Is it possible to have two operating systems on the same machine?

[ChickenGuy]

You must forgive me for asking stupid questions, but I really don't have a clue about technical stuff like this.

I have a laptop with Windows 7, and I want to install an old program that will only run on Windows XP.

The program is for my genealogy/family tree files that I have been keeping for nearly a decade on my PC.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for me to recreate the vast amount of data I have made.

I'm not going to be at home much longer, and I'm extremely frustrated at having this valuable information 'stuck' on my PC when I want to use it on my laptop.

If necessary, I will buy another laptop with Windows XP on it, but I just wanted to check with JUBbers if there is any alternative.

Thanks.

 

[MindBlast]

Dual boot is definitely possible. Is it a 16-bit program or something?

 

[ChickenGuy]

^ It is genealogy software that I started using in 1996.

And it has long since passed the 'point of no return' in its size and in my dependence on it.

I simply CAN'T upgrade, restore, re-enter data (even if I wanted to)

Can you tell me more about this 'dual boot' process?


(and did I tell you about an old PC game I want to play again that only works on Windows '95.... )

 

[MindBlast]

Okay, it does sound like it's 16-bit software. I won't go into the details of WHY it doesn't work (I'll leave that to you, it's a long explanation).

Is the software proprietary or open source? If it's open source it could be re-written for 64 bit or 32 bit registers.

 

[ChickenGuy]

^

Me no understand.

 

[jft245]

If you use a program like Family Tree Maker or one of the other available family tree programs, I would think that a newer version of the program would update the old files. Also, you can run two operating systems on one computer. I don't know if you can with Windows 7 but I did with Vista and XP. At boot up a screen would appear and ask which on I wanted to run. It's been a while since I did it but I don't think it was to complicated to install. Good luck, I know what it is like to lose all you family information. I still haven't redone all of the info I had in my tree program.

 

[altlover85]

^

Me no understand.

As far as I know proprietary is like Microsoft Office, whereas Open Office is open-sourced. You can't modify Microsoft Word, but you can change Open Office.

I could be wrong though.

As far as dual-booting goes, I only know you can do it with a Mac. I have no clue about PC's.

 

[JonHCA]

Yes, this is quite possible.

I think it's a long-shot to assume you know how to partition a drive, so I'll link you to this. It's not too difficult on Windows 7: http://www.dkszone.net/create-hard-disk-partition-windows-7

Partitioning a drive is just dividing a set amount of space that acts like a separate drive. So you would partition the drive with enough space for XP and whatever software you would be using, and then you would install XP onto that.

Feel free to let me know if you need some extra help.

 

[Corny]

if you have windows7 professional or ultra you can use the "windows xp mode" for windows 7. it's an official virtual box kind of tool that emulates seamlessly winXP on top of the running win7.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx


and if you can't use this because of your windows license, it probably would be easier for you to use a different virtualization software instead.

virtual box is free:
http://www.virtualbox.org/

it emulates a computer on your computer, and then you can install winXP on this virtual computer

 

[ChickenGuy]

^ A couple of questions....

Is it just Windows XP you can do that for, or can you do it for 2000 / 98 / 95 as well?

With the virtual box up, will the laptop 'know' to download, install and run the program from the old CD?

The laptop currently doesn't recognise the CD's exe files at all.

P.S. I have Windows 7 Home edition, so maybe the whole thing won't work.

Thanks for posting the links. I will take a further look and report back.

 

[cityboy-stl]

To Virtual Box!

I have a Win 7 64 bit host with Virtual Box's running Win 7 32bit, Win XP, IBM OS/2, several versions of Linux. I've read on their forum that some folks even have Windows 3.1 running.

Check your BIOS settings to make sure you have hardware virtualization turned on. It will work a lot better. You should have no problem running Virtual Box on Win 7 Home Edition. Is is 32 or 64 bit? It works on both, it's just a question.

And another thing....take time to read the manual and learn how to set it up properly. I would be happy to answer any questions for you as long you do your part first.

 

[Corny]

Is it just Windows XP you can do that for, or can you do it for 2000 / 98 / 95 as well?

in theory .. yes. but afaik MS only offers it for XP

With the virtual box up, will the laptop 'know' to download, install and run the program from the old CD?
The laptop currently doesn't recognise the CD's exe files at all.

the virtual computer will see your CD drive as if it were "his". but he will use the data as if he was the "old" machine.

P.S. I have Windows 7 Home edition, so maybe the whole thing won't work.

MS virtual PC will not work (might be possible with hacks though), but virtual box will work. virtual box also does work with basically any OS. you can run the older windows versions on it

 

[nsguy2]

You must forgive me for asking stupid questions, but I really don't have a clue about technical stuff like this.

I have a laptop with Windows 7, and I want to install an old program that will only run on Windows XP.

The program is for my genealogy/family tree files that I have been keeping for nearly a decade on my PC.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for me to recreate the vast amount of data I have made.

I'm not going to be at home much longer, and I'm extremely frustrated at having this valuable information 'stuck' on my PC when I want to use it on my laptop.

If necessary, I will buy another laptop with Windows XP on it, but I just wanted to check with JUBbers if there is any alternative.

Thanks.

Right click the setup file or exe file, choose properties and then select XP to run as the compatible program.

You may have to adjust the visual settings in that windows as well.