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Windows 7 Dual Boot Setup Issues
Im trying to get a dual boot setup going on my laptop, but Im having a lot of trouble with the installation. I want to have 2 installs of Windows 7 64bit, running on 2 partitions on the same SSD. One partition/install of Windows for audio production, the other completely separate for my own personal use. The audio partition/install will have no networking devices enabled, no antivirus or any other clutter, just my audio software and thats it.
I have tried making the partitions in the Windows 7 installer, installing into the first partition, then once thats done installing into the second. I have tried installing the first time across the whole HD, and then once Windows is running, in the Disk Manager utility running a shrink on the HD, then rebooting and installing the second install into the newly created partition. For some reason I keep getting all manner of weird behaviour though. My SSD isnt getting recognised on boot, its hanging during the Starting Windows splash animation, a couple of times I think the SSD wasnt even seen by the BIOS.
Heres my specs to start:
MSI GT680 Laptop with
- Intel i7 2630QM 2.0GHz,
- 16GB DD3 RAM,
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M 1.5GB,
- Micro-Star International Co MS-16F2 Motherboard
I got a Samsung EVO 840 SSD, with 500GB of storage, for my primary drive, and a HGST 7200RPM 1TB for my secondary. I have tested the Samsung SSD and the HGST with SeaTools, using Short and Long tests, no problems. I have an old Intel SSD and an old WD HD in the laptop, that i was using for years before I purchased the Samsung and the HGST, and they both work fine if I plug them back in, no hangs on startup, no BIOS failure to see the HDs...
Could it be the more recent HDs are not very compatible with my somewhat old motherboard? Or could my attempts to install Windows 7 twice have severely corrupted the boot records or something like that? Another thing to note is my laptops CD drive doesnt work, I was installing off a USB (I tried 2 different USBs, and I validated the ISO I downloaded from digital river), or a proper install disk running on an external USB CD drive.
Has anyone done anything similar with 2 boots of Win 7 on 2 partitions? Any tips would be appreciated