Ordered new laptop with Win 8 but plan to install Win 7 - partitions?

[jayrap]

I've ordered myself a new Acer laptop which will come with Windows 8 64 already installed, however, I also ordered Windows 7 to install as I really don't want to be using Windows 8. My original intention was to format the drive and install Windows 7 instead, but come to think of it, I'd quite like to have both operating systems on the hard drive.

Can I partition the hard drive to allow for the 750GB HDD to be split up into another partition for Windows 8 and if so, how simple should it be? Also, what complications may there be, if any if both Win 7 and Win 8 are installed?

Cheers

Edit: 17/01/2013 - after a long time of trying to find a solution to dual booting, I have not found a working solution, but I hope others do.

Acer Aspire V3-571G

Specs of laptop:

Intel Core i5 3210m
8GB DDR3-1600
GT 630M 1GB
750GB WD Scorpio Blue SATA II

BIOS version was v2.02 when I got it - yesterday updated it to v2.11

 

[Golden]

Hi,

Try this:

Dual Boot Installation - Windows 8 and Windows 7 or Vista

Regards,
Golden

 

[RJKinsman]

Have looked into Windows Classic Shell? I've been using it on Windows 7 Pro for a couple of years. Very stable, very good. I just put it on two new Windows 8 laptops that I bought for my daughters.
Welcome to Classic Shell

 

[gregrocker]

If its a Win8 PC it likely has Secure Boot which needs to be turned off to install Win7: Downgrade Windows 8 to Windows 7.

Not sure if Win8 will then work but you can reinstall it if not.

 

[Golden]

Good suggestion Greg. This may also be useful:
Secure Boot - Enable or Disable in UEFI

 

[jayrap]

I've bookmarked all of those links - thank you for your help guys - I'll post back in a few days when I receive the laptop and get to work on getting it running as a like, or ask for help if I can't

 

[theog]

For dual boot.

Follow Step one to five in this tutorial:
Downgrade Windows 8 to Windows 7
Than follow this tutorial: (installing in uEFI mode.)
Dual Boot Installation - Windows 8 and Windows 7 or Vista

 

[jayrap]

So can I just assume that everything done in the second tutorial is exactly the same from within Windows 8?

1. Disable secure boot
2. Open Windows 8 and create another partition for Windows 7
3. Restart and install Windows 7 on the new partition
4. Once Windows 7 is setup, restart again and change the boot defaults.

Is this pretty much correct?

 

[theog]

1. Disable secure boot
2. Open Windows 8 and create another partition for Windows 7

Yes.

3. Restart and install Windows 7 on the new partition

Install in uEFI mode.

4. Once Windows 7 is setup, restart again and change the boot defaults.

To what?

 

[jayrap]

4. Once Windows 7 is setup, restart again and change the boot defaults.

To what?

Win 7

 

[theog]

When you install Windows 7 after Windows 8, Windows 7 will boot first.

 

[jayrap]

uEFI is a very new thing to me - I've never come across it before - is uEFI 100% required or just more beneficial to the user?

 

[gregrocker]

It's pretty new to us as well and challenges many of the install and boot fixes we helped pioneer here for Win7.

So far some have chosen to successfully Bypass UEFI to Install WIn7 but it's not at all clear this is a best practice and we are always trying to assure that is what's being recommended. However we've had no complaints from those who did.

Ray do you know for sure on a Windows 8 PC that after turning off Secure Boot to install Win7 in a Dual Boot Win8 will still run? I thought Secure Boot was too secure to do that.

 

[theog]

Two HDD dual boot,



One HDD dual boot.



No problems with Windows 8 booting dual boot.


No need to by-uEFI, you can install Win XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 & Linux.

HDD three is Win XP.

 

[jayrap]

One HDD dual boot.

View attachment 248805

No problems with Windows 8 booting dual boot.


No need to by-uEFI, you can install Win XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 & Linux.

HDD three is Win XP.

The laptop I ordered has one 750GB (so 696.5GiB as shown in Windows?) HDD so I suppose this is what I will be following. As the the partition sizes - I'm a little confused - is this because of uEFI? Approx 100GB per OS? Then a data partition? Then another 2 including a recovery partition? I'm confused. Please enlighten me

 

[gregrocker]

I'm only recommended Bypass UEFI to Install WIn7 for those who are seriously stuck trying to install to UEFI, a growing backlog. These need more intensive UEFI-experienced help.

 

[theog]

One HDD dual boot.

View attachment 248805

No problems with Windows 8 booting dual boot.


No need to by-uEFI, you can install Win XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 & Linux.

HDD three is Win XP.

The laptop I ordered has one 750GB (so 696.5GiB as shown in Windows?) HDD so I suppose this is what I will be following. As the the partition sizes - I'm a little confused - is this because of uEFI? Approx 100GB per OS? Then a data partition? Then another 2 including a recovery partition? I'm confused. Please enlighten me

Your partitioning would be like my A setup.

 

[theog]

I'm only recommended Bypass UEFI to Install WIn7 for those who are seriously stuck trying to install to UEFI, a growing backlog. These need more intensive UEFI-experienced help.

No backlog with legal installs.

 

[jayrap]

One HDD dual boot.

View attachment 248805

No problems with Windows 8 booting dual boot.


No need to by-uEFI, you can install Win XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 & Linux.

HDD three is Win XP.

The laptop I ordered has one 750GB (so 696.5GiB as shown in Windows?) HDD so I suppose this is what I will be following. As the the partition sizes - I'm a little confused - is this because of uEFI? Approx 100GB per OS? Then a data partition? Then another 2 including a recovery partition? I'm confused. Please enlighten me

Your partitioning would be like my A setup.

So let's imagine we're dealing with GB rather than GiB here, and say the capacity is 750GB I want to give 500GB to the Windows 7 partition, leaving the Windows 8 partition with 250GB or less (not sure if there will be a pre-built recovery partition or anything as I'm not used to pre-build computers - I built my own) - this is also my second laptop but I gave the laptop to my sister a while ago but didn't have to mess around with anything. Can my disk be split like this in uEFI?

750GB total
------------
500GB Win 7
250GB Win 8

And I'm assuming it's going to be more complicated than that because of the whole uEFI thing. Could you correct my... err... thing?

 

[theog]

Your partitioning will be smaller than 500 & 250.
Could work out the size better with a screenshot of Disk management.