How to install Windows XP on new (Win7) computer — or can I?

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My Windows XP laptop finally died on me and I need to replace it ASAP, as I use it to work from home. Is it possible to buy a new computer, which will come with Windows 7 and install Windows XP? I have some very old software that I need to use to remain compatible with my clients, so I need a Windows XP system for that. I have heard from others with this program that it is very unstable, if it will work at all, on Windows 7.

Can this be done? If so, can anyone direct me to a good resource for instructions how to do so? Will Windows XP be stable on a newer computer?

Thanks for your help.

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I would suggest a dual boot scenario, keeping Win 7 and creating a second partition for Win XP. This will give you many more options. How To Geek reviews the correct method to accomplish this.

You can make the partition any size you wish. I might suggest 50 to 100 Gb as a good starting point.

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It all depends on the hardware the new computer uses. There may not be XP drivers for some of the newer hardware. Also, the OEM product ID that came with the laptop is probably not valid for a new system so you would have to purchase a new copy.

Another alternative would be to purchase Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate and then download XP Mode which will allow you to run XP in a virtual computer from within Windows 7.

Jerry

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Thank you—I appreciate both of your comments.

Ted, Thanks for the link. I’ll be sure to look at it, as it sounds like it might be what I need.
Jerry, I was concerned about whether it would be compatible or not, also. However, I have also spoken to two different people who tried to run the same software I want to run under “Windows mode” and didn’t have much success.

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Important question: Do you have an install disk for Windows XP? The procedure in Ted Myers’ reply assumes you have one. Ideally it will be a full retail copy.

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That is true. You do need an installation disk, or at least a valid key (not OEM) that you could use with a borrowed installation disk.

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The answer is I thought I did, but now I’m not so sure. I have a sealed disk with Windows XP, but it’s one tht accompanied my Dell laptop when I purchased it. I do have the number on a label on the outside of package, but I guess I’m not sure whether it is an OEM or Key number.

On reexamination, it’s reinstallation disk, not an original software disk. I do have the 25 letter/numer combination used for installing it on my old laptop, but I’m not permitted to put it on another one, even if the original laptop is no longer running, am I? I miss the old days when you bought a computer and actually owned the software so you could install it on a different computer if it was no longer being used by the original one. I can understand not wanting someone to take the original software and install it on another computer, with both computers having software installed at the same time, but it seems like I should be able to install it on a different computer when the original stops working. It’s like if I had two cars, same make/model, and I wanted to take the transmission out of one and put it in the other.

Anyway, in answer to your question, I guess I don’t have Windows XP to put on a new computer. I noticed there are some for sale on eBay, but they’re pretty expensive and how would I make sure it was legit?

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That is most probably an OEM key and it stays with that PC. Unfortunately that cannot be moved to another PC. Perhaps a friend has a valid key they are not using. You could also check Amazon or eBay for XP. Be very careful and investigate eBay well. Some sellers are very legit, some are not. Unfortunately this will not be a free change, whether you dual boot or install XP as your only OS (I believe this would be a mistake) The dual boot option seems the best option. This will allow you to start transferring your business to a much newer OS with much longer support.

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I’ve gone ahead and bought a refurbished Windows XP laptop to buy me some time. This will enable me to continue working as I have been for the immediate future. I intend to purchase a Windows 7 system, either with dual boot or XP mode, a bit later, because I really do want to keep up with the technology. As far as immediate needs, however, I’m considering taking early retirement (or partial retirement) in about a year, in which case compatibility with my clients’ software will not be the issue it is now.
Again, thanks to all who have helped me understand what I need to do.

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Alternatively, you might want to consider installing XP in a virtual machine within Windows 7. This gives you the option of accessing both operating systems at the same time, rather than have to swap from one to the other with dual boot. It should also address the challenge of drivers. I have found the free VMware Player to be very simple to use and most reliable. But as noted, you will need an XP license for this. However, if you have a license (not OEM, I assume) from an old machined that has been retired, you can use that (as I have). I had no problem with activating.

Chris

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The only consideration I had with any VM is that the PC should have more Ram as the Host and Client OS’s both use Ram. When you set up the VM you specify how much of the Ram the Client should use. With 4 Gb Ram, I found I was taking a performance hit. The performance hit was not noticable when I upgraded to 8 Gb. Just something else to consider.

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The only consideration I had with any VM is that the PC should have more Ram as the Host and Client OS’s both use Ram. When you set up the VM you specify how much of the Ram the Client should use. With 4 Gb Ram, I found I was taking a performance hit. The performance hit was not noticable when I upgraded to 8 Gb. Just something else to consider.

Ted, I accept that more memory is definitely better when it comes to VMs. But I’m managing with only 4GB on my Win7 notebook, and only 2GB on my XP desktop. But I only power up the VM when I need it, and rarely multi-task between the host and the guest, just transfer data between them. And I’m only running old legacy programs (primarily PageMaker) in the VM, and although PM likes a lot of memory, these old programs (and XP) are less of memory hogs that some of the newer applications.

So I guess it’s ‘horses for courses’. If you want to do ‘power’ work in the VM, you may need more memory. But you can still be productive without this.

Chris

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Another option to consider along the same lines as VM’s is XP Mode in Win 7. If you have Win 7 Pro or Ultimate then there is a Win XP Mode VM available. Again this would most likely require a valid XP license to install. It is at least worth investigating when you have the time.

Good luck with the refurbished PC for your short term solution. Perhaps for a longer term solution, one of the alternatives presented here will be the best solution. Having the refurbished PC gives you more time to research the best alternative.

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Once again, I want to thank everyone for the ideas and information. It will be very helpful in making my decision and deciding how to move forward. I’m leaning toward the VM with Windows 7. I’m going to print out all of this information so that I can refer to it when making a decision and setting up my computers.

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Similar to OP, my wife is using an older laptop(5 years) running xp pro. I bought her a new one with Win7 Pro, and she is dreading the move, due to program incompatibility, plus the transfer of files and programs(I previously posted about that). Haven’t done anything yet, but now I am wondering about dual-boot and XP Mode and which might be better for her circumstance. In relation to dual-boot, what if I simply moved the HDD from the old and put it in the empty bay of the new? I have moved a complete HDD with XP between 2 desktops, just had to run the windows repair utility after I booted, and that machine runs fine.

Mods, if you think this should be a new thread, let me know.

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Just a couple of observations…I replaced Win7 with XP Home on a new computer about a year and a half ago and the only issues I had were the XP drivers for the video card left a 1/2 to 3/4 inch black border around my monitor (could not get it to use all of it, but since its a pretty good sized monitor its never bothered me), and I could only use 4 of the installed 8 GB of memory (so I pulled one card out to save for future needs). The reason I did this in the first place is because I have 5 computers running in my house and all the rest were XP and this made it easier for me to keep up with managing them all with the same OS.

The other thing is that all of my computers are Dells and the OS install disks that come with Dell computers, in my experience, have all been full releases and not OEMs (Dell provides separate disks for drivers and installed software as well). I have used original Dell OS intall disks to reinstall XP (and 98 and 95 and Vista and even the Win 7 that came with my new computer) on different computers and VMs with no problems…although occassionally I have had to call Microsoft and explain to them that I was moving the OS to a new machine and not dual installing and they authorized it with no complaints.

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Similar to OP, my wife is using an older laptop(5 years) running xp pro. I bought her a new one with Win7 Pro, and she is dreading the move, due to program incompatibility, plus the transfer of files and programs(I previously posted about that). Haven’t done anything yet, but now I am wondering about dual-boot and XP Mode and which might be better for her circumstance. In relation to dual-boot, what if I simply moved the HDD from the old and put it in the empty bay of the new? I have moved a complete HDD with XP between 2 desktops, just had to run the windows repair utility after I booted, and that machine runs fine.

Mods, if you think this should be a new thread, let me know.

You will probably not be able to run XP because it is set up to run on the older laptop and there probably will be missing drivers. Plus you will trigger the activation process. I have tried this a few times and always had to completely reinstall XP and then call Microsoft to get it activated. But it’s worth a try – make sure you image the XP drive first.

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My own suggestion was going to be, “check the used computer market, for a suitable XP laptop”.
Any computer repair shop would be a good place to start looking and a lot more reliable than buying something over the internet.
I’ve been in several computer stores here in Central FL, and they all have an assortment of used laptops for sale.

Even more plentiful and even cheaper would be a used XP Desktop. I currently have several that I would give to a needy person.

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XP should work just great on a new PC / laptop, I have seen a few laptops converted from 7 to XP Pro x64 and one PC from 7 to XP Pro x64 and it works a treat! (XP Pro x86 works just as well) Its a simple matter of deciding if you want to dual boot between XP and 7 or weather you just wants XP. Another consideration is: does your new system have an option in the “BIOS” to use IDE as XP does not have AHCI drivers allowing it to correctly detect and install on systems with the new hard drive controllers.

If your system does not have an option to change to IDE mode, do not dispair for there is an EXCELLENT utility named “NLite” allowing you to integrate the AHCI drivers into the XP source and burning it to a CD / DVD allowing XP to install on newer systems. You need to determine what hard drive controller your system contains and download the appropriate driver for either XP 64 bit or 32 bit depending on which you plan to install.

Another consideration is to first determine what components are in your PC / laptop and download those drivers prior to installing Windows XP. On systems with UEFI BIOS it might not be possible to install XP, so first determine if your system have a UEFI BIOS. Also of course make a backup of the data you want to restore after you installed XP.

Should you also wish to make XP look more modern, you may also integrate a more modern visual style with the NLite utility available here: http://www.nliteos.com/download.html

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Hey EmiLee,

One thing that needs to be stressed:

If you buy a new PC/laptop with Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate, you do not have to pay any extra $ (or £ or whatever!) for Windows XP Mode (the virtual machine) or the version of XP that Microsoft provides with it.

I’ve seen a couple of posts mentioning XP Mode, one in particular that inferred you’d have to obtain an XP licence to go along with it. You don’t. When you download XP Mode, you get the fully functioning virtual machine software AND a fully licensed copy of Windows XP Pro SP3.

It’s a great solution and one that I use regularly both to keep some old 16 bit software running happily AND to support a few clients who use XP.

Just so you know…

Steven

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Just understand that XP Mode is only available in Win 7 Pro and Win 7 Ultimate.

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Just understand that XP Mode is only available in Win 7 Pro and Win 7 Ultimate.

Very true unless you go the VMLite Workstation (freeware) route, then you may run XP Mode even on a Win95 OS. Completely virtual and XP can be started with a desktop icon, no dual boot hassles.

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My thanks to all of you who responded. I have purchased a used laptop with Windows XP so that I can use it for work right away. I will probably buy a Windows 7/8 computer in a few months, but having the inexpensive XP system will enable me to continue working without any conflicts, while I get any problems with working on the Windows 7/8 computer worked out.

I just wanted to check back and thank everyone for their responses.

I now have a related question, which, perhaps, I should put in a separate post. What security suite or combination would you recommend?

I have been using Outpost Pro firewall with NOD32 antivirus for some years. Unfortunately, all of my activation information was lost on my old computer, so I need to start over. I liked both programs, although Outpost Pro was a bit difficult for me to set up. They seemed to work together well, also. It’s been a few years since I looked at what is available in terms of security for a computer. Right now I just have Windows XP firewall on my new computer, so I’m staying off the Internet with it, but I will need to access the Internet with it shortly, so I need to make a choice. What are your recommendations?

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With the best AV/AS software in the world…. FREE!, there is no need to worry about what to ‘buy’.
Start off with AVG 2012 FREE and see how that works out for you. It’s 100% compatible with every OS from XP to Win-8.
I use it myself and share it with my hundreds of PC Customers and we all stay safe.

Good Luck,
The Doctor

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In my system I use MSE and the Windows firewall. But my system is Win 7 and Win 8 RP (dual boot). Some have had success with MSE on XP, some have had resource problems. Another free alternative to consider is AVG 2012. The free version is just AV whereas the paid version is a suite and includes a firewall as well.

I would contact Outpost Pro and NOD32 developers and explain the situation. They might very well supply your activation/registration keys again.

Once you decide what to do, find a way to save this info. I actually use Last Pass password manager. In the form fills section there is a Notes tab. I have put all my activation keys for various paid apps in there so I will not loose this important info if something similar to your predicament happens.

I also using Imaging to back up my whole system regularly (at least once per month right after the Patch Tuesday) so that if something really bad happens it will only take me about 20 to 30 minutes to restore my entire HD. I back up data separately from the OS (I have all my data on a separate partition. These back up schemes are vital to maintaining your PC systems and records/data.

To restore an Image to an entirely new HD would take a little more work because of the different H/W. You would have to have drivers for the various H/W devices as well as the OS.

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