Windows 8 and WIndows 7 working in harmony

[ROK99]

Recently, i upgraded my PC. My new primary OS is windows 8, but it dosen't support the programs/drivers i use. SO, I have a spare drive that i wish to use as my windows 7. Now, i don't know how to have an option every time i boot to ask which OS to use as this new motherboard has fancy bios. I hope someone with experience with this can help me and i can get my rig running as i need.

Thanks.
-ROK

 

[KSoD]

The BIOS has nothing to do with the boot process. Install the hard drive, install Windows 7. Use the Windows 8 DVD to fix the boot so that you have 2 entries or use EasyBCD to add a Windows 8 Entry to the new Windows 7 boot loader that was created with the Windows 7 install.

 

[ROK99]

The BIOS has nothing to do with the boot process. Install the hard drive, install Windows 7. Use the Windows 8 DVD to fix the boot so that you have 2 entries or use EasyBCD to add a Windows 8 Entry to the new Windows 7 boot loader that was created with the Windows 7 install.

The hard drive had Windows 7 installed previously (before i upgraded my parts) and i tried EasyBCD. The result was unsuccessful, and it went right to windows 8. What is this other method you mentioned? Or will i have to reinstall windows 7 for either to be successful?

Thanks.
-ROK

 

[KSoD]

Well if you upgraded parts and they do not match the parts that were used when Windows 7 was previously with the system then you will have to reinstall Windows 7 no matter what.

Windows during the install process makes a hardware profile that is used for activation. Along with that it is also the drivers that are installed to match the hardware so that the system operates properly. Since you upgraded parts, the drivers wont match what you have and Windows 7 will give you nothing but problems.

So you will have to do as I stated above. Install Windows 7 and from there use EasyBCD to add a Windows 8 entry.

 

[ugoboom]

If you do the above process I believe you will need to set your first boot drive as the one with windows 7, that way there the motherboard will look at that HD and give you the option to boot 8 or 7.

 

[KSoD]

Nope. The reason is simple, installing an older OS after a newer OS will not give you a dual boot setup. Windows 7 and the BCD that is has can't detect Windows 8 and add it to the list. Windows 8 is not part of the certified OS list for the BCD that comes included with Windows 7.

To truly get the dual boot working you would have to install Windows 7 and then install Windows 8 afterward. This will give you the new graphical boot loader that Windows 8 has as well as the options to boot either OS. But since Windows 8 is already installed the use of EasyBCD from within Windows 7 (The Beta version 2.2 available here) will work to add an entry even though you wont get the fancy graphical loader.

The order of the hard drive in the BIOS will not make a difference. It will only tell the BIOS where the boot information is located, which he doesnt want to change cause if he does, when he tries to boot again he will get a "Operating System is missing. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to restart" error message cause the boot information is kept on the first partition of the drive that the BIOS is set to boot from. Changing it after you do the installs will force the BIOS to look on the wrong drive and not see the MBR and error out.

 

[ugoboom]

ok, so what you are saying is if the windows 8 hard drive is the current boot device, and you install windows 7 on the other hard drive it will edit the bootloader located on the windows 8 hard drive? is easybcd run from within windows?

I haven't duel booted in a long time so I am unfamiliar.

 

[KSoD]

Since Windows 8 is already installed in the machine and the hard drive is the main device listed in the BIOS, that is where the MBR, Master Boot Record, is stored. So no matter what if the drive is listed as the boot drive within the BIOS during the install of Windows 7, then after the install of Windows 7 it will have to stay that way as the install of Windows 7 will overwrite the MBR that is currently installed and it will not make a copy of it on the drive that Windows 7 is on. It will only be located on the drive that has Windows 8 on it.

Since Windows 8 is not listed as a certified OS from within Windows 7, there will not be an entry added for it to the BCD that will be created with the install of Windows 7. If Windows Vista or Windows XP was installed, entries would be added. But since Windows 8 is newer, it is not on the certified list.

So if you understand you will see that no matter what, if the Windows 8 drive is left in the system and left as the boot device, then any install of any OS will overwrite the MBR. Even if you installed Ubuntu with GRUB it would over write the Windows boot loader.

The use of EasyBCD, which is a program to use within Windows itself, is just a simplified and graphical way to see what your doing to the BCD. Since the bcdedit.exe command made by Microsoft is complex and not easy to figure out, this tool will make life easy. Just click on Add Entry, select the OS of choice, select drive and done.

 

[ugoboom]

Ok great, I understand now.