XP PRO on HDD, WIN 7 on SSD...Suggestions, please.

[rocco518]

I currently have a dual-boot setup with XP PRO on one HDD, Win 7 on another HDD. It has worked flawlessly for me for perhaps four years now. I wanted to upgrade my PC, so I went and bought the Samsung 850PRO 256gb. It was on sale last week for $149.99 and I had a $30 store credit at MicroCenter. For $119, I just (had to have it). NOW WHAT?

I want to keep the same setup, if possible, while putting WIN 7 on the SSD. I know I need AHCI to optimize the SSD, and would need to change the BIOS first before installing WIN 7 on the SSD. But it will conflict with XP PRO. Can't seem to find the correct (drivers?), (controllers?), for my board.(Gig GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3). I'm starting to get lost in the "terminology" of it all. Maybe, the SSD doesnt work for my "needs".
I need the XP PRO for a CAD design program, which would cost me too much to upgrade. It WILL NOT work on WIN 7. The easy way would be to..

1. leave the system, as is, not in AHCI, and lose SSD performance...
2. build a separate PC just for the design program.
3. install XP Mode on WIN 7, but I think that would still conflict.

I'm still trying to "google" the answer. Any experience with this, or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks for your time.😱

 

[pauldun170]

I currently have a dual-boot setup with XP PRO on one HDD, Win 7 on another HDD. It has worked flawlessly for me for perhaps four years now. I wanted to upgrade my PC, so I went and bought the Samsung 850PRO 256gb. It was on sale last week for $149.99 and I had a $30 store credit at MicroCenter. For $119, I just (had to have it). NOW WHAT?

I want to keep the same setup, if possible, while putting WIN 7 on the SSD. I know I need AHCI to optimize the SSD, and would need to change the BIOS first before installing WIN 7 on the SSD. But it will conflict with XP PRO. Can't seem to find the correct (drivers?), (controllers?), for my board.(Gig GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3). I'm starting to get lost in the "terminology" of it all. Maybe, the SSD doesnt work for my "needs".
I need the XP PRO for a CAD design program, which would cost me too much to upgrade. It WILL NOT work on WIN 7. The easy way would be to..

1. leave the system, as is, not in AHCI, and lose SSD performance...
2. build a separate PC just for the design program.
3. install XP Mode on WIN 7, but I think that would still conflict.

I'm still trying to "google" the answer. Any experience with this, or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks for your time.😱

whats the name of the CAD program?

Why not chuck the dual boot setup.
Install Win7 to the SSD (ACHI)
Migrate the XP pro install over to VMware and then leave it at that?

 

[rocco518]

Not familiar with VMWare...will look into it, thank you.

The CAD program is DYNASCAPE, a landscape design program. To buy a new program would be about $3000. At this point, I would rather go back to hand-drawing. Dynascape was a design program released on a trial basis.

 

[pauldun170]

Not familiar with VMWare...will look into it, thank you.

The CAD program is DYNASCAPE, a landscape design program. To buy a new program would be about $3000. At this point, I would rather go back to hand-drawing. Dynascape was a design program released on a trial basis.

VMware makes product that allow you to virtualize hardware.
So the way it would work is this.
You install Windows 7 to the SSD.
Install VMware player (for example - This is their basic free version)
Launch VMWare and then create a new VM. You would install XP on that VM.
You will be running Windows 7 and Windows XP at the same time, where XP is runnning in VMWare and VMWare is running on Windows.
Install the cad software in XP and see how well it performs. If it works as expected you can move that VM file where ever you want.

I have an old vms that have been moved back in forth to several different Win7 boxes across multiple hard drives.
You can have backups of your entire work environment that can be ready at any time, anywhere. Just need to have a machine with VMware installed run them.

 

[Fred B]

There is an easy way to switch to AHCI when using the secondary Marvell controller . Enable the Marvel controller so it works in XP , than shut down the system and put the os ssd on the sata port Marvell controller . Now XP starts from the Marvell controller and AHCI can be enabled in the bios to let XP recognize new hardware .Than download the driver from Gigabyte , Intel SATA Preinstall driver (For AHCI / RAID Mode) . Use this driver for the new hardware found and AHCI wil be working . Now put the ssd back in the intel controller and everything is AHCI .

This is the motherboard if i am not mistaking
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3853#dl

And a clone of the xp install can give you room to experiment a bit more without losing the install 😉

 

[razel]

Feel free to clone your HDD onto the SSD. Samsung provides a download for you to do so. Since you have two drives you can always go back to the HDD if something goes wrong. Your system is a relatively modern Sandy Bridge, so by default you may already be running in AHCI mode. The last computers by default that weren't that I've seen were Pentium 4s. Best of luck.

 

[Xpage]

XP doesn't align to the 4k blocks of SSDs, I think there is/was a way to make win XP be aligned to the SSD's blocks but I just upgraded to 7 instead.

 

[Cerb]

I would...
1. Clone what you have to an HDD.
2. Install Windows 7 to the SSD, with no other drives hooked up.
3. Try running the old setup through a P2V (physical to virtual) conversion. You can do this a few different ways, so just Google it.
4. Try that virtual machine in Virtualbox, and/or VMWare player (one may work or not, and one may work better, if both can handle the VM).
5A. If it won't boot, try installing XP in a new virtual machine, and see how that goes, instead of re-using the old install.
5B. If it works but is slow, you might be better off with secondary computer or something. Even with virtualized 3D support, and the hardware to do full pass-through, it's not always perfect.

Why? Because if you can successfully virtualize old programs, it is so nice to be able to not reboot, or have to deal with limits of common KVMs, but simply perform a few clicks. But, GPU-using programs can be a problem, sometimes. With the right hardware, you can virtualize it fully, so the guest OS gets actual hardware access, but that would usually be something you'd spec certain parts for during an upgrade, and then set aside time to figure out.

 

[Cerb]

XP doesn't align to the 4k blocks of SSDs, I think there is/was a way to make win XP be aligned to the SSD's blocks but I just upgraded to 7 instead.

Partition the drive in Windows 7, since it will be available, and it'll be fine. For a virtual from scratch, I'm not sure if you really benefit from aligning or not, but it wouldn't hurt to do it.

 

[rocco518]

WOW! I LOVE THIS SITE! ... You guys are great!! I've tried to educate myself as much as possible, with the pros and cons of your suggestions. I've been spoiled with the dual-boot setup that I have had for four years.
I could go back to dual PC's under the desk, but perhaps use a smaller case for the XP PRO pc. This may be the cleanest , less problematic install, one that I am comfortable doing. But I'm intrigued by the suggestions above. That's how you learn. I have decided to do clean installs with a new HDD for XP PRO, and the new Samsung 850PRO for WIN 7, if I go that route. I 'd rather not clone, as I believe I have a few bad sectors, and I thought I read that you shouldn't clone such a drive.
Some questions...
Pauldun170.....If I go the VMware route, is it a "READ" only deal, do I have access to printer and usb flashdrives? (dumb question?)
Fred B...would I need to download the Marvel AND Intel drivers/controllers and install all?
Since my system has worked so well, I never updated my BIOS. Shoud that be done as well? Forgive me, but is there a certain order to what gets installed when?
It's almost as if the 850PRO is more of a hassle to my needs, or wants, but I'm sure once this is completed, I'll enjoy it. I appreciate all the advice. Still deciding.


"No such thing as stupid questions... Just stupid people asking questions."

 

[Cerb]

Cloning: if you have bad sectors, you should clone ASAP, to preserve what you can, if you can't recreate all the data from scratch.

VMWare: I don't recall how VMWare handles USB an such, but you can use them. If there are XP and 7 drivers for your printer(s), the easiest thing to do will just be to have the virtual in bridge networking mode, and share out the host printer. VMWare's licensing and feature changes awhile back caused me to stop using their stuff, so I mainly use Virtualbox on desktops. There, you use the menu to select a USB device to redirect to the VM.

It's not so much the 850 Pro being a hassle, as you finally changing parts. For a few weeks more, it will be 2014, and in 2014, we have new ways to keep old software alive and kicking.

 

[pauldun170]

WOW! I LOVE THIS SITE! ... You guys are great!! I've tried to educate myself as much as possible, with the pros and cons of your suggestions. I've been spoiled with the dual-boot setup that I have had for four years.
I could go back to dual PC's under the desk, but perhaps use a smaller case for the XP PRO pc. This may be the cleanest , less problematic install, one that I am comfortable doing. But I'm intrigued by the suggestions above. That's how you learn. I have decided to do clean installs with a new HDD for XP PRO, and the new Samsung 850PRO for WIN 7, if I go that route. I 'd rather not clone, as I believe I have a few bad sectors, and I thought I read that you shouldn't clone such a drive.
Some questions...
Pauldun170.....If I go the VMware route, is it a "READ" only deal, do I have access to printer and usb flashdrives? (dumb question?)
Fred B...would I need to download the Marvel AND Intel drivers/controllers and install all?
Since my system has worked so well, I never updated my BIOS. Shoud that be done as well? Forgive me, but is there a certain order to what gets installed when?
It's almost as if the 850PRO is more of a hassle to my needs, or wants, but I'm sure once this is completed, I'll enjoy it. I appreciate all the advice. Still deciding.


"No such thing as stupid questions... Just stupid people asking questions."

The free basic VMWare player has full access to host USB and printers.
As far as you're concerned, its no different than any other PC. It just that a lot of the drivers you are using have "vmware" on em.

In your case, all you really need to do is see how well your version of dynascape runs using the Vmware's virtualized vid card.

 

[Fred B]

WOW! I LOVE THIS SITE! ...


Fred B...would I need to download the Marvel AND Intel drivers/controllers and install all?
Since my system has worked so well, I never updated my BIOS. Shoud that be done as well? Forgive me, but is there a certain order to what gets installed when?
It's almost as if the 850PRO is more of a hassle to my needs, or wants, but I'm sure once this is completed, I'll enjoy it. I appreciate all the advice. Still deciding.

No , the Marvell controller can work in IDE mode and need no extra driver . It is just a matter of connecting the xp to marvel controller and back to Intel when AHCI is enabled and recognized by XP .

The Vmware option could be very good for the future when you need a new pc and XP wil not function anymore because of hardware layout. The Z67/77 are the last with XP official driver support .