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

 

[JackW]

I have few questions about dual boot.

I have installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit on one hard drive and I would like to install Windows 8.1 64-bit on the other hard drive.

Would it work if I unplug installed Windows 7 hard drive then reattach empty hard drive where I will install Windows 8.

After installing Windows 8 I reattach Windows 7 hard drive to my pc.

Would they still work together?

Also is it possible to remove one hard drive and attach removed hard drive to another computer without having to reinstall Windows? And the other hard drive which I didn't remove from the original pc, will it also work on it's own? For example, remove Windows 8 and put it to another computer and keep Windows 7 on the original pc. Would they still work as standalone?

What are the downsides of dual boot (Windows 7 and Windows 8.1) ? How much will it affect my computer? Can I still see both hard drives when logged in?

 

[Brink]

Hello Jack, and welcome to Eight Forums.

If you would like to be able to select which OS to run at startup, you would need to leave the Windows 7 disk connected and the disk that you are going to install Windows 8 on. Any other data disk can be disconnected if you like until after the installation has finished.

Usually it's not possible or very problematic to boot a Windows drive on another computer that the Windows wasn't originally installed on. If you like, you could format (uninstall) a retail Windows on one PC, and clean install on another PC.

About the only downside to dual booting is having to restart the PC to switch between the two Windows instead of being able to run them at the same time on two separate PCs. Unless you have Windows set to automatically boot to a Windows 7 or Windows 8 at startup, then you'll also have a slight delay at startup while it waits on you to select an OS to run.

Hope this helps some,
Shawn

 

[JackW]

I adding Windows 8 to try it out and see if I like it or not. So I'm going use Windows 7 most of the time.

But what if Windows 8 doesn't work properly or installation wasn't successful. (Still talking about Dual Boot - Each Windows on its own hard drive)

Could I just remove or clean Windows 8 hard drive and Windows 7 will work alone just fine.

How much this dual boot connects two operation systems. Now I'm not talking about moving hard drive to another computer, I just would like to know if one Windows fails can the other work just fine alone?

I'm asking it because I'm trying to prepare for worst scenario.

One more question. When logged in to Windows 7, can it see and share files from it's own hard drive to Windows 8 hard drive and vice versa ?

 

[Brink]

Answers inline.

I adding Windows 8 to try it out and see if I like it or not. So I'm going use Windows 7 most of the time.

But what if Windows 8 doesn't work properly or installation wasn't successful. (Still talking about Dual Boot - Each Windows on its own hard drive)

Could I just remove or clean Windows 8 hard drive and Windows 7 will work alone just fine.

Sure, you could just remove the Windows 8 boot entry using the tutorial below, and format the Windows 8 drive. Afterwards, you'll just have Windows 7 again.

Windows Boot Manager - Delete a Listed Operating System - Windows 7 Help Forums

How much this dual boot connects two operation systems. Now I'm not talking about moving hard drive to another computer, I just would like to know if one Windows fails can the other work just fine alone?

I'm asking it because I'm trying to prepare for worst scenario.

Both the Windows 7 and 8 installation are completely separate, but you can still view the files on each OS's hard drive.

If one should fail, you would still be able to select to boot to the other.

One more question. When logged in to Windows 7, can it see and share files from it's own hard drive to Windows 8 hard drive and vice versa ?

Yep, just like from any other hard drive.

 

[JackW]

I appreciate your help in such a short notice. Thanks Shawn.

Now I think I'm ready to try this dual boot.

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome.

 

[glnz]

Brinks wrote above: "About the only downside to dual booting is having to restart the PC to switch between the two Windows instead of being able to run them at the same time on two separate PCs. Unless you have Windows set to automatically boot to a Windows 7 or Windows 8 at startup, then you'll also have a slight delay at startup while it waits on you to select an OS to run."

True, of course. But I'm using a little thingy called iReboot on my dual-boot machine, and it works nicely to cut down the decision time on the reboot.

Made by the same folks as EasyBCD (if I'm spelling that right).