This tutorial is about How to Dual Boot Windows 8 and Windows 7. Recently I updated this tutorial and will try my best so that you understand this guide. I hope you guys like this blog, How to Dual Boot Windows 8 and Windows 7. If your answer is yes after reading the article, please share this article with your friends and family to support us.
Check How to Dual Boot Windows 8 and Windows 7
You are a little curious about this new Windows 8.1. But you’ve also been a bit freaked out at the same time since you heard it was a great tweak from old Windows 7. Fear not, there’s a way to test the water while still using your tried-and-true software: set up a dual-boot system. If you install Windows 8.1 in this way, you will get a clear and clean screen at system startup as to which version of the operating system to use.
So how do you do it? It’s really not much more difficult than a typical Windows installation, with a few preparatory steps before starting the actual setup. Follow the procedure below and you can switch between the operating systems you want. However, a preliminary observation.
Dual boot Windows 7 with Windows 8 pre-installed
If your computer came pre-installed with Windows 8 and you want to run Windows 7 and the same computer, what can you do? In fact, can you dual boot Windows 7 and Windows 8? But how can you dual boot Windows 7 with Windows 8 pre-installed? The next part will show you the answer.
If your computer is configured with more than one hard drive, we strongly recommend that you install different Windows operating systems on different hard drives as they do not affect each other and can simplify system administration.
However, if there is only one hard drive, install a different operating system on a different partition. Otherwise, the later installed system will overwrite the previous one, making the pre-installed system unable to boot. And here we will show you how to dual boot Windows 7 with Windows 8 pre-installed.
Steps to make a partition for Windows 7
To install Windows 7 on the same disk, you must first create a partition for Windows. So to create a new partition, you may need to shrink a partition to get the unallocated space and then create a new partition.
To shrink the partition and create a new one, you can use the professional partition magic: MiniTool Partition Wizard. It can help you manage your partition and disk without data loss with its powerful features. For example, it allows you to convert MBR to GPT without data loss.
So to create a new partition, you can download or purchase MiniTool Partition Wizard from below buttons. And now, we will show you how to create a new partition for Windows 7 when Windows 8 is pre-installed.
- Install the software and run it to enter its main interface. Then choose the partition you want to shrink and choose Move / Resize from the context menu to continue.
- In the pop-up window, drag the slide to choose how much size you want to reduce and click OK to continue.
- Then you can view the unallocated space and right-click on it to choose Create to continue.
- You can then set some properties of the partition, such as the file system, the partition label, the drive letter, and so on. And click OK to continue.
- Lastly, you can preview the changes and click Apply to commit the changes.
- Once you have created a partition for Windows 7, it is time to proceed to the next steps.
- For a successful dual boot of Windows 7 and Windows 8, you must disable the Quick Start feature of Windows 8.
How to install Windows 7 on Windows 8
As we know, most computers with Windows 8 pre-installed support UEFI BIOS and Legacy BIOS, but Windows boots through UEFI mode by default. To see if UEFI BIOS is supported or Legacy BIOS is enabled, enter BIOS. The detailed steps are: start the computer and then press a key like F2, Esc and Delete before Windows loads. If you don’t know which key to press, try looking up how to enter BIOS plus BIOS type or trademark of your computer on the internet. I press F2 to enter BIOS setup:
In the boot menu, we can clearly see that my computer is set to UEFI boot, but the Legacy Boot Option ROM is disabled. In this situation, we can only install 64-bit Windows 7 on a GPT disk. Why? According to Microsoft, we know that booting from GPT disk must be in UEFI mode, but UEFI firmware does not support 32-bit system. Therefore, 32-bit Windows 7 cannot be installed on a GPT disk. Of course, when Legacy BIOS is supported, 32-bit Windows 7 can be installed on an MBR disk. Some motherboards can support UEFI BIOS and Legacy BIOS:
- Disable optimized operating system defaults if such an option exists. Enabling it will restore all settings to the state in which Windows 8 was installed. In this state, only Windows 8 can be installed.
- Disable Secure Boot. It is a function specially designed for defending against viruses or malware. Motherboards configured with Secure Boot are created with some public keys. Only programs or systems that have been signed by these public keys can be loaded. Most of the time, Windows 7 has not been signed. As a result, it cannot be loaded if Secure Boot is enabled.
- If you are installing Windows 7 (both 32-bit and 64-bit) on an MBR disk, please enable Legacy BIOS in boot mode, which has already been entered.
- Set the boot priority order. If you want to install Windows from a CD or DVD, make it CD-ROM as the first boot device. If you are installing from a USB flash drive, make the removable device the first boot device. Under different kinds of motherboards, we should perform different operations. And you can get specific steps from the internet. Here we simply create Phoenix SecureCore Tiano, for example: disable Secure Boot, enable Load Legacy Option Rom, and make CD / DVD drive or Removable Drive the first boot device.
- Once all the changes are made, we can press F10 to save the changes and exit the BIOS. At this point, if the installation disc has been attached, Windows 7 will begin to install. If not, insert the disk and restart the computer.
- Press any key to boot from the installation disc and then choose a language and click Next to continue.
- Then click the Install Now button. Then accept the license terms, select custom installation, and then choose a partition or drive to install Windows 7.
- When the installation process is finished, you can successfully install Windows 7 on Windows 8, which is pre-installed.
- However, if you are installing Windows 7 on another hard disk that is an MBR disk, you may receive the following error message.
This is because Windows can only be installed on a GPT disk in UEFI mode, but you plan to install Windows 7 on an MBR disk. Right now the best solution is to convert the target disk to GPT. Therefore, we will show you how to convert MBR to GPT without data loss. MiniTool Partition Wizard can help you convert MBR to GPT without data loss.
- Launch the software to enter its main interface. Select MBR disk and choose Convert MBR disk to GPT disk to continue.
- You can preview the change and click Apply to continue.
Once you have successfully converted the MBR disk to a GPT disk without data loss, you can continue installing Windows 7 64-bit with Windows 8 pre-installed.
Once the partition that will install Windows 7 has been decided, Windows will begin to install itself automatically. It may restart multiple times, so please wait patiently. However, after installing Windows 7, we may find that the original Windows 8 cannot boot normally, especially when they are installed on the same hard drive, and the main reason may be that the Windows 7 boot files overwrite the Windows 8 ones. .
Dual boot Windows 8 with Windows 7 pre-installed
Install Windows 8 and Windows 7 on the same disk
If you want Windows 8 and Windows 7 on the same disk, you need to check Windows 8 version, partition style (MBR or GPT), and boot mode.
As for dual-booting Windows 8 with Windows 7 pre-installed, you need to create a new partition first. So you can refer to the above part to create a new partition. However, there is one thing you should know. If Windows 7 computer uses UEFI mode only, you can only install 64-bit Windows.
Install Windows 8 and Windows 7 on different disks
If you want to install Windows 8 on a different hard drive, things will be easier overall. However, if you want to install Windows 7 and Windows 8 on different disks, and your computer only uses Legacy BIOS boot mode, and the disk you want to install Windows 8 on is GPT, it will not install Windows 8 on GPT correctly. disk.
Therefore, to solve this situation, you can choose to convert GPT disk to MBR disk without data loss. Therefore, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard. Once you have converted the GPT disk to an MBR disk, you can start installing Windows 8, as the Windows 7 computer is pre-installed. After installing Windows 8, you must change the BIOS settings if you want to start your computer from Windows 8.
Final remarks: How to Dual Boot Windows 8 and Windows 7
I hope you understand this article, How to Dual Boot Windows 8 and Windows 7. If your answer is no, you can ask anything via the contact forum section related to this article. And if your answer is yes, please share this article with your friends and family to give us your support.
