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Dual boot computers #1132928
11/23/17 03:32 PM
11/23/17 03:32 PM
Joined: Jan 2004
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Texas
Melia Offline OP
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How do I use my computer so that I can keep my Win 7 drive,install a new Win 10 solid state drive which will have 64-bits? How do you boot up such a thing? Is there a way to pick which drive you want while the computer is on and just switch from one to the other? Or what?

PS. Happy Thanksgiving.


The four food groups: Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate and HOT chocolate.
Re: Dual boot computers [Re: Melia] #1132930
11/23/17 03:56 PM
11/23/17 03:56 PM
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Draclvr Offline
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I have a dual boot setup in my computer case with Windows 7 on an SSD and Windows 10 on an HDD. What I did is install Windows 10 on the HDD from a disk - you have to set your BIOS to boot from a disk. Once it was installed, whenever I boot up, I am presented with a window that allows me to choose which OS I want to boot into. No, you can't "switch" from one OS to another. You have to actually boot into the OS you want to use.


Gardens put to bed for the winter. Time for some gaming!
Re: Dual boot computers [Re: Melia] #1132942
11/23/17 05:33 PM
11/23/17 05:33 PM
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southeast USA
Jenny100 Offline
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There's at least two ways to set up a dual boot. One is the way Draclvr did it -- where you install with both the new drive and the Windows 7 drive attached. Windows 10 will see an earlier Windows version and provide you with a boot menu. Be careful that Windows 10 installs on the correct drive and doesn't overwrite Windows 7.

Another way is to disconnect the Windows 7 drive while you're installing Windows 10 on the other drive. The advantage of this method is that there's no danger of installing Windows 10 on the wrong drive and overwriting your Windows 7 by accident. If you do it this 2nd way, you may have to choose which version of Windows to boot from by going into the BIOS (or UEFI) settings and adjusting the boot order (which hard drive to boot from) whenever you want to boot to the other Windows.

When you install Windows from a DVD, you have to set the boot order in the BIOS (or UEFI) settings to boot from the DVD. You know how Windows reboots during the installation? Once it's installed enough of itself onto the hard drive and wants to reboot, having computer set to boot from the DVD may give you a menu to boot from either the DVD or the hard drive. You'll want your boot order set so the 2nd boot device is the drive Windows 10 is installing on, not the drive Windows 7 is on. Once the installation is complete, you can remove the DVD drive from being first in the boot order.

Originally Posted By: Melia
Is there a way to pick which drive you want while the computer is on and just switch from one to the other?

You'd have to reboot to get to the other one. Whether you have a boot menu or whether you go into the BIOS (UEFI) to change the boot order to use the other hard drive depends on how you installed.

Re: Dual boot computers [Re: Jenny100] #1132999
11/24/17 06:05 AM
11/24/17 06:05 AM
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United Kingdom
Mad Offline
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I once had a dual boot machine and a major consideration was that it was imperative all components were compatible with both operating systems yes


Time : The Most Precious Commodity
Re: Dual boot computers [Re: Melia] #1133021
11/24/17 11:46 AM
11/24/17 11:46 AM
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Draclvr Offline
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Mad is correct - you need to make sure the hardware components and drivers all work on both operating systems.

I recently installed a new hard drive in our American Legion computer and I did it the way Jenny mentioned as both the old drive and the new drive were the same size and I didn't trust myself to install Windows 10 on the right one! I didn't care about booting into the old drive, but I did want to be able to access any old files. So I am not presented with a boot menu. If for some reason I wanted to boot into the old drive, I would have to go into the BIOS and set the boot order.

When you leave the old drive connected, Windows 10 recognizes it and asks which drive you want to install on. It's usually pretty obvious as on my system where the old SSD was only 90 GB and the new drive was 1 TB!


Gardens put to bed for the winter. Time for some gaming!
Re: Dual boot computers [Re: Melia] #1133024
11/24/17 12:00 PM
11/24/17 12:00 PM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,675
Texas
Melia Offline OP
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Thank you all for the help!


The four food groups: Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate and HOT chocolate.
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