Windows 7 Dual Boot questions

[regchamp]

I have dual booted xp and vista before without a problem, my question is can I dual boot Win7 and Vista 64?

If I do this, which one do I need to install first?

If I want one of them to boot as default, how do I do this? and if I want to change which ones boots as default, how do I change it?

Can you see a dual boot causing problems? (I have 5 HDDs that will be accessed by both)

If I wanted to remove Win7 but keep the Vista (I would do this when and if my Win7 expires) can I delete just the win7 and keep the vista? Or the other way around?

Thanks for the help!!

 

[Mitchell_A]

Yes, you should be able to dual boot without problems, it most likely doesn't matter which one you install first, and to change the default OS just go to start (in windows 7)>>type system>>change settings>>advanced>>startup and recovery settings>> change the default operating system and other things if you wish

Hope this helped

 

[Radenight]

To answer your questions in the order you have posted them:

1- Yes you can dual boot Windows Vista (x64) and Windows 7 (x64)
2- You need to install old to new.. So Windows Vista would be first, followed by whichever build of Windows 7 your going to be using. (I'd suggest waiting for the Windows 7 RC, but of course it's up to you..)
3- My suggestion would be to use EasyBCD to set one OS as the default OS... This app allows you to customize the boot manager however you want. It's available here: Download EasyBCD 1.7.2 - NeoSmart Technologies (It's very easy to use)
4- You shouldn't run into any problems with dual-booting as long as you install in the right order and make sure you install the appropriate drivers for each OS... I have 5 PC's at home, 4 of which are dual boot and 1 is quad boot and I've had no significant problems at all with any of them so you should be fine.
5- Yes you are correct, if down the road you decide you want to remove Windows 7 than yes all you'd have to do is format the partition with Win 7 than your good to go.. (You may have to reconfigure your boot manager afterwards but it's not problem to do this using EasyBCD).

To add to this discussion I'd just like to ask how you plan to setup your OS partitions.. You said you have 5 HDD's in total right? If so, then I'd suggest creating a partition on 1 HDD of about 25-35GB's for Vista than create another partition on another HDD of about 25-35GB's for Windows 7. Then the rest you can devide up to your liking of course.. I guess my point here is to put each OS on it's own HDD... I have all my PC's setup that way and like I said I've had no significant problems at all... You can put each OS on the same HDD (each on it's own partition of course) but I find sometimes that can lead to problems or poor performance.. Just a suggestion though..

I wish you luck and hope to hear from you when your all up and running. If you need anymore help at all don't be scared to ask. We're all glad to help in any way possible here at Windows7forums.. Also if you need help with EasyBCD at all just PM me and I'll help ya out however I can...

 

[Fred Mackie]

Install Win7 alongside Vista

There's an article linked on the Windows 7 beta 1 tips page about installing Win7 alongside Vista that is perfect for you.