Windows 8 dual booting windows 8 64 bit with windows 7 32 bit?

jamesc601

New Member
hi,
i am wondering is it possible for me to dual boot windows 8 64 bit with windows 7 32 bit.
I already have windows 7 32 bit and want to get windows 8.
I understand there are problems with having a 64 bit and a 32 bit os on the same hard drive.
I do not have the windows 7 installation cd and want to keep it as 32 bit
SO if i was to buy another hard drive could I boot it off of there and boot windows 7 off the other one
if i was to do this would have to go into my bios and select which hard drive to boot up first everytime that i wanted to change which os I use.
Thanks in advance
 
You can only run a 64 bit OS if you have the hardware that supports it. With out knowing that information, giving advise could be potentially damaging.
 
I would opt for a separate drive.....just any case you do run into any problems. This way the drive with the 32 bit OS is safe and intact.
 
No, I am running two drives. For me when I start the computer or restart to switch I just hit the F11 key. It gives me the option to choose which one I want.
 
Depending on how you install Windows 8, it might already be in a boot menu when you finish.

I will assume you will be installing Windows 8 using the MBR configuration, and so you will need some information, just in case.

When you install an OS in MBR, it puts the boot files on the primary drive set in the bios. If you were to install Windows 8 on a separate drive with the old drive installed, it would put the Windows 8 boot files on the old drive and the OS partition on the drive you specify.

If you change the drive order in the bios, or remove the old drive, Windows 8 would be an independent install. Afterward, you can use a Bootrec /rebuildBCD command to add the other Windows install to the boot menu.

You can install a 64 bit and 32 bit version of Windows on the same hard drive, but the Windows 7 boot files will be overwritten by the Windows 8 ones, just as it will do if you install with the old drive as primary. This may not be a problem but I have not really checked. Having a separate drive, as Bassfisher suggests, would make for a more versatile install.
 
No, I am running two drives. For me when I start the computer or restart to switch I just hit the F11 key. It gives me the option to choose which one I want.

Hey sonny...that's what I do as well, but it's the F12 key for my mobo.
 
hi,
i am wondering is it possible for me to dual boot windows 8 64 bit with windows 7 32 bit.
I already have windows 7 32 bit and want to get windows 8.
I understand there are problems with having a 64 bit and a 32 bit os on the same hard drive.
I do not have the windows 7 installation cd and want to keep it as 32 bit
SO if i was to buy another hard drive could I boot it off of there and boot windows 7 off the other one
if i was to do this would have to go into my bios and select which hard drive to boot up first everytime that i wanted to change which os I use.
Thanks in advance

Here is a detail instructions on how to install dual boot......
Dual Boot Installation - Windows 8 and Windows 7 or Vista

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2344-dual-boot-installation-windows-8-windows-7-vista.html
 
If you have a 64Bit computer, (which you have, apparently), then the operation is quite straightforward. whether it is better to install on a separate hd, or on a separate partition on the same HD, is your choice.
I frequently install and uninstall on my own, family and colleagues computers. Only my preference, but I have not yet found a need to use another HD.
Currently, I have window 8.1, 64 and 32 bit. The latter is for testing different functions. This sits alongside Windows 7 64Bit and, irrelevant, for your exercise, XP, for the simple purpose of troubleshooting my grandchildren's laptops.
8.1 64bit was installed fairly recently, from a boot DVD. It set up a dual boot with the 32Bit OS, and with Windows 7. I needed to use Easybcd to put in the XP addition, for some reason, but this was a simple operation which took about 30 seconds.
 
If you have a 64Bit computer, (which you have, apparently), then the operation is quite straightforward. whether it is better to install on a separate hd, or on a separate partition on the same HD, is your choice.
I frequently install and uninstall on my own, family and colleagues computers. Only my preference, but I have not yet found a need to use another HD.
Currently, I have window 8.1, 64 and 32 bit. The latter is for testing different functions. This sits alongside Windows 7 64Bit and, irrelevant, for your exercise, XP, for the simple purpose of troubleshooting my grandchildren's laptops.
8.1 64bit was installed fairly recently, from a boot DVD. It set up a dual boot with the 32Bit OS, and with Windows 7. I needed to use Easybcd to put in the XP addition, for some reason, but this was a simple operation which took about 30 seconds.

I have Windows 8.1 64-bit on my RAID 1 HDD configuration. I created a new partition and installed Windows 7 Pro 32-bit on the new partition. The PC dual-boots fine, but when in Windows 7, no driver for the network adapter is found. Any thoughts? Thank you.
 
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