Dual Boot Installation - Windows 8 and Windows 7 or Vista

How to Do a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 8 and Windows 7 or Vista​

   Information

This will show you how to set up a dual boot installation with Windows 8 and Windows 7 or Vista when Windows 7 or Vista is installed first.

Windows 8 : frequently asked questions

   Note

Windows 8 System Requirements
Windows 8 works great on the same hardware that powers Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster

RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)

Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

Graphics card: MicrosoftDirectX 9 graphics device or higher

Additional requirements to use certain features:

• To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch.
• To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.
• To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768.

   Tip

If you dual boot Windows 8 with another OS (ex: Windows 7 or Vista) with Windows 8 set as the default OS to run at startup, then it gives you the Change default or choose other options link as in the example screenshot below to make it easier to boot into the Startup Options menu for more System Recovery Options.

EXAMPLE: "Choose an operating system" Screen at Boot
NOTE: This is the new "Windows Boot Manager" screen that Windows 8 uses now to allow you to select either Windows 8 or say Windows 7 to start when your boot or restart the computer. Clicking on the Change default or choose other options link at the bottom will allow you to change the default time to wait before starting the default OS, change the default OS to start automatically after wait time, or to choose a recovery option.








Here's How:


1. Other than the hard drive that you plan on installing Windows 8/8.1 on, it's recommended to disconnect all hard drives that do not have an OS installed on them.

2. Start Windows 7 or Vista, and log on to an administrator account. Go to either step 2 or 3 below for what you wanted to install Windows 8 on.

   Warning

If your motherboard as UEFI, then also see either tutorial below:

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with

or

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 8 with

3. If you Already Have an Empty Hard Drive or Partition to Install Windows 8 On

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A) Go to step 5 below.​

4. If you Want to Shrink a Partition to Install Windows 8 On

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A) Shrink a partition, such as the Windows 7 partition (ex: C: drive), in Disk Management by at least 20GB (20480MB) (1GB=1024MB) to have unallocated space to be able to install Windows 8 on, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshots below)​

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NOTE: This example has the 100 MB System Reservered partition that Windows 7 creates when installed on a unallocated HDD. If your Windows 7 installation does not have the 100 MB System Reservered partition, then that is fine since this will still work to dual boot with Windows 8. Just do not delete the 100 MB System Reservered partition if you do have one.​

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5. Do either step 6 or 7 below for how you want to start installing Windows 8.



6. To Install Windows 8 at Boot to Dual boot with Windows 7 or Vista

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A) Insert or connect your Windows 8 installation DVD or USB thumb drive, and restart the computer to boot from your Windows 8 installation media.​

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B) Go to step 8.​

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7. To Install Windows 8 from within Windows 7 or Vista to Dual Boot with

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A) Do step B or C below depending on if you are using a Windows 8 DVD/USB or a Windows 8 ISO.​

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B) Insert or connect your Windows 8 installation DVD or USB thumb drive. In the Computer window, right click on the Windows 8 installation USB/DVD drive, and click on Open. Go to step 7D.​

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OR​

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C) After installing a free program like 7-Zip, right click on the Windows 8 ISO file, select 7-Zip and click on Extract Files, extract the ISO file to a folder (ex: WindowsDeveloperPreview) on your Desktop in Windows 7 or Vista, and open the extracted folder when finished. Go to step 7D.​

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NOW​

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D) Open the sources folder first, and run the setup.exe file inside the sources folder. (see screenshots below)​

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   Warning

If you run the setup file in the root directory instead of the one in the sources folder, then you will be upgrading Windows 7 or Vista to Windows 8 instead of dual booting with Windows 8 and will lose Windows 7 or Vista.

   Warning

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E) Click on the Go online to get the latest updates for installation option. (see screenshot below)​

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F) Continue on to step 8.​

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8. You can now finish doing a clean install of Windows 8 to either the empty HDD or partition from step 3, or the unallocated space created in step 4. Be sure to not select your Windows 7 or Vista partition to install Windows 8 to. If you do, Windows 8 will replace it.
NOTE: The screenshot below is at step 7 in the clean install tutorial.

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9. If this a Windows 8 upgrade copy, then you will now need to refresh Windows 8 for it to be activated.

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   Warning

MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT

   Warning

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Windows 8 EULA​

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What about upgrading the software? ​

The software covered by this agreement is an upgrade to your existing operating system (XP SP3, Vista, or Windows 7) software, so the upgrade replaces the original software that you are upgrading. You do not retain any rights to the original software after you have upgraded and you may not continue to use it or transfer it in any way. This agreement governs your rights to use the upgrade software and replaces the agreement for the software from which you upgraded. After you complete your upgrade, additional software will be required to playback or record certain types of media, including DVDs.​

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10. When finished, you will be in Windows 8 with Windows 8 set as the default OS to start after the wait time. Restarting Windows 8 will allow you to be able to select what OS you would like to start like in the example at the top of the tutorial.

11. In a dual boot setup with Windows 8 and a previous version of Windows (ex: Windows 7 or Vista), then it is recommended to turn off Fast Startup to avoid possibly having issues with shut down, restart, and chkdsk.

12. When finished, you can reconnect any hard drives from step 1.



That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

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• How to Enable or Disable Secure Boot in UEFI
• How to Delete "Windows 8" in your Dual Boot with Windows 7 or Vista
• How to Delete "Windows 7" in your Dual Boot with Windows 8
• How to Delete an Operating System Listed in Windows Boot Manager
• How to Do a Clean Install of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1
• How to Do a Clean Install with Windows 8 Upgrade
• How to Install Windows 8 Using "Unified Extensible Firmware Interface" (UEFI)
• How to Create a Bootable USB or DVD with the Windows 8 ISO
• How to Upgrade from Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, or XP to Windows 8 or 8.1
• How to Downgrade Windows 8 to Windows 7
• How to Download and Run the "Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant"
• How to Create or Download a Windows 8 Upgrade ISO
• How to Install Windows 8 on VMware Player
• How to Install Windows 8 on VirtualBox
• How to Reset Windows 8
• How to Refresh Windows 8
• How to Create a Windows 8 VHD at Boot to Dual Boot with Windows 7 or Vista
• How to Boot from a VHD using Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Choose a Default Operating System to Run at Startup in Windows 8
• How to Change the Product Key Number in Windows 8
• How to Load SATA Driver During Windows 8 Setup

 

[Brink]

Hello Golden,

It modified the MBR on my PCI-E SSD when I installed Windows 8 to a separate HDD, so it should do the same for you. I would recommend to leave the SSD plugged in so that it will be included in the dual boot setup, and unplug any other HDD that you are not installing to to help prevent it from getting the MBR placed on it by mistake.

When you are finished installing Windows 8, you should see the Windows Boot Manager from Windows 8 afterwards at boot.

Please let us know how it went.

 

[Golden]

Hi Brink,

Thanks. Unfortunately it didn't work....in fact I was left with having to do a Repair Install and MBR fix on my Windows 7 installation

These are the steps I followed:

1. Unplugged all Samsung HDD's with the exception of the WD HDD to which I wanted to install W8 - I also left the OCZ SSD plugged in.
2. Booted from the Windows 8 ISO.
3. Select the WD HDD to install Windows 8 (if was formatted as a single primary partition)
4. Clicked Next
5. Was presented with a message that i could not install to this disk.
6. Deleted the partition, reformatted it as Primary, and tried again - same message
7. Exited installation and shutdown PC
8. Removed USB and tried to boot into Windows 7

I was left with :

Loading Operating System ...
_

Attempted a few unsucccesful Repair Installs on the Windows 7 installation, but I think the MBR was damaged? Booted into PW7 ISO and repaired the MBR, and have my W7 back again.

So.....did I miss something critical here? I'm absolutel positive I tried to install to the WD (its the only WD HDD I have).

Regards,
Golden

 

[Brink]

Golden,

The drive letters at boot will not always be the same as they were from within Windows, so I suppose that you could have used the wrong drive letter to install to.

 

[Golden]

Hi Brink,

I'm confused, there were only two options to install too : the SSD (C drive) and the HDD (H drive), and I selected the HDD. How do the drive letters come into play here?

Thanks,
Golden

 

[Brink]

Sorry, I had thought you did it at boot.

 

[Golden]

Hi Brink,

No worries. It seems for whatever reason the dual-boot setup is just not working for me....not entirely sure why. I'll do some research and see if I can work out where the problem lies....

Thanks,
Golden

 

[whs]

The way you tried it should have worked. Apparently there is something in your WD HDD that the installer did not like.

Unplug all other disks including the SSD and leave only the WD. Then lets see what happens. If the installer is still coughing, we'll have to see what's wrong with the WD.

 

[Golden]

Thanks Wolfgang - I'll try that.

 

[Golden]

Hi Wolfgang - it works perfectly if the SSD is not plugged into the motherboard.

Regards,
Golden

 

[Brink]

 

[Golden]

Yep...now I have Windows 7 on the SSD and Windows 8 on the HDD - each with their own MBR. Time to get the dual boot sorted now....

 

[Golden]

OK. I think I've nailed it. I'll do a little tutorial as an alternative method to yours Brink once I've tested it a bit more. Is that OK?

Regards,
Golden

 

[Brink]

I think your method may be an exception instead of something to always do though since that's actually a harder way of dual booting with them. You would normally not have to install EasyBCD or have that much trouble to dual boot with them.

For now, I'd say to make a post in the existing tutorial outlining this for those with the same issue that you had, and we can go from there if it turns out to be more common.

 

[whs]

Great!! Now all you have to do is switch the boot sequence in the BIOS.

 

[Golden]

Wolfgang - I've managed to make it dual boot by editing the bootloader of Windows 8 using EasyBCD. That way, I get the choice which OS to fire up.

Basically, the outcome is the same as that in Brink's tutorial, I just went about it differently.

 

[whs]

Wolfgang - I've managed to make it dual boot by editing the bootloader of Windows 8 using EasyBCD. That way, I get the choice which OS to fire up.

Basically, the outcome is the same as that in Brink's tutorial, I just went about it differently.

That is another good way - although I personally prefer to switch via the BIOS boot sequence and leave my bootmgrs as is.

 

[Golden]

Brink,

This is the approach I took to overcome my issue with installing Windows 8 as a dual boot via the normal method outlined in your tutorial - feel free to add as an alternate approach to your tutorial if you like.

Background:
Currently Windows 7 is installed to an SSD - lets call this DISK0. I wish to install Windows 8 to a separate HDD - lets call this DISK1. I wish to be able to select which OS to run at bootup.

Step 1:
Disconnect from the motherboard all existing hard drives, with the exception of DISK1 to which i wish to install Windows 8.

Step 2:
Boot from the Windows 8 ISO as normal, and install to DISK1.

You now have the situation where:

- Windows 7 is installed to DISK0 with its own MBR
- Windows 8 is installed to DISK1 with its own MBR

You can boot to either OS simply by changing the DISK order in the BIOS. If DISK0 is first, the Windows 7 MBR will be read and will boot. If DISK1 is first, the Windows 8 MBR will be read and boot. The goal is to edit the bootloader so that that you can choose which OS to boot from, without having to change the DISK order in the BIOS.

Step 3:
Shut down the PC, and reconnect all your hard drives again, including DISK0 (the Windows 7 installation).

Step 4:
Reboot the PC, and enter the BIOS. Ensure that the first disk to boot is DISK1 (the Windows 8 installation).

Step 5:
Once booted, download and install EasyBCD. Run EasyBCD, and click on Add New Entry. Select the following:

Type: Windows Vista/7
Name: Windows 7
Drive: <browse to DISK0>

If you select View Settings, the bootloader will show two entries - one for Windows 8, and the other for Windows 7.

Step 6:
Reboot the PC. You will get the option of which OS you wish to boot into.

Note : Originally I tried to edit the bootloader whilst I was booted into Windows 7, but that doesn't work. You must edit the bootloader when you are booted into Windows 8.

Regards,
Golden

 

[Brink]

Golden,

I'm with Wolfgang (whs). I also prefer to have both OS's on the same MBR as well to be able to easily switch between them by selecting one in the Windows Boot Manager at boot like it's suppose to be. Having the MBR on two separate drives like that is just to much work and not real pratical IMO. I couldn't recommend that as an option for everyone to use.

 

[Golden]

I agree Brink, but if you have no other choice....well, it works. I don't know why following your tutorial never worked for me, I just can't work it out.

Regards,
Golden

 

[Brink]

That was strange. I'm not sure why it didn't work for you. A gremlin in there somewhere.