Solved Installing Windows 8 as dual boot...

skallal

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I've been playing with Windows 8 RP using VirtualBox. But now I'd like to install it on my Windows 7 machine in a dual boot scenario. My box has one hard drive with two partitions. The first partition is C: and the other is D:. I assume I can install Windows 8 on the second partition and leave Windows 7 intact. But I guess Windows 8 will be have D: as the system drive. My second partition mapped to E: initially because the DVD drive was D:. That means Windows 8 might see the second partition as E:.

Has anyone else done a dual boot w/ Windows 7 & 8 on separate partitions like this?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Duo 11
    CPU
    i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    11.6" touch screen w/ digitizer & Asus 27" external monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD
    Cooling
    Internal fan
    Keyboard
    Slider keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech T650 Touchpad & Microsoft Touch Mouse

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Or do what I did and use step 6 - by installing using Advanced options from my Vista partition all the drive letters are preserved.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7 Ult SP1 + Win 10 Pro - (x64)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Alienware® ALX X58
    CPU
    Intel® Core i7-975 Extreme 3.86 GHz 8MB Cache
    Motherboard
    ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 Socket 1366 Core i7, Dual Triple Channel DDR3 Mem
    Memory
    24GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz - 6 x 4096MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    1792 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295/Hauppauge HVR2250 TV Tuner
    Sound Card
    Onboard Soundmax® High definition Sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung XL2370 LED
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080P
    Hard Drives
    2 X 500gb SATA
    1 X 1TB SATA
    1 X 3TB external eSATA
    (Non-RAID)
    PSU
    Alienware® 1200 Watt Multi-GPU
    Case
    Alienware® P2 ALX Chassis with AlienIce 3.0 Video Cooling
    Cooling
    Alienware® High-Perf. Liquid Cooling + Acoustic Dampening
    Keyboard
    Microsoft® Wireless Entertainment 8000 + Logitech® G15 Wired
    Mouse
    Microsoft® Wireless Laser 8000 + Logitech® G9 Wired
    Internet Speed
    1tbs
    Other Info
    Using non-RAID on purpose as I find it too fussy and temperamental.
While I was waiting for an answer to my post, I did some Google searches and I tried a VHD dual-boot installation. I always thought VHD drives were restricted to VMs. So I found some articles on VHD drives for Windows 8.

Then I realized I could convert my VirtualBox VDI drive to a VHD drive. So I was able to convert my VirtualBox environment over to a dual-boot VHD installation. I am sure a VHD, is not as efficient as a real hard disk partition. That it is certainly a lot faster than a VirtualBox VM.

I use the iPad a lot and wondered how a Windows 8 tablet would compare. There is an iPad app called Splashtop Win8 Testbed. It allows me to use Metro UI gestures on the iPad. It is a remote desktop type of solution, where the iPad is the client, and the Windows 8 box is the server. The iPad is simply a remote UI and does not actually run Windows 8. It requires a Wi-Fi connection over a LAN. It works surprisingly well, but it certainly is not a substitute for a real Windows 8 tablet. This set up runs a lot better since moving from VirtualBox to a dual-boot installation.

That said, I think the VHD drive is a nice compromise between a VM and a native partition. I only wish I had known I could boot from a VHD drive earlier.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Duo 11
    CPU
    i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    11.6" touch screen w/ digitizer & Asus 27" external monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD
    Cooling
    Internal fan
    Keyboard
    Slider keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech T650 Touchpad & Microsoft Touch Mouse

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Now I am thinking of yet another step. The VHD is working fine, but it has a 20 GB limit. I am thinking of creating a physical partition on the hard drive and copying the contents of the VHD to it. I remember using partition cloning software a few years back. I am hoping there is an easier way.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Duo 11
    CPU
    i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    11.6" touch screen w/ digitizer & Asus 27" external monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD
    Cooling
    Internal fan
    Keyboard
    Slider keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech T650 Touchpad & Microsoft Touch Mouse
I'm a little late, Skallel, but I used Windows 7 to go online and find detailed (but easy) instructions on how to create another partition, and I installed Windows 8 with no trouble. When I'm in Win 8, it insists that it is on Drive C (actually, it is) while Win 7 assigns it to a different drive. But that hasn't caused me any problems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Now I am thinking of yet another step. The VHD is working fine, but it has a 20 GB limit. I am thinking of creating a physical partition on the hard drive and copying the contents of the VHD to it. I remember using partition cloning software a few years back. I am hoping there is an easier way.

Skallal,

I think it would be easier to do a clean install of Windows 8 to dual boot with Windows 7, then just copying what you want from with the VHD to the new Windows afterwards. You'll still need to reinstall all programs and drivers, and setup your account and settings again, but there will be less chance of issues.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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