Can I install XP using Boot Camp on Lion without a Windows 7 installation disc?

[ac3320]

I was trying to resize my existing Boot Camp partition using the ol' Winclone the Windows as an image, delete Boot Camp partition, re-make BootCamp partition (but quit the Assistant after partitioning), and then use Winclone to restore the image to the now larger Windows partition.

Problem is that it seems the Boot Camp Assistant requires a Windows 7 installation disc before proceeding to the partitioning part.

I think I am screwed (meaning I will have to buy a copy of Windows 7 if I want to dual-boot OS X and Windows). I really like XP, and I don't care if it's unsupported or insecure -- it's STILL better than Vista or 7 on the benchmarks, for the most part. I only use it for school and so I don't care about security.

I am trying to find a way to just partition the drive as Boot Camp Assistant does, and then install XP on that partition. But I can't seem to find a way to do that.

Suggestions??

Dang. Should have realized that BCA in Lion requires the install disc BEFORE partitioning. Freak.

 

[GGJstudios]

To set up Boot Camp, you need a Windows installation disk.

 

[ac3320]

I suppose one way is to clean install SL (and subsequently wipe Lion and everything else...but can I do that without a Leopard disc?), then create the boot camp partition again, and then clean install Lion. Stupid, I know. But I got nothing...

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To set up Boot Camp, you need a Windows installation disk.

I think you are missing the point. I know that. Duh. I am trying to setup a NEW Boot Camp partition and install Windows XP. I know it's possible with my current hardware (pre-2011 hardware), but I what I did not know, and what I currently can work around, is that the Boot Camp Assistant seemingly needs a Windows 7 installation disc to proceed. It would not accept a Windows XP installation disc.

 

[ac3320]

Moreover, could I install SL, create a Windows partition that is big enough with Boot Camp, and then restore my Lion system from a Lion backup using booting from the SL DVD or my Lion USB drive?

How will the restore process be effected by the fact that the last backup on my Backup HD (for Time Machine backups) showed a 500 GB HFS+ Journaled, Extended (Encrypted) Mac OS X single partition (no ~20 GB Windows partition was there as I deleted it trying to resize it, so the OS X partition is occupying the entire 500 GB HD). Will the restore let me restore that 500 GB HD (even if all the space wasn't used up on the OS X volume) unto a 500 GB with a newly created 20-30 GB Windows partition?

Sorry for the multiple posts. Figured I would get some action here vs. the Apple Support Community, which I'm assuming will only be filled with "Just put Windows 7 on there, since XP is no longer supported," but I could be misjudging their Apple fanyboy-ness (which I am just as guilty of sometimes).