How to Install Windows 7 and XP on the Same Computer

By Jedadiah Casey

Microsoft released Windows XP in 2001. Windows 7 was released in 2009 as an upgrade to both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Windows XP and 7 operate differently and require their own partitions on a computer to function properly. Windows 7 is aware of XP and can dual boot. However, since XP was released before 7, it must be installed to the computer first. You can install Windows 7 and XP to the same computer by creating two partitions and installing XP first.

Step 1

Insert the Windows XP installation disc into the disc drive, then boot the computer from the disc.

Step 2

Remove all existing partitions from the hard drive.

Step 3

Create a new partition of the desired size in megabytes. Depending on your intended usage for XP, you may want a partition of 20,000MB or more.

Step 4

Install XP to the new partition.

Step 5

Insert the Windows 7 installation disc into the disc drive, then boot the computer from the installation disc after Windows XP has finished installing.

Step 6

Create a second partition on the hard drive of the desired size. By default, the new partition size fills the remaining free space on the hard drive.

Step 7

Install Windows 7 to the new partition. The computer restarts automatically when the installation is finished.

Step 8

Select which version of Windows to boot with the arrow keys on the keyboard when the computer starts up.

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