certain versions of windows 7 have the ability to run xp with in 7 in a virtual mode so that you can then run your old programs that way. The best suggestion is to try to communicate with the programs creators to see if there is a version or an update that will make it compatible many do have an update. If you have windows 7 home premium it does not have that xp function but you still can run a virtual machine set up with in windows 7 and run your programs that way. You would need to read up and understand how to set up and run a virtual machine, there are some free versions available. Make older programs run in this version of Windows Windows XP Mode Windows XP Mode Learn to Use Windows 7's Compatibility Mode with Older Apps there are a few links you may want to check out.

Yes I have Roku 2, and it now has access to Youtube - still it must suffer from the same HD shortfall as Netflix, which I also have via Roku. Then too I have only 8 mb DSL (more like 6 mb). But, using my computer with a wireless keyboard and mouse, I an scroll around the screen to click and type in search strings much easier using the computer to drive Youtube or any other computer accessed information and streaming data. I don't have a big HDTV, only 30" and only the lower (don't remember the number maybe 1080) lines .

the best thing to do is simply go to the website of those programs and see if they have support for windows 7 64 bit, some programs will run just fine on it, some just need another driver and many companies are putting out those drivers on their websites. 32-bit and 64-bit Windows: frequently asked questions If you do some searching around you can also find several places that tell you how you can get the windows xp mode to work on home premium, this is one, also windows secrets newsletter published that info in one of their newsletters a while back so you could search there or just do a google search for more info. Workaround to Install Windows XP Mode in Windows 7 Home Premium and Home Basic Create an XP Mode for Windows 7 Home Versions & Vista the 7 forums is also a wealth of info Here is a link that might be useful: 7forums

More memory is good but at some point there is a diminishing return on the investment and that point is a function of what you are doing with your computer. Things like first person shooter games, video editing, photo editing (of very large files) all benefit from lots of memory. Writing an email to Aunt Betty doesn't require very much memory at all because the computer can process information far faster than you can type. Same thing for the Internet, your computer can render pages faster than your connection can supply the information. So if you have a slow internet connection, you're not likely to experience much, if any improvement. With that said, 4 gigs is probably a pretty good number. If you really want a WOW factor, get a solid state drive and use that for your O/S and critical applications. To try and answer some of your questions: - Windows doesn't care about the physical drive or any logical partitions. It does make good sense to install Windows 7 on the newer, faster drive. You'll get the best performance that way. When it comes time to get rid of XP, everything will be on one drive and that, if nothing else, should help you keep things mentally organized. - My understanding is that you have two physical drives, one with a functioning version of XP and the other blank. If that is not correct, say so NOW. - When you go to install Windows 7, it will recognize that there is another operating system (Windows XP) already installed. Windows 7 won't do anything to XP other than to set up the dual boot. Essentially it's computer language that says, "XP is there, Windows 7 is here, which one do you want to use?" - Logical partitions to a drive a largely a function of personal preference. Understand that it is more difficult (but not impossible) to non-destructively repartition a drive after you put data on it. If you, for example, have a partition for music, another for videos, and a third for pictures and find down the road that you have a lot more videos than music, it becomes more difficult to rearrange things. My suggestion is a single, large partition and use folders to organize your data.