Chromatography Forum

Hi,

Yes, I use VirtualBox, as it can be configured to have a MultiProcessor GuestOS,
VirtualPC only uses single core, VMware player can burn CDs which VirtualBox is also
supposed to be capable of, it doesn't for me .

VirtualBox has a feature named Seamless mode, which is quite something!

There are lots of websites that describe how to install VirtualBox, just remember to
select 2 CPUs in the relevant spot before installing Win Xp.
To install XP on a virtual drive, press the F5 key once the CD starts to boot
and scroll upwards when a box is displayed, and choose MultiProcessor ACPI.
Install rest of Windows XP as normal.


Alex

You can also setup a partition on your HD to allow dual boot. During start up, it will prompt to boot either 8 or XP. I have 8 or 7 setup right now. One will be the default which, if the OS choice screen times out, will load automatically.

Let me know if you need any guidance. There are lots of guides on line and it's pretty straight forward. Just be aware, some methods do wipe out the entire hard drive. VirtualBox may be a safer option if you need to preserve your HD contents.

Windows 8 seems a pain but Windows XP is not the best for laptops. Can you get hold of Windows 7 ? Did you know you could go back to a Windows 7 appearance in Windows 8 and turn off the front end that only really works with touch screens ?

I had one computer a while back that I had WinNT4, Win95, Linux and BeOS all installed at the same time on different partitions. Multibooting is not that difficult to set up, but having separate partitions is the best way to go if you are not using some type of virtual machine.

If you have one windows OS installed on C:, then install a different one on D:, it should automatically add both of them to the bootloader and give you the choice at startup. If you later add Linux, then the Linux bootloader will sense the others and add them to its bootloader screen while replacing the default windows bootloader.