Windows 10 Windows 10 upgrade with current Windows 7 dual boot.

[Bishop Knight]

My dad did the upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7. It looks interesting but I like my Windows 7 setup. I don't want to mess it up. So, can I do a clean install of Windows 10 as an upgrade but keep Windows 7 on the same computer in a dual boot setting? That way I can try Windows 10 without anything getting messed up in Windows 7. Or do I have to buy a separate license for Windows 10 in order to have a Windows 7 and Windows 10 dual boot?

 

[ussnorway]

Now that the upgrade is done there is a Windows 10 key stored for that machine and you can do a fresh install... skip the enter key part and it will activate itself from the desktop after the install is fully finished. assuming internet.

Your Windows 7 key is not locked and you can have it (on that same machine) However 7 is designed for mbr and 8, 8.1 and 10 use the gpt format so that can cause issues with dual boots... there are work arounds but IME they create as many issues as they solve.

Is your dad system a desktop computer? if so a multiboot is the safest option, you have WX on one hdd and put a different hdd in to install W7.

 

[Bishop Knight]

My dad's pc has windows 10 and linux mint on it. My pc has 3 drives. One SSD and two HDDs. I'm seeing articles claiming Windows 10 will ask if I want to use gpt or mbr.

 

[ussnorway]

In that case, I'd have a fresh stand alone WX on the ssd, then put 7 and mint together as a dual on one of the other drives. Yes it is possible to install WX on a (non-ssd) mbr but that will run into issues as will having the other two hdd in when you try to install WX on a ssd... temp remove them until the install is done and you should be ok.

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

I concur with Norway on this. Dual boot Windows are sketchy and can be hard to maintain and rebuild if your hard drive fails. This is certainly true for mechanical drives, but I haven't tested multi-OS boots on SSDs as of yet. I'm busy enough with all the various Win10 installation failures, apps that don't work such as Win10 Mail, etc. to even begin fiddling around with multi-boot windows on SSDs. There are probably some other forums where you can investigate that more fully. My Win10 installs have been on SSD as stand alone OSes on 2 different computers; 1 desktop (Dell DimE520) and 1 laptop (Sony Vaio VGN-FW139E). So far, my Win10 single-OS boot setups work pretty good on both SSD and mechanical drives. Adding a 2nd OS boot complicates things, and adds a 2nd failure point to each computer you run like that. This may not matter to you and your Dad as home users, but it creates lot of problems in the business world.

Years ago back at IBM, we prohibited multi-boot OS configs in laptops of all 70 of our local field engineers since they constantly crashed and failed. Many engineers disagreed with me, so I finally wrote a policy to REVOKE company-issued laptops where the engineer installed a multi-boot OS config, and forced them to buy their own laptop from their pocketbook if they continued experimenting on company issued laptops. IBM Corporate agreed with my reasoning and instituted the policy to this day.

<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

 

[Bishop Knight]

My dad has had Windows 7 and different versions of Linux on his computer for years. He never had any problems. But, he did install Windows 7 on a separate hard drive then installed Linux afterwards. When he went to upgrade to Windows 10 he did have an issue with the boot sector for Windows 7. It wouldn't upgrade. So, he had to do a boot sector repair with just the Windows 7 hard drive connected. After that Windows 7 upgraded to Windows 10 with no problems and then he reinstalled Linux GRUB to get his dual boot of Linux Mint and Windows 10 working. So far, it's working great.

With me, I just have Windows 7 on a SSD. So, from what you all are saying is that if I install Windows 7 and Windows 10 on the same PC in dual boot, I'm asking for possible trouble with the boot sector. But, I can use Windows 7's license to upgrade to Windows 10 for free and still keep both 7 and 10 on the same system legally, correct? Or does the license only cover running one or the other but not both on the same system?

 

[Bishop Knight]

I found my answer here... http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...-10-dual/29b232b2-ac67-45d6-be88-ac14b0c7bf8e So, I guess I'll need to purchase a Windows 10 license if I want a dual boot. I'll wait until I build my daughters' computers and then install Windows 10 on theirs. I like my Windows 7 setup, so I'm not going to upgrade it. Thanks for the input.

 

[ussnorway]

The licence issue is still up in the air... Microsoft hasn't made your Windows 7 key void because that would be in itself illegial, in many of the countries outside the US. What happens at the end of the 12 months is dependent on how many people deside to take up WX and Microsoft may have to rethink things at that time but as it stands right now you CAN dual/ multi boot your Windows 7 (or 8.1) key with the fresh install of WX*... both systems will activate on the Microsoft server and you get on with your life.

*note that you have to have already upgraded useing the media tool to make a WX key for that system first then you can wipe it and install fresh.

 

[Bishop Knight]

The licence issue is still up in the air... Microsoft hasn't made your Windows 7 key void because that would be in itself illegial, in many of the countries outside the US. What happens at the end of the 12 months is dependent on how many people deside to take up WX and Microsoft may have to rethink things at that time but as it stands right now you CAN dual/ multi boot your Windows 7 (or 8.1) key with the fresh install of WX*... both systems will activate on the Microsoft server and you get on with your life.

*note that you have to have already upgraded useing the media tool to make a WX key for that system first then you can wipe it and install fresh.

Thanks for the info.