Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and Vista

How to Setup a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and Vista​

   Information

This will show you how to install Windows 7 and Vista to dual boot with when you already have either Windows 7 or Vista installed first.

   Note

With a dual boot installaton, you will have two operating systems (OS) installed. When you start the computer, you will have the choice to choose which OS you would like to start up to. This method is the easiest way of doing a dual boot with these two operating systems.

   Tip

When dual booting with another OS (ex: Vista or XP), you may not always have that OS partition show up in Computer with a driver letter in Windows 7. If this happens, then you will just need to add a drive letter to the OS (ex: Vista or XP) partition in Windows 7 Disk Management for it to show up in Computer with a driver letter.

   Warning

Windows 7 Minimum Hardware Requirements:

NOTE: For more iformation on this, see: Windows 7 system requirements

• 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• 1 GB RAM for 32-bit Windows 7 OR 2 GB RAM for 64-bit Windows 7
• 16 GB available disk space 32-bit Windows 7 OR 20 GB for 64-bit Windows 7
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (in order to enable Aero theme)
• DVD-R/W Drive
• Internet or phone access to activate Windows 7.

Vista Minimum Hardware Requirements:
NOTE: For more information, see: Microsoft Windows Vista: Recommended System Requirements

Vista Home Basic

• Processor: 1GHz (32 or 64 bit)
• System Memory (RAM): 512MB
• Hard Drive: 20GB with 15GB available for Vista
• Video Card: 32MB Memory and DirectX 9 Support
• DVD-ROM Drive

Vista Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate

• Processor: 1GHz (32 or 64 bit)
• System Memory (RAM): 1GB
• Hard Drive: 40GB with 15GB available for Vista
• Video Card: 128MB Memory, DirectX 9 Support with: WDDM Driver, Pixel Shader 2.0, 32bits per pixel
• DVD-ROM Drive

EXAMPLE: Windows Boot Manager
NOTE: This is the boot screen where you select what operating system that you would like to start. By default, you have 30 seconds to choose another operating system before the default operating system will start automatically.



Here's How:
1. If Installing Second OS on a Separate Hard Drive
NOTE: This is if you are going to install the second OS (Windows 7 or Vista) on a separate hard drive than the first OS in installed on.
A) Go to step 3.
2. If Installing Second OS on another Partition on the Same Hard Drive
NOTE: This is if you are going to install the second OS (Windows 7 or Vista) on a different partition on the same hard drive than the first OS is installed on.
A) If Vista was installed first, then create a new partition for Windows 7 (second OS) to be installed on later if you do not already have one to use. (See screenshot below)

B) If Windows 7 was installed first, then create a new partition for Vista (second OS) to be installed on later if you do not already have one to use. (See screenshot below)

3. Insert the second OS (Windows 7 or Vista) installation DVD, and restart the computer to start installing it.
A) If Vista was installed first, then select the new partition (step 2A) or drive and do a clean install of Windows 7 (second OS) on it. (See screenshot below)

B) If Windows 7 was installed first, then select the new partition (step 2B) or drive and do a clean install of Vista (second OS) on it. (See screenshot below)

4. When the second OS is finished installing you will now have the option to select which OS to start to in the Windows Boot Manager screen at start up. (See example screenshot at the top of the tutorial)
NOTE: Whatever OS you install last will be the OS listed first in the Windows Boot Manager screen at startup.

5. This is what you will see in Disk Management below if you installed the second OS on another partition on the same hard drive (step 2).
A) If Vista was installed first. (See screenshot below)

B) If Windows 7 was installed first. (See screenshot below)

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Use Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor
• How to Setup a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP
• How to Setup a Dual Boot Installation with Windows Vista and XP
• How to Do a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Dual Boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu
• How to Correctly Setup a Dual Boot with Windows 7 and LinuxMint13
• How to Change Time to Display Operating Systems at Boot in Windows 7
• How to Change the Listed OS Arrangement Order in Windows Boot Manager Screen
• How to Change the Default Operating System to Start in Windows 7
• How to Delete an Operating System Listed in Windows Boot Manager
• How to Change the OS Name in Windows Boot Manager
• How to Do a Clean Install with a Full Version of Vista
• How to Do a Clean Install of Vista with a Upgrade Version
• How to Do a Clean Installation with Windows 7
• How to Install Windows 7 FAST without a DVD or USB Device
• Install Windows 7 Without Using Any External Device
• How to Setup Windows 7 to Boot from a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk)
• How to Create a Windows 7 VHD at Boot to Start with from Boot
• How to Fix Missing Vista Hard Disk Partition Letter in Windows 7
• How to Do a Custom Installation of Windows 7
• How to Do a Custom Installation of Vista
• How to Recover a Partition Used by an Older OS in a Dual Boot
• How to Properly Delete a OS in a Dual Boot

 

[archp2008]

Reinstalling Vista on Dual Boot with Win7

Hello,

I had a dual boot system of Vista and Win7 but choose now to reinstall the corrupt Windows Vista portion. Is there a way to do this without also wiping the Window7?

 

[Brink]

Hello Arch,

Yes, you would just need to reinstall Vista to the same partition that you already have your current Vista installed to. That's all.

 

[archp2008]

Thanks for the reply. That was what I was thinking, but the dvd woudn't boot even though I could view the contents from the Win7. I tried another cd for Win XP and that wouldn't boot either. What could be causing the disks not to boot? I have two dvd readers (a SATA and an IDE) both see the disks but neither boots. I just get a blinking line for a second or two and it goes into the dual boot menu. I tried setting the BIOS to one dvd drive then the other but neither boots. Ideas?

 

[Brink]

Arch,

As a test, disconnect the IDE one leaving only the SATA DVD drive connected. Next, double check your BIOS settings to make sure that you have the SATA DVD drive listed first in the boot priority and your HDD second.

If all else fails, you could run the Vista installation from within Windows 7 to install on the Vista partition/drive.

 

[archp2008]

Yeah, I was just getting the two drives mixed up. I reinstalled Vista but still had to reinstall Win7 as well. No big deal, both installations were new. Thanks.

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Arch. I'm happy to hear that you got it all setup.

 

[noblesd]

Thanks for the Help

After several unsuccessful attempts to upgrade Vista to 7 I found this forum and used the dual boot procedure. Works great. I don't need the upgrade if I still have access to the files on the other system. The procedure worked flawlessly and I now have a fully functional Win7 system to configure as I have time. If I still need to do things in Vista pending conversion, it is not an issue.
You folks on this forum are great and I truly appreciate the help.
Now, if I could just get Microsoft to tell me why the multiple upgrade attempts failed and reverted back to Vista I would be very happy. I just don't understand how the upgrade can go through the entire process and then at the last tell me it was unsuccessful and revert back.

Anyway. I am good to go and thanks again.

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome Noblesd, and welcome to Seven Forums.

I'm not sure what may have went wrong with the attemp to upgrade, but you might take a look at this to see if anything stands out if you wish to try again in the future.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1818-upgrade-install-windows-7-a.html

 

[koolkat77]

sorry if i sound dumb, but can vista be installed after windows 7 ??

 

[Brink]

Hello Yusra,

See my signature about dumb questions.

Yes, you can install Vista before or after Windows 7 to dual boot with both. See step 2.

 

[koolkat77]

Hello Yusra,

See my signature about dumb questions.

Yes, you can install Vista before or after Windows 7 to dual boot with both. See step 2.

Thanks Shawn

Please be here for me in case I mess up something :devil:

 

[Brink]

 

[cottonball]

Installed Vista on a laptop where W7 was already installed.

The Windows Boot Manager goes by so fast, there is no way one can select what operating system to start.

If, by default, you have 30 seconds to choose another operating system before the default operating system will start automatically, that is not happening.

How can this be changed so that there is a some time to make a selection?

Thanks for your help!

Update:

Went to MSConfig > Boot tab, and changed the time there to 30 seconds.
For some reason, it was set to zero!

 

[Fernando4100]

I joined the forum because I need to take a course. I have windows 7 installed and must install Vista as well. The windows 7 needs to be formatted to install Vista?

 

[Brink]

Hello Fernando, and welcome to Seven Forums.

No. You can install Vista with Windows 7 still installed to be able to dual boot between them.

If you like, you can follow the steps in the tutorial on the first page of this thread using the "If Windows 7 was installed first" parts to help show you how to. If you have any questions, then please feel free to ask.

 

[Fernando4100]

Is that some friends told me I had to format and install vista first and then 7. I was upset, did not want to reformat
Today there are so many settings that we do, redo it is very annoying!
Sorry for my english, I'm not fluent.

 

[Brink]

No problem Fernando. You do not have to format Windows 7, and Vista does not have to be installed before Windows 7. You can have either one installed first, and be able to install either one afterwards.

You can follow the steps in the tutorial on the first page of this thread using the "If Windows 7 was installed first" parts to help show you how to install Vista without formating Windows 7.

 

[Fernando4100]

Great.
Can I install Vista via USB stick? My cd drive is broken.

 

[Brink]

Fernando,

Sure, if you have a Vista ISO file, then you could use Part 2 in the tutorial below to easily create one.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31541-windows-7-usb-dvd-download-tool.html
If not, then you could use a program like ImgBurn to create a ISO file from your Vista installation DVD on another computer.

 

[Fernando4100]

Thank you very much. I will try tonight and tell you the result.
Was anxious to get rid of Vista, but it brought me problems, like the capture card that does not work with 7.
I installed 7 on multiple computers using the tips I read this forum. Always via USB stick.