Creating Dual Boot-Win 7 and XP

Hello,

Please excuse me if this is in the wrong category. It's a bit hard for me to figure out where it should go.

I am in desperate need of a new PC as the old lady (the machine, not me) is truly giving up the ghost. Spent some $$ on upgrading but found the results less than satisfactory.

I would like to create a dual boot on a new Windows 7 system. Been looking at refurbs with XP but haven't found anything really satisfactory. Seven years of programs, games etc. created on my XP system is too much to give up. Much of the 200 gig worth of stuff probably won't work with the virtual XP OS on Win 7.

My local retailer is having a sale on PCs and there is a Dell Inspiron 620 with 2 HDs of 500 mg each. I was thinking this might be an optimum setup for a dual boot system. I've read through instructions on creating a dual boot using a single drive but feel it might go better with the 2.

I do realize that XP will not be able to take advantage of the full RAM (8G) but I can live with that.

I did read over some of the threads here about creating a dual boot PC. Any input on my (probably crazy) idea would be greatly appreciated!

Have a great day....