Dual Boot System

[Scott101]

I am trying to dual boot XP and Windows 7. I followed the directions I found on Windows 7 Forums and have both OS's installed. XP is on my C: drive (IDE) and Windows 7 on a separate IDE drive designated F:. Upon Boot, I am supposed to get a screen that lets me choose the operating system. However the screen, does not appear and I boot directly into the XP OS. The dries are on the same IDE cable, with the XP drive as the primary and Windows 7 as the secondary (no jumper). Do I need to make a change to the boot sequence in the BIOS? Does the W7 or both OS drives need to be on SATA drives as opposed to be the IDE drives? Thanks!

[Shinma]

... Do I need to make a change to the boot sequence in the BIOS? ...

Depends on installation method used.
State method used and/or link to instructions that you used.

... Does the W7 or both OS drives need to be on SATA drives as opposed to be the IDE drives? ...

No such requirement.

[Scott101]

I followed the instructions at this site as closely as I could:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...dows-7-xp.html

XP was installed first

I started at Step 3 and set to BIOS priority to boot from the CD, but it kept skipping over the CD drive and the target drive and booted from the C: drive. I disconnected all drives but the CD ROM and the target drive and installed that way.

I got the screenshot in Step 4, then the partition screen in Step 5. The installation finalized and the system was restated, but I did not see the screen in step 7.

Reading on below Step 7 I see something about EasyBCD. Would this program solve my problem?

[Steve R Jones]

The Win 7 install "would/should" have installed some needed files on the XP drive. Since the XP drive was unplugged it could do that...

You could go into the BIOS each time and tell it which drive to boot from...

The EasyBCD application is designed to help create the needed connection/menu to dual boot.

[Shinma]

... XP is on my C: drive (IDE) and Windows 7 on a separate IDE drive designated F: ... and set to BIOS priority to boot from the CD, but it kept skipping over the CD drive and the target drive and booted from the C: drive. I disconnected all drives but the CD ROM and the target drive and installed that way...

Ditto to Steve R Jones's response.

Since C: drive was disconnected during Windows 7 install,
Required files for dual boot could not be written to C: drive.

As for the system bypassing the CD/DVD drive,
May be an issue with configuration with your BIOS/CMOS menu settings.

[Scott101]

I'll reformat the W7 drive and try reinstalling with both HD's connected.

[Shinma]

No need to reformat the hard drive that contains Windows 7.

During the Windows 7 installation process,
When asked Which type of installation do you want,
Select Custom (advanced) option,
Delete the appropriate/desired partition/hard drive, then you can let Windows format.

Additional note,
Since you stated that you are using (2) IDE/PATA hard drives and sharing same IDE cable,
Double check the jumper setting and cable connections requirements of both the hard drives and such.