dual-booting, questions

i do believe that since the problems i am receiving while "attempting" to play Star Wars:Knights of the Old Republic(KOTOR) II - The Sith Lords, is caused by my Windows 7 OS...so i am wanting to attempt to dual-boots with XP...will this hopefully fix my issues if i install/run it in Windows XP?questions about dual-booting-is it safe? or could anything bad happen?
how do i choose which OS to boot into?
Which OS has to be installed first?if there's anything anyone feels i should know about dual-booting before i do it, let me know....and also, can i use my Windows 7 drivers? or will i have to find specific XP ones?

I dual boot xp and 7.
You have to put xp on first because 7 won't recognise the older version of windows.
When you turn your pc on you get a choice which one to boot to, if you leave it, it boots the newest (7) after 30 seconds.
Totally safe.

you need XP specific drivers. Additionally each OS should be on a separate partition (or separate disk).

Replying to #3

separte disk huh....well...i've never been good with partitioning things...so would it be okay to install it on an External Hard Drive?*backs up and tests*
will reply with results!

no. installing an OS on an external hard disk is a major bad idea.

Replying to #5

hmmm...then another question...I'm going through all possible ways before i uninstall, I'm getting lazy..is running XP in a VM, the same exact as having it installed? or will my games still run like their on Windows 7?

its the exact same as having it installed, however the hardware is limited.

Partitioning is easy, heres how i did it:
I installed xp then I used partition magic to split the drive in half. Its really easy, all you have to do is enter how many GB's to split it, ie 250 if its a 500GB drive.
Then when its done just reboot and insert your windows 7 disc and choose to install to the new partition.

Loonylion · #7its the exact same as having it installed, however the hardware is limited.

i'm not really sure what you mean by limited...i've got it set up properly to use the right amount of resources needed for gaming...probably a little to much...

Replying to #8

one problem with that...i can't find the proper drivers for XP. T_T Toshiba has custom drivers, and none for XP, so i've been looking for Generic drivers with no luck...here's what i need if someone wants to help..this is from SIW..graphics...
Property Value
RYAN-PC (TOSHIBA Satellite P505)
Video Adapter Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
Video Processor Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
Adapter DAC Type Internal
PCI ID 0x8086 / 0x2A42 (Intel Corporation / Mobile Integrated Graphics Controller)
PCI sub ID 0x1179 / 0xFF50 (Toshiba America Info Systems)
Memory 2862 MBytes
Dedicated Video Memory 128 MB (134217728)
Dedicated System Memory 0 MB (0)
Shared System Memory 1631 MB (1711271936)
BIOS String Hardware Version 0.0
BIOS Date 01/05/20
PnP Device Id PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2A42&SUBSYS_FF501179&REV_07\3&11583659&0&10
Video Mode Description 1680 x 945 x 4294967296 colors
Driver Version 8.15.10.1883
Driver Date 2009-08-27 00:00:00
DirectX DirectX 9.0
Driver Name igdumdx32.dll
Driver Description Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
Monitor Generic PnP Monitor
Model LTN184KT02T01
Monitor ID SEC324B
Manufacturing Date 2008
PnP Device Id DISPLAY\SEC324B\4&24B0E96F&0&UID67568640
Input Digital
Display Size 18.5" (41 cm x 23 cm)
Brightness 100%
Current Resolution 1680 x 945 @ 60Hz
Supported Resolution 1680 x 945 @ 60Hz - Aspect Ratio 16:9
EDID Version 1 revision 3sound..Property Value
RYAN-PC (TOSHIBA Satellite P505)
Conexant Pebble High Definition SmartAudio
Name Conexant Pebble High Definition SmartAudio
Manufacturer Conexant
Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_14F1&DEV_5067&SUBSYS_1179FFD1&REV_1003\4&14F5BF9F&0&0001
PnP Device Id HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_14F1&DEV_5067&SUBSYS_1179FFD1&REV_1003\4&14F5BF9F&0&0001
Intel(R) High Definition Audio HDMI
Name Intel(R) High Definition Audio HDMI
Manufacturer Intel(R) Corporation
Device ID HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_8086&DEV_2802&SUBSYS_80860101&REV_1000\4&14F5BF9F&0&0101
PnP Device Id HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_8086&DEV_2802&SUBSYS_80860101&REV_1000\4&14F5BF9F&0&0101internet..Property Value
RYAN-PC (TOSHIBA Satellite P505)
Network Adapter 1
Model Realtek RTL8191SE Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC
Status Connected
MAC Address 00-26-B6-30-FD-C3
Type WIRELESS LAN
Speed 54 MbpsNetwork Adapter 2
Model Atheros AR8132 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20)
Status Disconnected
MAC Address 00-26-9E-47-84-F7
Type WIRED
Speed 100 Mbpsif anyone has these/knows where to find them...please link me, and then i'd be more willing to dual-boot. ::)

the VMWare virtual graphics card is a basic SVGA adaptor, it has little, if any, 3d capabilities, but then your real graphics chip isn't much better judging by that.

Loonylionthe VMWare virtual graphics card is a basic SVGA adaptor, it has little, if any, 3d capabilities, but then your real graphics chip isn't much better judging by that.

ya got that right...stupid Toshiba soldered it in T_T.

Tomoka · #9one problem with that...i can't find the proper drivers for XP. T_T Toshiba has custom drivers, and none for XP, so i've been looking for Generic drivers with no luck...here's what i need if someone wants to help..this is from SIW..

Mine is an advent and originally had vista on it, and I used a dell xp disc.
Everything worked except I had no sound but I just found a driver online and its fine now.
Im not saying yours will be though....

Loonylion · #10the VMWare virtual graphics card is a basic SVGA adaptor, it has little, if any, 3d capabilities, but then your real graphics chip isn't much better judging by that.

mines MUCH better, mine actually supports openGL 2.0, compared to VMWares openGL support of 0. ::)

Replying to #12

i will attempt it...but i'm doubtful it will have good results..

intel chips are shit

Replying to #14

i know, that's why i'm planning on buying a desktop. ::)EDIT: whaI'm partitioned and following a guide on dual-booting...it's a lil more difficult, but Windows 7 WILL recognize XP!