[Tip] Dual Boot Between Windows 10 and Your Existing Windows 7/8.1 OS

We know that Windows 10 has been released to public and Windows 7 or 8.1 users can upgrade to Windows 10 for free if they are using genuine and activated Windows in their computers.

People who want to perform clean installation of Windows 10, first need to upgrade their existing Windows 7/8.1 to Windows 10 using “Get Windows 10” app or “Windows 10 Media Creation Tool” so that the product key of their Windows 7/8.1 OS can be associated with Windows 10 for successful activation. Only after that they can perform a clean install of Windows 10 if they want.

Create_Windows_10_Installation_Media.png

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Read more: How to Perform Clean Installation of Windows 10 with Activation?

Now there might be a few people who don’t want to upgrade their existing Windows OS to Windows 10. They want to keep their existing Windows OS along with the new Windows 10. In other words, some people may want to dual boot between Windows 7/8.1 and Windows 10 so that they can have both the OS in their computers.

That’s why today in this tutorial, we are going to share a simple trick which can be used to have a dual boot system with both your existing Windows version (7 or 8.1) as well as the newly launched Windows 10.

This trick will include following 3 steps:

  • Upgrade
  • Clean Install
  • Restore

So without wasting time lets start the tutorial:

STEP 1: Upgrade Existing Windows 7/8.1 to Windows 10

First of all upgrade your existing Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10 so that your product key and machine ID can be associated to Windows 10 on Microsoft servers for activation purposes.

Make sure you use “Windows 10 Media Creation Tool” for this task so that you can have Windows 10 setup ISO with you which will be used later to perform clean install of Windows 10.

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So first download Windows 10 ISO using “Windows 10 Media Creation Tool” and then double-click on the ISO to mount it in Windows Explorer. You can also extract its content using a file archiving software such as 7-Zip.

Now run Setup.exe file present inside the ISO and select the option to upgrade.

STEP 2: Perform Clean Installation of Windows 10 on a Different Drive

After upgrading your existing Windows 7/8.1 to Windows 10, open System Properties or Settings app and make sure Windows 10 has been activated successfully.

After this create a bootable USB of Windows 10 setup ISO using any of following methods:

Now boot using bootable USB drive and install Windows 10 on a different partition. Make sure its not the same partition which contained your previous Windows version which has been now upgraded to Windows 10.

When the installation will complete, you’ll have an already activated fresh Windows 10 as you have already associated your product key with Windows 10 in step 1.

STEP 3: Restore Previous Windows Version

Now the last step! Now you have two Windows 10 in your computer: one which was upgraded from Windows 7/8.1 and the other which was clean installed.

So boot into Windows 10 which was upgraded from Windows 7/8.1 in step 1 and then follow the steps given in following tutorial to restore previous Windows version:

How to Restore Previous Windows Version After Upgrading to Windows 10?

That’s it. Once your previous Windows version is restored, you’ll have both OS in your computer: Windows 7/8.1 and Windows 10 and both will remain activated.

Also Check:

[Guide] Things To Do After Installing Windows 10

Published in: Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

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  1. I’ve performed the update then clean install. Now I cant get my original windows 7 back.

    – I upgraded Windows 7 to Windows 10.
    – I created a bootable CD with the Windows ISO on it.
    – I installed a fresh windows 10 on a new disk drive.

    I have now tried to restore back to Winsows 7, but I get the message “We’re sorry, but you can’t go back”.

    What do I do now??

  2. ^^ I think I’ve realised what I did wrong. I burned the Windows 10 ISO to a DVD using the new Windows 10 upgrade. In doing this, I think MS spotted that I had downloaded an ISO and removed some of the recovery files from my C drive.

    Be wary of how you download the Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft.

    In retrospect, what I should have really done is create a fresh install of Windows 7 on a new partition and simply upgraded that.

    Oh well, we live and learn…

  3. I have an HDD switch on my pc
    Can I fit another HDD to my computer then clone my existing C drive, then upgrade 1 of the drives to windows 10. This should give me 1 drive with win 7 pro and 1 drive with win 10 pro, can I then switch between them as required.

  4. Hi ,

    is this the method for dual boot example win 7 pro and win 10 pro using the same win key?

  5. The upgrade on my laptop fails each time I attempt it. It gets to the “Installing Features & Drivers” part, then restarts back into Windows 7. Since I already made an image of the Win7 partition beforehand, is it possible to clean install Windows 10 (securing the free upgrade) and then put the Win7 image on another partition? I know this is making things overly complicated, but I would like to keep my settings/applications and apparently upgrading is not an option for me.

  6. Hi VG !

    I must admit you are helping quite a few users with your instructive comments.
    I have read all of the above and did not find an answer to the following:

    How does one upgrade Win 7, on its own drive, to Win 10 while still keeping Win XP, on its own separate drive, untouched?

    I have been dual booting Windows Xp and Windows 7, each on their own drives, for the past 3 years with no problems whatsoever.

    I now want to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 but still keep my Windows XP with its numerous applications acquired over many years.

    I keep wondering that if I upgrade Win 7 to Win 10 I will somehow disrupt my Windows Boot Manager, which has been working so well, and even affect in some way my Win XP.

    I have read comments that one should disconnect the drive on which XP resides before doing an upgrade to Win 10 on the other drive. Any truth to this?

    Or is it just a simple matter of upgrading to Win 10 from an iso files on a usb media (which I have) when booted and working in Win 7?

    If the latter is right, I need some reassurance that Win XP will remain totally untouched and that Boot Manager will also be unaffected (except maybe to change the Win 7 option to Win 10) before proceeding with the upgrade.

    Thanks for your help in this matter.

  7. I don’t own Windows 10 and I have Windows 7 on my machine if I clone my drive and upgrade the second partition will it still be activated on both partitions?

  8. ^^ Yes.

    @Ghislain
    I cant confirm but if you upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10, it should not affect Windows XP. But I’m not using Windows XP, so cant confirm. The best option would be, install Windows 10 on a different partition and then you’ll have 3 OS: Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 10 in your computer.

  9. Did not think of your suggestion but I would most surely like to have the three OS on my PC.

    However, here is what I have read online:
    “While you can install Windows 10 as an update to 7 or 8.1 in a partition, as far as we know you cannot use the free upgrade to create a brand-new installation of Windows 10 on a separate partition or other device. It can only be used to upgrade Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. If you want to install a full version of Windows 10 instead of an upgrade, you’ll need to buy a copy of the operating system.”

    Can you confirm if the above is true and, if not, what would be the steps when using only the upgrade to Win 7 ISO file which I downloaded to a USB media?

    Sorry to be a “pain” with this but at 72 years old I’m still a newbee when it comes to certain computing installations.
    I know how to create a partition on the new hard drive where Win 7 already resides but it’s a bit confusing for me as to what to do after that.
    (Making ISO file bootable, etc)

  10. Thanks for the link, VG.

    Now that I know that my Windows 10 ISO file which I downloaded to a USB media is a bootable one and can be installed as a full version with the appropriate key from Windows 7 (which I have), I will have to go into my BIOS and make sure that the PC loads from a media (USB or DVD) first.
    Then I will direct it to install into the new partition created on the same drive where Windows 7 now resides.

    Four Questions:
    1) Is the procedure above the right one?
    2) Will my original Windows Boot Manager automatically recognize the new Windows 10 OS and add it to the two choices already present in it (Windows XP and Windows 7) so that I would then be presented with 3 choices when turning on the PC?
    3) Or would a new type of Boot Manager be created?
    4) Does the new installation present any risks for Windows XP which resides by itself in its own drive?

  11. ^^ 1. Yes.
    2 and 3. Windows 10 will install a new boot loader which will add Windows XP and Windows 7 to the list. If you dont get Windows XP in the list, there is a trick to bring back Windows 7 boot loader back which I’ll provide to you.
    4. No. If you face any problem, you can format Windows 10 partition any time.

    So first install Windows 10 on a separate partition and if you face any problem, I’ll be happy to help you.

  12. I have now two OS in my laptop (win7 and win10) in two separate disks. I have used the win7 key to activate the win 10 OS. What if i need to reinstall windows 7? will the old key work for the win 7 ? or will it now only work for win 10?

    Thank you.

  13. how do I copy the c partition to another? I made the new partition. tried getting that aeomi program but every time I try an d/l it it says signature is corrupt. any other way to copy my c partition to the new 1 I created so ican make a dual boot system? using 8.1 atm

  14. Hi there, hope you can help. Previously I was dual booted with XP and Win7 Ultimate. I always back up regularly and when upgrading to Win 10 from Win 7 it all went well but found that some of the programs I use did not work with Win 10 so before going back to Win 7 I backed Win 10 up. As “going back” to Win 7 was not fully successful I just recovered my Win 7 back up copy so all back to normal. I still wanted to keep Win 10 so re-installed it to a different drive. However, to get either the Win 10 or the Win 7/XP to boot I have to change the order off HDDs in the BIOS each time to change from one to the other.
    Is there a way to create a boot loader on one of the disks that would have all three XP, Win 7 and Win 10 shown as a triple boot?
    Many thanks

  15. Dear VG,

    just got a new SSD and was wondering if the following would be feasible using your method:

    – keep win 8.1 on existing HDD
    – on SSD: partition 1 with win 8.1 using same valid and legit key as os on the HDD
    – on SSD: partition 2 with win 10 from bootable usb key I made when I tried win 10 during the free upgrade period.

    Thanks!

  16. When you tie your product key to Windows 10, doesn’t it become invalid for Windows 7? Also, once you install Windows 10 on a separate partition, doesn’t it still need to enter a product key to activate? Please address some of these things in an update to the article or reply to my comment. Thanks!

  17. @VG so I can just use my OEM key to activate the windows 10 install I put on a separate partition? I’m assuming it has to be a Windows 10 Home install since I have Windows 7 Home Premium OEM Key? Where can I get install media and how large does the partition have to be? Thanks!

  18. Sorry going off subject a bit. I have a Laptop with windows 10 home 64 bit and would like to downgrade to 32 bit ( I find the 32 bit better and faster then the 64 bit) Would my existing windows 10 home product ID if I downgrade or would I need to get a new one? I am not on this. I have been in contact with the manufactor of the laptop and they could not help

  19. ^^ The same product key should work on 32-bit edition but I’ll advise you to stick with 64-bit edition as its faster and utilizes full system resources such as RAM, etc. If you still want to give a try to 32-bit edition, install it on a separate partition so that you can have a dual boot system with both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows editions. Then you’ll be able to know benefits and drawbacks of 32-bit edition.

  20. Hi 🙂

    I did a clean install of W10 using W7 key. W10 is activated. I wanted to install W7 on the other partition. From what I understand, my W10 has different key now. Is it possible to install and activate W7 on the same key that I used during W10 installation?

    Thank you in advance!

  21. This is a fantastic thread, it and the article you linked answered almost all of my questions. But I do still have one.

    I will soon be embarking on a project to upgrade to a larger SSD on my refurbished Dell Precision M4600 laptop with Windows 7 Ultimate, and then add Windows 10 as a dual boot using the key that ProdKey found. Can I install Windows 10 Professional, or only Home?

    Thanks,

    Rebeccah

  22. ^^ It depends upon the product key. Windows 10 will detect the product key and will install the appropriate edition.

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