Run Windows 7 on your XP or Vista PC

Worried about ditching XP or Vista in favour of Windows 7? Create a dual-boot PC and you can run both

Windows 7, Microsoft's new operating system, makes many improvements over Windows Vista, and still more over XP, but it's common to feel a little nervous when switching to a brand-new operating system.

For starters, it's possible that older hardware won't work until new drivers have been released and, besides, it always takes time to feel fully comfortable with a new working environment.

If you haven't investigated Windows 7 yet, take a look at Computeractive's feature outlining 10 reasons you should upgrade to Windows 7 and our review of Windows 7.

It's possible to try out Windows 7 while keeping an existing Vista or XP installation in place. By creating a 'dual-boot' computer, you'll be able to choose which operating system to use each time the PC is switched on. Using a technique called partitioning you can split an existing hard disk up and create an area specifically for Windows 7. We explain how.

Be prepared Before you start, make sure you have the Windows 7 installation disc at the ready. The existing hard disk will also need to have plenty of free space for a practical Windows 7 partition - 25GB should be enough. We also strongly recommend backing up all your important data.

Although partitioning hard disks is safe when conducted carefully, it is possible to accidentally select the wrong option and lose photos, documents and other file types. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Partition primer Before we explain how to install a second operating system, it's important to understand the basics of hard-disk partitioning.

If, for example, a new 500GB hard disk is fitted to a PC it will show up as a single 500GB drive. Partitioning is the process of splitting up a single drives such as this into multiple 'logical' drives.

Of course, on the outside the hard disk will remain a 500GB model, but once partitioned Windows will see it as two or more individual drives. Each partition will have its own drive letter and they will all be treated as completely separate disks.