8.1 - XP dual boot ?

Finally got a new computer, a high end Dell, after my trusty old Dell from 2003 running XP finally died.
8.1 seems Ok, some things are unfamiliar sure but not as bad as I thought it would be from reading learning curve horror stories. I do miss the start button though.

Anyhow some things from my XP system that I salvaged are not going to work, what I'd like is to restore my XP image backup on my HD and have the option to boot to xp on occasion, is it possible and how do I go about doing it ?

It may not work correctly because of the new hardware. An issue will be whether there are WinXP-compatible drivers available. Another issue is whether older programs will work on 64-bit computers, many don't. True, there was a 64-bit version of WinXP Professional but it really didn't take off, not many drivers or programs were available. I had a copy but never got 64-bit hardware until after Vista came out. This may be of interest:
How to Run Windows XP for Free in Windows 8

True, would not expect everything to function correctly, in time I'll have no need for my old xp installation.
Right now I do, I was thinking it would be more of a way to conveniently access files that are now difficult to impossible to get to.
I backed up my most important stuff like pics, passwords ect to a thumb drive, but there is alot of stuff that I could use that is locked up in the XP image file.

I tried accessing my old drive with one of those things that lets you plug it in as USB, managed to swipe a few files but it refuses to go to my old desktop, most of what I need resides there.

but it refuses to go to my old desktop

Click to expand...

What, if any, messages do you get?

is says you don't have permission to access this drive, click continue to get permanent access, then it locks up.
Old program files opens right up