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    can I dual boot 32bit and 64bit OS?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by kidney, Nov 21, 2009.

  1. kidney

    kidney Notebook Enthusiast

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    can I?
    64bit W7 and 32bit WIN XP.


    thanks sooooo muck guyz and galz
     
    kidney, Nov 21, 2009
    #1
  2. BrandonSi

    BrandonSi Notebook Savant

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    Yes, I did exactly that last night, actually. Install XP first.
     
    BrandonSi, Nov 21, 2009
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  3. kidney

    kidney Notebook Enthusiast

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    thx buddy, my lappy came with w7 but i need xp to play gta iv... btw do you know a good guide to help dual install..thanks
     
    kidney, Nov 21, 2009
    #3
  4. BrandonSi

    BrandonSi Notebook Savant

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    No, unfortunately. Basically I blew away the HD and started from scratch.

    Installed XP and used setup to create a ~30GB partition for it, leaving the rest of the free space for 7.

    Then I just installed 7 into the leftover free space.

    Pretty straightforward.
     
    BrandonSi, Nov 21, 2009
    #4
  5. kidney

    kidney Notebook Enthusiast

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    I see..... thx a bunch
     
    kidney, Nov 21, 2009
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  6. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    or, decide on which OS is your primary and then use a free virtualization product (such as virtualbox) to support secondary OS installs.

    This way you don't have to ever mess with partition managers, boot managers, and you can always recover disk space (just delete the virtual machine emulated disk file) when you need to.
     
    newsposter, Nov 21, 2009
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  7. BrandonSi

    BrandonSi Notebook Savant

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    Yep, that's how I'm running linux. Unfortunately I need the full XP install, otherwise I wouldn't bother :(
     
    BrandonSi, Nov 21, 2009
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  8. kidney

    kidney Notebook Enthusiast

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    will the virtual OS's performance be exactly like regular OS (since im using it to play GTA IV)??
     
    kidney, Nov 21, 2009
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  9. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    Gaming and 3D apps (autocad, blender, etc) are a challenge for virtualized machines. If you are a gamer, the OS you use for that should be the primary OS.

    Virtualbox is making huge strides towards getting native performance out of the video hardware. Not quite there, but close.

    If you write up exactly what you potentially want to do with each OS load it will be easier to help you out.
     
    newsposter, Nov 21, 2009
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  10. kidney

    kidney Notebook Enthusiast

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    I only need it to play GTA IV
     
    kidney, Nov 21, 2009
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  11. nodeffect

    nodeffect Notebook Evangelist

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    why do u need xp to play GTA ? cant u play in windwos vista/7 ?
     
    nodeffect, Nov 21, 2009
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  12. kidney

    kidney Notebook Enthusiast

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    kidney, Nov 21, 2009
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  13. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    That website is a bunch of bull crap. Try it yourself, and if it does not work then think about dual booting.
     
    Greg, Nov 21, 2009
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  14. BrandonSi

    BrandonSi Notebook Savant

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    Common sense, ftw.
     
    BrandonSi, Nov 21, 2009
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  15. Amnesiac

    Amnesiac 404

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    I HAVE GTA IV installed in Windows 7 and it's absolutely fine. Don't trust any bull crap from that site; half the time it's not correct.
     
    Amnesiac, Nov 21, 2009
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  16. krt

    krt Notebook Consultant

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    +1, have played it on Windows 7 64-bit
     
    krt, Nov 22, 2009
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  17. ViciousXUSMC

    ViciousXUSMC Master Viking NBR Reviewer

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    Played it on Vista x64, im sure Win 7 support is fine too as Vista = Win 7 in most situations.
     
    ViciousXUSMC, Nov 23, 2009
    #17