Downgrade 64 to 32 or build?

[DjUnity]

i have a program that can only be used with a 32 bit operating system. As of now i have been doing Windows 7 Professional and using Visualization and XP Mode to run it BUT this is not working out.

Since it always ending up being a dedicated use computer for this program i need to do the following..

order 64 bit computers and downgrade to 32 bit

or

build my own 32 bit from scratch.

unfortunately i am unsure of what is the best way. I have a copy of Windows XP but would not know the first step on how to downgrade a Windows 7 computer to XP.


All help is appreciated.


Thanks!!!

 

[Geoff]

You could always dual boot, have Windows 7 the primary OS and then use Windows XP when you need to use that program.

 

[DjUnity]

You could always dual boot, have Windows 7 the primary OS and then use Windows XP when you need to use that program.

honestly, i don't even know how to create a dual boot.

another problem that i would assume comes with that is there are being sold to my customers with the program loaded. Bottom line, they are IDIOTS. It has to be set up so when they power up its ready to go... they click the icon, and the program loads. Any additional steps and i get phone calls.

On the 32 bit it does just that...you power on, click the icon, and its good to go. I need to have it that way.

 

[joh06937]

setting up a dual-boot is very easy to and is very easy to use. it just gives you a screen when you boot that has two options (i.e. windows 7 or xp). you could either set up two partitions on the same disk and have the operating systems on the different partitions or you could have two different hard drives (but that takes a lot more work and is not really worth it). anyone could do the selecting, EVEN IDIOTS

 

[DjUnity]

setting up a dual-boot is very easy to and is very easy to use. it just gives you a screen when you boot that has two options (i.e. windows 7 or xp). you could either set up two partitions on the same disk and have the operating systems on the different partitions or you could have two different hard drives (but that takes a lot more work and is not really worth it). anyone could do the selecting, EVEN IDIOTS

my next question would be do you have to "attach" the USB?

This program has something called a "dongle" that plugs in to a USB on the computer. The program transfers data to that dongle which then sends it out from there.

When using Visualization with XP Mode you must "attach" the usb to XP Mode each time it is used. this is done by clicking on the label "USB" on the desktop and clicking attach. if this is not done whatever is in your USB will not be recognized and is useless.

Is this required when doing a dual boot?

Thanks Again!

 

[joh06937]

my next question would be do you have to "attach" the USB?

This program has something called a "dongle" that plugs in to a USB on the computer. The program transfers data to that dongle which then sends it out from there.

When using Visualization with XP Mode you must "attach" the usb to XP Mode each time it is used. this is done by clicking on the label "USB" on the desktop and clicking attach. if this is not done whatever is in your USB will not be recognized and is useless.

Is this required when doing a dual boot?

Thanks Again!

all a dual boot really does is have two different operating systems on the same hard drive (through the use of partitions). when you boot up and select which os you want to use, the computer will boot using only that os. once it boots, you are essentially just using a computer with only one os on it, so the computer would behave as if xp were the only thing on it, which means you just install the software or whatever you need to do to get it running and plug in the usb device. you don't need to do anything special.

 

[DjUnity]

all a dual boot really does is have two different operating systems on the same hard drive (through the use of partitions). when you boot up and select which os you want to use, the computer will boot using only that os. once it boots, you are essentially just using a computer with only one os on it, so the computer would behave as if xp were the only thing on it, which means you just install the software or whatever you need to do to get it running and plug in the usb device. you don't need to do anything special.

ok this may actually be a viable option for me. Is there any place i can get instructions on how to perform this? Is there a specific software required?


Thanks.

 

[joh06937]

you shouldn't need anything special since you can do all partitioning and allocating through the installation of the os (xp and 7 both have this). however, it may be slightly difficult for you to do. do you already have an os besides xp installed on a hard drive (the one you want to put xp on)? if so, you probably already have the entire drive as one partition, all of which is allocated to the non-xp os. if this is the case, you will need to either wipe the hard drive clean and re-install everything or get a new drive and install everything on that (unless someone else knows of a way around this?). but if the hard drive is clean, you are in good shape. so which case is it?

 

[AlienMenace]

First of all, you will need to clean the hard drive and partition it into 2 separate drives. Because you can not load 2 Windows programs on the same partition. Also, with Windows 7 on there first, it will not allow you to load Windows Xp. Windows xp needs to be loaded first and updated and everything. Then you can load Windows 7 in a Duel boot. I know I tried to do it before. Also back up all the programs and stuff that you don't have on disks already also, before you do all of this.

 

[Aastii]

First of all, you will need to clean the hard drive and partition it into 2 separate drives. Because you can not load 2 Windows programs on the same partition. Also, with Windows 7 on there first, it will not allow you to load Windows Xp. Windows xp needs to be loaded first and updated and everything. Then you can load Windows 7 in a Duel boot. I know I tried to do it before. Also back up all the programs and stuff that you don't have on disks already also, before you do all of this.

Yes you can put XP on a seperate partition if win7 is installed. Partitioning sort of makes the hard drive be seen as 2 seperate hard drives. You can install Win7 on one hard drive and install XP on the other. Same principle here

 

[2048Megabytes]

Before he does any of that the first action you want to take is back up all your valued data to a separate storage device (for example, flash drive, external hard drive or another storage device). Do this before you do anything to prevent you from overwriting important data.

 

[joh06937]

Yes you can put XP on a seperate partition if win7 is installed. Partitioning sort of makes the hard drive be seen as 2 seperate hard drives. You can install Win7 on one hard drive and install XP on the other. Same principle here

yeah but it is "recommended" that you install xp first (not absolutely necessary though). have you (DjUnity) figured out what your situation is yet (is your hard drive already completely allocated to windows 7)?

 

[DjUnity]

yeah but it is "recommended" that you install xp first (not absolutely necessary though). have you (DjUnity) figured out what your situation is yet (is your hard drive already completely allocated to windows 7)?

quite frankly, i have no idea. this has surpassed my experience levels at this point. I will have to take a closer look and see what i can figure out.