a screen image of Win 7 Disk Management.
I looked at EasyBCD site and they have instructions on installing XP after Vista or Win7 at
neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Installing+XP=After+Vista+or+7
Also saw a review on CNET about the adware that the free EasyBCD version puts on the computer that doesn't uninstall.
I hesitate wiping Win7 and doing XP first. Have some travelling coming up, so will take time to get 2013 Acronis and study what you wrote before coming back to this. Am not using Win7 laptop at this point, have others to use. Want to keep it as fresh as possible in case a system restore for Win 7 will get me back to square 1 so I can start over properly.
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EasyBCD is add-supported and the additional software is optional during the install. Just be careful to make sure you de-select any of the offers. Once installed, there is no additional prompts to install any thing else. I have installed it and used it many times on many systems, and always opt of the additional software installs. The reviews are only as good as the people who install the software blindly and don't choose to opt out of the additional offers.
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Was the HDDRecovery partition already present initially, and was it originally the "E" drive? Did it have a drive letter at all.?
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I assume the HDDRecovery partition was present at the time the computer was first turned on and that it was part of Win7. I did not take notice. I had the computer for several months before turning it on because I was too busy. When I turned it on this month, the first thing I did were the mountains of Microsoft Win7 updates. I remember Microsoft setting restore points for the updates. I tweaked display settings, power options and added Eudora OSE, Thunderbird and Firefox and Acronis 2009. That's it. Did not activate any other programs including Norton.
After doing the above, I did two types of backups to an external WD My Book with Acronis before partitioning C Drive that you see on attached screen shot - one was a system backup (4 tibs), the other was an image (9 tibs) of the entire drive. If there were multiple drives, Acronis would have shown them to me at that time and I normally choose to backup up everything. I don't recall any other letter drives other than D, the CD/DVD of course. When I partitioned C, just before trying to restore XP from another laptop to the new partition, it was given the name Drive E.
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