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Author Topic: Dual Boot Win 7  (Read 37361 times)

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artbuc

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    Dual Boot Win 7
    « on: July 31, 2015, 02:57:03 AM »
    I completed upgrade from Win 7 to Win 10. So far everything seems to be working great. I have a  Macrium image of my C drive with Win 7 on an external HD. Can I create a new partition on my C drive and restore my Win 7 image there? That way I can dual boot to either OS. I have done some research and it appears to be a relatively easy thing to do, even for a computer dummy like myself. Can someone advise me or give me a link to the best/easiest way to do this? Thanks.

    Geek-9pm


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    Re: Dual Boot Win 7
    « Reply #1 on: August 10, 2015, 11:25:49 PM »
    I am a certified computer dummy and I can tell you it is never easy.
    Macrium wants to put thing back the way they were.

    I have multiple installs, but each install has its own livens or permission. In general, Microsoft does not promote multiple instals of the same license. I own three COAs of Windows 7. So I can have Windows 7 on one  machine plus one Windows 10 on another.

    However, at the moment, one can still use the Windows 10 Technical Preview, which has a license to  use for evaluation for a period of tome. So I also have the Win Ten TR on a machine.

    In short, you need a COA for each install with the exception of repair or evaluation.
     
    EDIT: Check this link from Microsoft. It explains how to do a dual boot.
    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/install-multiple-operating-system-multiboot#1TC=windows-7

    Quote
    If your computer's hard disk has adequate free disk space, you can install a newer version of Windows on a separate partition and keep the earlier version of Windows on your computer. This is called a multiboot or dual-boot configuration. Whenever you start your computer, you can then choose which version of Windows to run. For more information...

    Warning
        You must install the older operating system first, and then install the more recent operating system. If you don't (for example, if you install Windows Vista on a computer already running Windows 7), you can render your system inoperable. This can happen because earlier versions of Windows don't recognize the startup files used in more recent versions of Windows and can overwrite them.
      :)
    « Last Edit: August 10, 2015, 11:37:53 PM by Geek-9pm »

    artbuc

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      Apprentice

      Re: Dual Boot Win 7
      « Reply #2 on: August 11, 2015, 02:03:42 AM »
      Thanks Geek. Yes, that is what I concluded after some more reading. As I understand it, my W7 license became my W10 license when I did the free upgrade. I am very happy with 10 so I have lost interest in the dual boot. I am keeping a couple 7 Macrium images just in case, at least for a little while.

      Geek-9pm


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      Re: Dual Boot Win 7
      « Reply #3 on: August 11, 2015, 10:04:41 AM »
      I think there is an option in Windows 10 to revert back to Windows 7 if you are not happy. But some documentation is needed.
      The link below seems to be right.
      http://www.howtogeek.com/220723/how-to-uninstall-windows-10-and-downgrade-to-windows-7-or-8.1/
      Quote
      Don’t like Windows 10? As long as you’ve upgraded within the last month, you can uninstall Windows 10 and downgrade your PC back to its original Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 operating system. You can always upgrade to Windows 10 again later.
      Even if it’s been more than a month, you should be able to reinstall the version of Windows that came with your PC using fresh installation media and its product key.
      In my case, I keep the documents in a separate place in my backups so that I can restore the documents after a fresh install. Because a clean install with erase the partition.

      EDIT: The link above seems to be the best on how to downgrade Widows 10 the right way. It has screen shots that are very helpful.  :)

      soybean



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      Re: Dual Boot Win 7
      « Reply #4 on: August 11, 2015, 10:58:46 AM »
      No need to discuss downgrading now.  He said he is happy with Windows 10.

      Geek-9pm


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      Re: Dual Boot Win 7
      « Reply #5 on: August 11, 2015, 11:31:27 AM »
      No need to discuss downgrading now.  He said he is happy with Windows 10.
      Right,
      I posted the link to answer the original question for the benefit of others. The downgrade feature is  an important move made by Microsoft to help people decide. Just knowing that you can downgrade makes the decision to try easier for some.  ;)

      Computer_Commando



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      Re: Dual Boot Win 7
      « Reply #6 on: August 11, 2015, 02:58:19 PM »
      Thanks Geek. Yes, that is what I concluded after some more reading. As I understand it, my W7 license became my W10 license when I did the free upgrade. I am very happy with 10 so I have lost interest in the dual boot. I am keeping a couple 7 Macrium images just in case, at least for a little while.
      That's exactly what I have done.  Did get a dual boot to work but probably spent a week on it.  The issue is the EFI file which resides on the System partition; Macrium has a "fix boot" but it didn't work on the dual boot configuration, Win10-Pro & Win7-Home.  I could select Win10 & it would boot Win7 & after a mod, vice versa.

      Visual BCD did the final fix.