is it possible to access 2nd OS in dual boot system, when under 1st OS?

14 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/is-it-possible-to-access-2nd-os-in-dual-boot-system-when-under-1st-os.189935/

Suppose, i have 2 partition.... C: and D: drive.....

Dual Boot..... Win XP installed on C: drive, Win7 installed on D: drive....

I am now logged in Windows XP..... i want to access Windows 7 installation now. Is is possible?
is there any way to access/use Win7 installation of D: drive when I am on WinXP??

Yes, though you can access, its not generally recommended because system files can be changed/deleted that way.

But you can't simul-boot or use Windows 7 side-by-side with XP like a program.

Tech.Masti said:
Suppose, i have 2 partition.... C: and D: drive.....

Dual Boot..... Win XP installed on C: drive, Win7 installed on D: drive....

I am now logged in Windows XP..... i want to access Windows 7 installation now. Is is possible?
is there any way to access/use Win7 installation of D: drive when I am on WinXP??

Yes, you can access. But some of the programs which you've installed in Win 7 won't work properly in XP.

if you want simultaneous access to both OSes or evn more use visualization softwares like VMware / Virtualbox.

+1 to VM.

Thanks for responding........
can you guys post some links about how to do that? some Tutorial?

You can access data, but not run the OS simultaneously.

You can run some portable applications using POSIX environments such as MinGW or Cygwin.

topgear said:
if you want simultaneous access to both OSes or evn more use visualization softwares like VMware / Virtualbox.

*www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

VMware/VirtualBox is the way to go...

anyone please provide steps , how to use physically installed OS on another OS virtually.....

Try this : The Beginner's Guide to Creating Virtual Machines with VirtualBox

Tech.Masti said:
anyone please provide steps , how to use physically installed OS on another OS virtually.....

follow the link provided below and if it's your first time you can try some bootable linux distro like ubuntu instead of windows OS.

BTW You can try Windows XP mode! Much faster and directly by Microsoft. Don't ask for link just google it.