A reader has asked about how to add Windows XP to Windows 7 Boot Manager. Here are the steps. You do this when you cannot boot to Windows XP after installing Windows 7 or Windows Vista.

1. Open an elevated command prompt.
2. Type the following to create a boot loader for Windows XP.
   bcdedit /create {ntldr} /d "Windows XP"
3. Type the following to set the device to where Windows XP is installed. I used D: in this example. Replace it with the drive letter of your XP installation.
   bcdedit /set {ntldr} device partition=D:
4. Type the following to set the path.
   bcdedit /set {ntldr} path \ntldr
5. Type the following to add this boot loader to the boot up screen.
   bcdedit /displayorder {ntldr} /addlast
6. Reboot the computer.

[Update: 3/11/2009] Some readers have reported that they still have problems after following these steps. I have tried to reproduce the error and fix it. The error I got is different, but it’s similar in nature. Please see this post about how I fixed the problem.

When I first downloaded my copy of Windows 7 Beta, I didn’t have an activation key. There are some instructions on how to obtain a valid key. This link is the one that I used to get my 32 bit key and 64 bit key.

I don’t want to paraphrase the instructions again. There are some points that I want to add. First, if you get the error as shown in the step 3, I’d recommend doing the step 2 again, instead of refreshing the page.

Second, the activation server is busy now. You might not be able to activate your copy now. Don’t worry, you don’t need a key to install Windows 7 Beta. After installation, you have 30 days to activate it.