Considering a Duel Boot System: Need Advice/Suggestions

[dTonic]

Yeah, O.K. Windows 7 is slower to boot. I say big deal. I never in that much of a rush to do something on the computer. If it boot's up in a minute or less, I'm happy. I do want both OS's and perhaps a second Win 7 to test software on without damaging the Main 7 system. By the time I learn t use 8 to my advantage, windows 9 will be out, lol.

With 32GB RAM I will use a 500MB partition on the SSD drive for a pagefile, that way it is fast, there if needed, and not mixing itself up with the OS and programs (less fragmentation).

I'm thinking of dual booting with 7 and 8 (7 being the main system) and having a virtual 7 to test software...etc.

Can I dual boot with 7 on one drive and 8 on another??

Yes, I believe...



by the way, thanks for all the feedback!

 

[whs]

You can, but since you have 2 independent drives, I would still go for two independent installations and switch with the BIOS boot order. That is just as fast as switching from the bootloader. And unraveling the bootloader the day you want to get rid of one system is not an easy task in double booting.

And if your 7 is on the SSD and 8 on the HDD, the 7 bootmgr may end up on the HDD (unless you install on a predefined active partition on the SSD) which will unneccessarily slow down the Win7 boot.

Win7 boot time is no issue on the SSD. It should be under 20 seconds - but only if the bootmgr is on the SSD.

 

[dTonic]

You can, but since you have 2 independent drives, I would still go for two independent installations and switch with the BIOS boot order. That is just as fast as switching from the bootloader. And unraveling the bootloader the day you want to get rid of one system is not an easy task in double booting.

And if your 7 is on the SSD and 8 on the HDD, the 7 bootmgr may end up on the HDD (unless you install on a predefined active partition on the SSD) which will unneccessarily slow down the Win7 boot.

Win7 boot time is no issue on the SSD. It should be under 20 seconds - but only if the bootmgr is on the SSD.

You seem to be talking about two different methods of booting to either OS.

I'd be new to the two independent installs (on 2 drives) and the BIOS boot order. I have created dual boot systems with the same drive, but separate partitions. Would need some assistance on the "BIOS Boot Order" method.

I take it I'd have separate installs on two drives, but until I make some BIOS changes I would need to run each drive on it's own...

 

[whs]

BIOS boot order switching is extremely simple. When you power-on the PC, you keep tapping F12 (ESC on HP systems). A little window will appear. You highlight the drive from which you want to boot (navigation is with the up/down keys). Then press Enter and you boot from the selected drive. It is just as fast as selecting the OS from the bootmanager window in a double boot.

Next time you boot or reboot, keep tapping F12 (ESC for HP) to see whether the little window appears. I don't know which manufacturer made your PC because some rare manufacturers may not use F12 or ESC. Then we have to see which key is being used.

And yes, you run each drive on it's own. Big advantage especially with UEFI.

 

[dTonic]

The BIOS recognizes F12 on my system...

So essentially I Leave the Window 8.1 Install untouched on the 1TB Mechanical Drive, Install Windows 7 on the SSD with the 1TB Drive removed? Then on startup what will happen if I do not select anything?

But if I press F12 I can choose which HDD to boot from.

 

[AddRAM]

If you don`t do anything, the OS you just installed will come up.

Whichever hard drive you have listed 1st in the bios will always come up, you have to go into the bios and choose the other hard drive to boot to that OS.

I do the same thing for Linux Mint off a flash drive.

 

[dTonic]

If you don`t do anything, the OS you just installed will come up.

Whichever hard drive you have listed 1st in the bios will always come up, you have to go into the bios and choose the other hard drive to boot to that OS.

I do the same thing for Linux Mint off a flash drive.

O.K. That makes sense.

The F12 just allows me to manually select which OS to boot from.

cool... no virtual software, sharing of memory...etc.

Have you ever tried the XP Mode software on Windows 7? Apparently it is a virtual system for XP. Not that I think I have the need for XP, if the important software works on 7.

 

[AddRAM]

I have no need for XP, if I did I would just install it on another drive or computer.