If I have 8.1, how do I add 7 as dual boot?

glnz

Member
Member
Messages
37
If I have 8.1, how do I add 7 as dual boot - or reverse?

I may be in the wrong place - my wife says I'm ALWAYS in the wrong place - but at least I ask for directions.

1) Where is there another great thread that tells me how to add Win 7 Pro 64-bit as a dual boot if I am starting with Win 8 (or 8.1) Pro 64-bit already installed? (Maybe it's here, but on which of these 36 pages?)

2) Can I do that by adding a second hard drive instead of partitioning my existing Win 8 (or 8.1) hard drive?

3) In sevenforums, a great (and also very long) thread says I should NOT turn off UEFI or I'll brick the machine. So I'm already scared. Is that right? (See UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with - Windows 7 Help Forums )

4) If my Win 7 Pro 64-bit install disk is a Dell OEM Reinstall disk for my PC (a Dell Optiplex 7010 MT), will this work? I don't have a separate MS retail product key for the Win 7 install.

5) Is this just too hard and I should do something else with my life?

Thanks.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual boot - Win 7 Pro 64-bit and Win 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7010 MT
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHz
    Motherboard
    Dell 0GY6Y8 - what would the Intel number be? - Q77 chipset
    Memory
    16GB RAM DDR3 (Four x 4GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics (on the CPU)
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio - and Intel Display Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell E176FP - nothing fancy
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    Two 500GB WDC WD5000AAKX (SATA @ 6GB/sec)

    - External WD My Book 1110 USB device

    - Leftover Momentus XT not plugged in yet.
    PSU
    What means PSU? I'm at sea level
    Cooling
    Ice cubes
    Keyboard
    Noisy
    Mouse
    Basic from Dell
    Internet Speed
    Verizon DSL @ 7Mbps down and 780kbps up
    Browser
    Firefox only with lots of security drives my wife crazy
    Antivirus
    Win 7 Avast Free - Win 8 Windows Defender for now
    Other Info
    Also have an old but important XP SP3 machine still running - Optiplex 755 Desktop w 4GB RAM and 180 GB HD. Used the registry hack to get more updates through "XP Embedded" or "POS" so now the machine rings like a cash register and the CD drawer opens to give change.
I would not make the machine a dual boot machine by going backwards. Normally, the rule of thumb is for a dual boot machine, you have the oldest OS installed first, then the new one, and the new one after that. IE, windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, and then Windows 8.

However, a very good solution for you is to create a "Virtual Machine" for your Windows 7. Then you can run your current Windows 8 and Windows 7 side by side so to speak. To do this, you must download and install VM Player and or Virtual Box (Both free). Once you have either one of these installed, start the Virtual software, and then create a new one and put in your Windows 7 DVD and away you go.

I'm pretty sure there are more tutorials on this site explaining this in more detail...it is fairly simple. Once you have Windows 7 installed in a virtual machine, you could then download the Windows 10 Preview and run it in a VM as well. Loads of fun. Enjoy!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASRock 990FX Killer
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    ASRock 990 FX Killer
    Memory
    32gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GTX 750i
    Sound Card
    Realtek (Stock on MB)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 27 HD Monitor & a 37" LCD HD TV Screen (For movies)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 250 GB SS hard drive for OS
    1 1TB hard drive for data / mirrored to a second 1 TB hd.
    PSU
    650W
    Case
    No name tower
    Cooling
    Enermax Liqtech 240
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    Dnload 10.48 Upload .48
    Browser
    IE 11 and Chrome when IE doesn't work
    Antivirus
    F-PROT
play2 - Thanks for post and suggestion. Let's take your advice.

Suppose I install Win 7 Pro SP1 64-bit in the machine as the ONLY operating system - erasing Win 8 (8.1) entirely. However, my machine also came with a Dell OEM Win 8 Pro 64-bit install (or reinstall) disk. So --

1) Can I use the Dell OEM Win 8 Pro 64-bit install (or reinstall) disk to create the new dual-boot with Win 8/8.1?
I don't think I'll have a separate product key. I think my Win 7 install will "use" the only product key.

2) Must I put the new Win 8/8.1 on a new partition on my only hard drive? Could I instead put a second hard drive in the machine and install Win 8/8.1 there?

3) Going back to the initial install of Win 7 only, in sevenforums, a great (and also very long) thread says I should NOT turn off UEFI when I install Win 7 or I'll brick the machine. Is that right? (See UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with - Windows 7 Help Forums )

Thanks. These questions are closer to the original topic here anyway.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual boot - Win 7 Pro 64-bit and Win 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7010 MT
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHz
    Motherboard
    Dell 0GY6Y8 - what would the Intel number be? - Q77 chipset
    Memory
    16GB RAM DDR3 (Four x 4GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics (on the CPU)
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio - and Intel Display Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell E176FP - nothing fancy
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    Two 500GB WDC WD5000AAKX (SATA @ 6GB/sec)

    - External WD My Book 1110 USB device

    - Leftover Momentus XT not plugged in yet.
    PSU
    What means PSU? I'm at sea level
    Cooling
    Ice cubes
    Keyboard
    Noisy
    Mouse
    Basic from Dell
    Internet Speed
    Verizon DSL @ 7Mbps down and 780kbps up
    Browser
    Firefox only with lots of security drives my wife crazy
    Antivirus
    Win 7 Avast Free - Win 8 Windows Defender for now
    Other Info
    Also have an old but important XP SP3 machine still running - Optiplex 755 Desktop w 4GB RAM and 180 GB HD. Used the registry hack to get more updates through "XP Embedded" or "POS" so now the machine rings like a cash register and the CD drawer opens to give change.
You mentioned using another HDD to install Win7 on it. That's what I did and with several drives containing different OSs. To make sure nothing is mixed up, I disconnected all other drives while doing it. After connecting back other drives I'm left with options to choose boot device thru BIOS (safest way) or use EasyBCD on each windows to make a boot menu and choose from that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Back
Top