I have already set up a successful multiboot system using grub. I can boot from opensuse, Windows XP 32 bit, or Windows 2003 32 bit. I have plenty of hard disk space and want to add Windows 7 64 bit.
I configured the bios setup for ahci. Linux installed successfully without an ahci driver, but windows xp required I install an ahci driver from a floppy, during deployment of windows. Windows XP would not install or not run, I forget which, without the ahci driver installed. When installing the ahci drivers, I installed the driver that was appropriate for my particular system board, and was also a 32 bit driver, to match the 32 bit windows xp operating system. If I recall correctly, when I installed a 32 bit version of windows 2003, I also had to install ahci drivers, similarly, from a floppy, during the windows 2003 installation process, before windows 2003 would work. But I could be wrong.
Now I want to install windows 7 but the 64 bit version not a 32 bit version. My question basically is do the drivers work separately with each operating system? In other words, is there one ahci driver for the windows xp os, and another for the windows 2003 os?
When I install windows 7, 64 bit version, I am prompted for drivers, from a floppy or usb drive. Can I assume that I need to install an ahci driver that is both appropriate for my system board, and is a 64 bit version, to match the bit type of the windows 7 os?
I am asking this in an open suse boot forum because the windows method of multibooting is entirely different than the grub version. It seems possible that multiple booting versions of windows could share the same ahci driver, but if they boot via grub rather than windows, then each windows version may need its own ahci driver.
IMO you’re thinking too much. Why dont’ you just install Windows 7? It will most likely include the ahci driver for your mainboard and if not, you’ll have to install it from floppy or cd, just like you did for Windows XP (it would be surprising though). How does it matter to Linux or other Windows versions? What’s going to happen is that (any) Windows will overwrite the MBR and activate its partition. Thus you’ll have to reset the bootflag on the Grub partition afterwards if you want to boot from Grub. If you’re asking if Grub is able to load a driver for Windows, like it could do for Linux, the answer is NO, because it doesn’t load the Windows kernel, it just chainloads its boot sector.
Thanks please_try_again. I’ve got windows 7 up and running and I used the linux-on-disk to restore grub and I’m able to boot from grub to either linux on one hand, or a windows 7 boot screen that allows me to boot to either windows xp, 2003, or 7. I’m working on figuring out win 7’s new boot scheme (bcdedut) and on booting solely with grub. But at least I can get into all the os’s, and windows 7 works. (Next I guess i’m gonna get rid of 2003 and replace it with 2008). I’m glad I kept XP because windows 7 is driving me nuts! But that’s a story for the windows forum!
you’ll have to install it [ahci driver] from floppy or cd, just like you did for Windows XP
Like I remember how I installed it from 3 years ago. I’ve installed xp and 2003 on maybe 50 computers since then, but only one of them, one of my own computers, has ahci set up on it in the BIOS.