Best/Easiest way to Dual Boot

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rbarr110

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 8, 2003
Messages
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I am going to bite the bullet and get a copy of Win 8, but do not want to install over my current Win 7 hard drive. I plan on throwing another hardrive with Win 8 into my machine, but wasn't sure the best way to dual boot it.


I want it to be easy and straight forward, so my kids and wife can do it (i know I can change boot devices in the BIOS, but that is above the heads of the rest of the family).

Thanks
 
When you load two OSes onto one machine, the machine needs to know which one to boot into. It's also nice if it gives you an option to choose between them at Startup. Accordingly, when you put more than one OS onto a machine, Windows will need to know which OS should be the default, and it will also display a screen at Startup that will let you choose the alternative if you wish. This is great, unless you don't want people to have a choice upon Startup. However, this screen is easy to configure from within Windows.

Open your "System" Control Panel. On the left side of the pop up window, choose "Advanced system settings." A "Systems Properties" dialog box should pop up, with the "Advanced" tab selected. Look for the "Startup and Recovery" option and click on "Settings." A "Startup and Recovery" dialog box will pop up. In the "System startup" portion you can choose the default OS to boot into. You can also choose how long you wish the "choose an OS" screen to display at Startup. Have fun!
 
Modern operating systems are "dual boot" aware and will adjust your boot entries appropriately.
The general consensus is to install the "older" operating system first... and in succession, with the newest operating system installed last.
 
jlbenedict said:
Modern operating systems are "dual boot" aware and will adjust your boot entries appropriately.
The general consensus is to install the "older" operating system first... and in succession, with the newest operating system installed last.
Click to expand...

Ok - maybe a dumb question, but I am wanting each OS on a different hard drive. Should I install Win 8 with my current Win 7 hard drive unplugged doing a clean install, or should I install from within Win7 to the empty hard drive?

Thanks
 
No.. do not unplug the Windows 7 drive.
Boot up your Windows 8 media and go through the install. Windows 8 will let you know that you have a previous version of Windows installed..

But, in this case, you want to keep your Windows 7... so you'll tell Windows 8 to install to a different partition/disk
 
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