Okay, read through many dual boot threads here but none seem to be quite like my problem.
My system drive failed in a media center PC I have built. I used my XP MCE 2005 install CD to create a new system drive, on a 1TB disc which had formerly been reserved for movies only. There was still plenty of free room, so it installed fine, ran off of it fora few hours no problem.
I then decided that since I was about to go through the process of reconstructing the whole system again, setting up preferences, installing all my software, etc., I may as well download Win 7 and try it out.
So I did, installing it on the new replacement drive (another 1TB drive). It was a clean install from a burned DVD onto a blank HD. I have had it up and running for days with no major issues.
Today I decided to install some games, and they won't load onto Win7. That was when it occurred to me, I haven't been getting the option to load that old XP MCE system - I can't dual boot. I go and check the drive, and it has all of the files and folder tructures for windows, left intact and untouched.
So how do I make the machine recognize it?
For a more detailed list of what happened, my machine had 3 drives; a 320GB system drive (D
and two 1TB media (C: And E drives. The system drive failed (D, and I installed an OS onto one of the media drives (E. When I installed the new OS, it relabeled the drives (now down to two) as C: (the new system drive, formerly E and D: (the old primary media drive, formerly C. I then downloaded Win7 and burned a DVD, then I booted using the DVD and installed Win7 on a NEW 1TB drive, and AGAIN all of my drives got swapped around; the Win7 drive is now C: (no previous designation), the primary media drive is now D: (formerly C:, then D:, and now still D and the WinXP MCE 2005 Drive is now E: (formerly E:, then C:, now back to E.
When I go into Win7's startup options (right click 'computer' and get properties, then I go to Advanced System Settings, then Startup and Recovery Settings), the default operating system is Win7, and no other choices are listed - it doesn't seem to recognize WinXP MCE 2005. The check box for 'Time to disy list of operating systms' is checked and the value is 30 seconds. But I don't get a list on booting up.
I go into the E: drive and look over the Windows folder structure and whatnot, and it is valid as far as I can tell... no missing files or anything.
Any help?
My system drive failed in a media center PC I have built. I used my XP MCE 2005 install CD to create a new system drive, on a 1TB disc which had formerly been reserved for movies only. There was still plenty of free room, so it installed fine, ran off of it fora few hours no problem.
I then decided that since I was about to go through the process of reconstructing the whole system again, setting up preferences, installing all my software, etc., I may as well download Win 7 and try it out.
So I did, installing it on the new replacement drive (another 1TB drive). It was a clean install from a burned DVD onto a blank HD. I have had it up and running for days with no major issues.
Today I decided to install some games, and they won't load onto Win7. That was when it occurred to me, I haven't been getting the option to load that old XP MCE system - I can't dual boot. I go and check the drive, and it has all of the files and folder tructures for windows, left intact and untouched.
So how do I make the machine recognize it?
For a more detailed list of what happened, my machine had 3 drives; a 320GB system drive (D
and two 1TB media (C: And E drives. The system drive failed (D, and I installed an OS onto one of the media drives (E. When I installed the new OS, it relabeled the drives (now down to two) as C: (the new system drive, formerly E and D: (the old primary media drive, formerly C. I then downloaded Win7 and burned a DVD, then I booted using the DVD and installed Win7 on a NEW 1TB drive, and AGAIN all of my drives got swapped around; the Win7 drive is now C: (no previous designation), the primary media drive is now D: (formerly C:, then D:, and now still D and the WinXP MCE 2005 Drive is now E: (formerly E:, then C:, now back to E.When I go into Win7's startup options (right click 'computer' and get properties, then I go to Advanced System Settings, then Startup and Recovery Settings), the default operating system is Win7, and no other choices are listed - it doesn't seem to recognize WinXP MCE 2005. The check box for 'Time to disy list of operating systms' is checked and the value is 30 seconds. But I don't get a list on booting up.
I go into the E: drive and look over the Windows folder structure and whatnot, and it is valid as far as I can tell... no missing files or anything.
Any help?