Windows XP and WIndows 7 dual boot

What series 14 is it?

Scroll down to "Method 2"

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8057-dual-boot-installation-windows-7-xp.html

XP setup does not like some newer bios's and hardware, you may get setup errors, some can be worked around. Also you will need to track down drivers for your new hardware.

Not sure about processor upgrades on that model, what I would do is go to Dell.com and select your Laptop model to customize it, then see what processors Dell offers for that model, then see if any of them have VT, if any of them do, then that is a possible upgrade option for you.

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My laptop is a Inspiron 1440. I checked the Dell web site and they don't give the processor I need as an option. Guess I'm out of luck there. Thanks for the other web site on dual booting, I will check that out next. I am a little worried about finding all the necessary drivers you mentioned. Thanks for the advice.

They offer these processors on the Insp 14 model

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dndwca3&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=laptop-inspiron-14             select "List View"

T6600

P7450

P8700  has VT

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There is also the possibility that even though the processor supports VT, the Dell bios may not, both must support it for XP mode to work.

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Do you know if it is possible to use an external hard drive instead of partitioning the internal hard drive for dual booting?

Thanks for tip...I will look definitely look into upgrading after the warranty is up.

Its not a good option, even if you can get the external; drive bootable, XP will run really slow.

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I can tell you from personal experience that "Windows XP Mode" is not a good solution.  If your goal is run XP games in "XP Mode" of Windows 7 you will be sorely disappointed.  The only way to go is to run the games inside a real XP installation.  Another consideration is that you'll have to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate in order to get the "XP Mode".  Also, as another poster mentioned, your BIOS must support virtualization.  You usually have to turn it on within the BIOS and the option is only there if you have a CPU that can do it.  A lot more AMD processors have virtualization than Intel ones do (and they're generally a little cheaper than Intel).

If you want to dual-boot Windows 7 and XP, BE SURE to INSTALL XP FIRST (good luck finding drivers).  XP is a destructive install and will overwrite your Windows 7 boot code.  Windows 7, however, will see the XP installation and give you a dual-boot menu at startup.

Thanks for the heads up, it's good to hear from someone that has experienced the whoas.  I leaning towards taking your solutions of reloading XP first  and then Windows 7.