Many friends plan to install an XP system on newly purchased computers, or computers that already have Win7 installed, to run some old software or play nostalgic games.
But if you run the XP installer directly on the Win7 system, it won't work because the boot methods of the two systems are different.
In some online tutorials, the steps are not clearly presented, and in some online tutorials, many professional terms are used, which makes people watching the tutorials confused.
Don’t worry, today I will teach you in the most straightforward way how to safely install a Ghost
1. Preparation: Tools and image downloads
Before we start, we need to have all the tools ready.
First, prepare a U disk with a storage capacity of no less than 8GB, and create a PE system in it, such as using a tool such as "U Disk Antivirus Expert", so that you can enter an independent small system to start operations when the computer starts.
I would like to remind you that if your computer is a relatively new notebook, the default hard disk mode is AHCI. However, native XP does not support this mode, and a blue screen will occur if you install it directly.
So it’s best to find one that’s already integrated AHCI driver XP image.
In addition, you need to download the NTBOOTautofix v2.0.2 tool, which is used to repair the dual-system boot menu. Finally, a virtual optical drive or Ghost installer that can run under PE is also indispensable. Most of these tools come with the PE system.
2. Enter the PE system and divide an independent partition for XP
make the USB boot disk Plug it into the computer and restart the computer.
When the boot screen appears, quickly press the startup hotkey. This hotkey is usually F2, F12 or ESC. The keys vary depending on the brand. This will enter the BIOS setting state or directly bring up the startup menu, set the USB disk as the first startup item, save the settings and then restart, so the computer will enter the PE system.
On the PE desktop, look for "Partition Tool DiskGenius", or look for "Partition Magician".
Our goal is to free up an independent primary partition for the XP system.
If your hard disk has been partitioned, you can compress the space in the 15 to 20GB range from the last logical partition, and then create another partition.
The important step appears, set the newly created partition category as the primary partition, and then mark it as the active partition.
At the same time, we found the partition where Win7 was originally located and deactivated the status of the partition. The purpose of doing this was to temporarily hide Win7 so that the computer would only start from our newly created XP partition, thus avoiding conflicts during subsequent installations.
Please note that there are risks when operating partitions. Be sure to confirm exactly which disk is where the Win7 system is installed and which disk is intended to be used to install the XP system. Be sure not to make the wrong choice.
3. Restore the Ghost XP image to the specified partition
After the partition is adjusted, we can start installing the XP system.
In the PE system, open Ghost installer or virtual optical drive software.
If what you download is an .iso image, first load it with the virtual optical drive, and then look for the .gho file with the largest capacity; if what you download is a .gho file directly, it will be more convenient.
In the Ghost installer interface, select "Restore Partition" or "Restore Image", and then select the .gho file you prepared in the image file path.
Next, the most critical step comes. To select the target partition to be restored, you must carefully look at the drive letter and its size, and then select the partition we just created for XP, for example, either the D disk or the E disk partition.
After confirming that everything is correct, click Start Restore.
While waiting for the progress bar to completely terminate, the software will give a prompt asking whether to restart the computer. At this time, you need to click the "Yes" option and then remove the USB flash drive. Then let the computer restart with the help of the hard disk.
After restarting, the computer will enter the deployment period of the XP system by itself. You only need to wait patiently for a few minutes and watch the driver installation and settings on the screen successfully complete by themselves. In this way, the first clean XP system has been successfully installed.
4. Repair the startup menu to achieve dual system freedom
Today, computers can already enter the XP system, but the original Win7 system cannot be found. The reason for this is because the startup menu is covered.
Don't worry, the NTBOOTautofix tool we downloaded earlier is specifically designed to solve this problem.
Enter the PE system again, or run this tool directly in the XP system you just installed (it is recommended to operate in the PE environment, the success rate will be higher).
When the software is turned on, it will usually scan all operating systems on the hard drive. Then, you only need to press the numeric keys on the keyboard and select "Automatic Repair".
After the software is finished running, it will prompt that the repair is successful.
Restart your computer and you will see a nice dual-system boot menu with the two options "Windows 7" and "Windows XP" clearly listed.
Use the up and down keys to select the system you want to enter and press Enter.
At this time, your Win7 and Ghost XP dual systems have been successfully completed. If you want to use either system in the future, you can start which one without interfering with each other.
The most critical points in the entire installation process are partition settings and startup repair.
Just remember to divide a separate primary partition for XP, select the target disk when installing the image, and finally use the NTBOOTautofix tool to repair the boot menu, so that there will be no problems.
For those users who need to maintain old equipment, run specific industrial software, or play classic old games, retaining an XP system can indeed solve many urgent problems.
I hope this tutorial can be helpful to you. If you encounter other problems during operation, you are also warmly welcome to leave a message in the comment area to communicate.
