My computer running Win7 won't run some progs. which I often wish to use (eg. video editing/tranfer to DVD)which run perfectly on XP. Compatability settings don't help.
Is it possible to run a second hard drive either internal or external programmed with XP, as this computer is much faster than the very old one I must otherwise use, so slow it's painful!

Dumbo, May 2013

Electro
Thankyou for your quick and clear response.

Dumbo, May 2013

It's possible to set a dual/multi boot with several OS.
At boot time, you'll see a new dialog asking you to sellect whitch OS to start.
A multi-boot setup can run different versions of Windows, and/or Linux, any distribution.
The alternative OS can reside on a partition of the main drive or another physical drive. You'll get beter performances using an internal drive, but an external drive should also work.

You should note that Windows XP is a 32 bits OS while it's very probable that you have a 64 bits CPU and Windows 7 64 bits. It's not a problem, it's just that Windows XP won't be able to use more than, at most, 3.5 Gb.

It's also possible to set a virtual machine that will run Windows XP in parallel with Windows 7.
For that, you need to install a Virtual Machine (VM) application, in that virtual machine, you install Windows XP as a guess OS.
There are several VM available. Do a search for "virtual machine".

Electro, May 2013