Clean install of Windows 8 on a multi-boot computer

eldiener

New Member
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I have 3 hard disks of 2 TB each with plenty of space for partitions. I run a multi-boot manager with a number of Windows OSs including Windows Vista and Windows 7, along with a number of Linux distros.

I would like to install Windows 8 in its own partition, not upgrade Windows 7. I am willing to pay the extra money to by Windows 8 Pro. I have a number of questions about installing Windows 8:

1) Can Windows 8 be installed on any of my 3 hard drives, as opposed to just the first hard drive ?
2) Can Windows 8 be installed on a non-primary MBR partition ?
3) Can Windows 8 be installed on a GPT partition ?
4) Will a Windows 8 clean install wipe out the rest of the hard disk on which I install it ( I have heard rumors of this ) ?

I am trying to make the installation of Windows 8 as painless as possible without affecting the other OSs I already have installed and without Windows 8 interacting with any of the other OSs in any way. I can unplug two of my hard drives as necessary, clear out my third hard drive, install Windows 8 on that th
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
eldiener said:
I have 3 hard disks of 2 TB each with plenty of space for partitions. I run a multi-boot manager with a number of Windows OSs including Windows Vista and Windows 7, along with a number of Linux distros.

As for Windows , Linux will most likey need to be install last.

I would like to install Windows 8 in its own partition, not upgrade Windows 7. I am willing to pay the extra money to by Windows 8 Pro. I have a number of questions about installing Windows 8:

1) Can Windows 8 be installed on any of my 3 hard drives, as opposed to just the first hard drive ?

YES.

2) Can Windows 8 be installed on a non-primary MBR partition ?

primary MBR partition

3) Can Windows 8 be installed on a GPT partition ?

With a uEFI BIOS, & a clean unformat HD Drive YES.

4) Will a Windows 8 clean install wipe out the rest of the hard disk on which I install it ( I have heard rumors of this ) ?

Always best to install with only one HD Drive pluged in.

I am trying to make the installation of Windows 8 as painless as possible without affecting the other OSs I already have installed and without Windows 8 interacting with any of the other OSs in any way. I can unplug two of my hard drives as necessary, clear out my third hard drive, install Windows 8 on that th

Have fun.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
1) Can Windows 8 be installed on any of my 3 hard drives, as opposed to just the first hard drive ?
2) Can Windows 8 be installed on a non-primary MBR partition ?
3) Can Windows 8 be installed on a GPT partition ?
4) Will a Windows 8 clean install wipe out the rest of the hard disk on which I install it ( I have heard rumors of this ) ?

1) yes and no and maybe. It depends on what you are using to multiboot. Are you using a third party tool or LILO or grub or what? It's possible, but your strategy depends on many factors.

2) I believe so, but you probably have to use the 8 boot manager.

3) yes, but only if you have a UEFI bios.

4) no. It installs in whatever partition you choose.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
With a uEFI BIOS, & a clean unformat HD Drive YES.

You can do an MBR install and then convert it to UEFI.

Always best to install with only one HD Drive pluged in.

How does that answer his question? He was asking about it wiping out his entire drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
1) Can Windows 8 be installed on any of my 3 hard drives, as opposed to just the first hard drive ?
2) Can Windows 8 be installed on a non-primary MBR partition ?
3) Can Windows 8 be installed on a GPT partition ?
4) Will a Windows 8 clean install wipe out the rest of the hard disk on which I install it ( I have heard rumors of this ) ?

1) yes and no and maybe. It depends on what you are using to multiboot. Are you using a third party tool or LILO or grub or what? It's possible, but your strategy depends on many factors.

2) I believe so, but you probably have to use the 8 boot manager.

3) yes, but only if you have a UEFI bios.

4) no. It installs in whatever partition you choose.

1) I am using a 3rd party multi-boot manager and not LILO or grub. I am not worrying about the multi-boot manager as even if Windows 8 takes over the MBR on whatever drive I install it I can still reboot from the 3rd party multi-boot managet start-up CD and have that manager re-install itself to the MBR.

2) So you are saying that Windows 8 can be installed in a logical partition ? That would be nice if it is so.

3) OK, understood.

4) Glad to know that it does not destroy other partitions on the hard drive on which I install it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
With a uEFI BIOS, & a clean unformat HD Drive YES.

You can do an MBR install and then convert it to UEFI.

Always best to install with only one HD Drive pluged in.

How does that answer his question? He was asking about it wiping out his entire drive.

Yes, I am concerned that a Windows 8 install will wipe out the rest of the data on the hard disk on which I install it. Of course I have all my partitions backed up but still it is a pain to copy them back if the Windows 8 install wipes them out. It would be so much better if it just left alone all other partitions and installed itself into whatever partition I tell it, since I can pre-create a partition for it. I assume if I create a big enough NTFS partition for it and during the install of Windows 8 tell it to install itself there that it will use that partition. Afterwards I can tell my multi-boot manager to boot into that partition for Windows 8 ( it already boots Windows 7 this way ).

The other main question is if Windows 8 must be on my first hard drive or not in the BIOS order of hard drives, when my multi-boot manager boots into the partition ? Another answerer said that this was not necessary and I hope that is so, but I had heard that Windows 8 may not boot-up in its own boot-up code if it finds itself on the second or subsequent hard drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Which boot manager are you using? - Some boot manager will let you hide partitions

I think the install will only alter the contents of the partition selected for the install, and you can choose where to put it. I have not had more than one disk connected during an install.

Other partitions will not be altered.

Even on the install partition directories that are not part of Windows will likely be unaltered. One directory on my c:\ drive remained when I used the upgrade software and selected 'delete all'.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Which boot manager are you using? - Some boot manager will let you hide partitions

I think the install will only alter the contents of the partition selected for the install, and you can choose where to put it. I have not had more than one disk connected during an install.

Other partitions will not be altered.

Even on the install partition directories that are not part of Windows will likely be unaltered. One directory on my c:\ drive remained when I used the upgrade software and selected 'delete all'.

That sounds good. I really would like it that the install does not wipe out non-Windows partitions on the drive in which I install Windows 8

I think I must still disconnect two of my hard drives so that the install does not try to do anything with them. If I absolutely knew that I could install Windows 8 on a hard drive that is not my first hard drive and that the Windows 8 installation would not touch any of my other hard drives I would not need to do this.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
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