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Hello, I have already searched on many websites regarding how to install a dual boot of Windows 7 64 bit and Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit edition, but havent found any. So can anyone tell me the procedure on how to do it? Is there any risk of installing Windows 7 with Windows Vista knowing the fact that Windows 7 is still in Beta version. Thank you
You can select which one boots up in the boot file.
the boot file is: boot.ini
if your going to mess around with it though. you should really make a copy first.
but go into your control panel than system than advanced
than you can click on system recovery (settings)
there you can select your default os or go into edit to edit the boot.ini
there you can delete one of the boot sequence lines incase you don't use one of those os.
How to dual boot Windows Vista and Windows 7 (Vista installed first)
Got your hands on the Windows 7 beta and want to dual boot it alongside Windows Vista? Here's our step-by-step tutorial to get you up and running with Microsoft's latest OS.Page 1 - Intro
Got your hands on the Windows 7 beta and want to dual boot it alongside Windows Vista? Here's our step-by-step tutorial to get you up and running with Microsoft's latest OS.
Scenario:
You want to install Windows 7 on your PC alongside your Vista installation, on the same drive.
Tutorial Summary: We need to shrink the Vista partition on the hard disk and create enough space for an installation of Windows 7. This can be done in three ways - using the GPartEd Live CD, the DISKPART utility on the Windows 7 DVD or the Disk Management utility within Windows Vista.
We're then going to install Windows 7 Home Premium beta on a system running Vista SP1 Home Premium. This tutorial was tested on a VMWare Workstation 6 virtual machine.
Create Free Space for Windows 7
We assume that before you start this tutorial, you have backed up the drive (partitions and data) that will host the two operating systems.
Your first step will be to modify the Windows Vista system partition to make space for XP using GParted
The GParted Live CD ISO is available here – burn it to CD and boot the system from the disc. The version we used was 0.4.1-2.
When you boot from the GParted LiveCD, depending on your system, you should just need to select the auto-configuration boot option.
During boot, press Enter three times to accept the defaults for keymap, language and graphics settings.
When the main GUI loads, right-click on the main Windows Vista NTFS partition (depending on your setup, probably /dev/hda1) and select Resize/Move.
Use the slider to reduce the partition size and free up enough room to install Windows 7 (at least 10GB) and click Resize/Move.
The changes haven’t actually been made, they’ve just been scheduled to run. To commit the changes and resize the partition, click Apply. GParted will ask to confirm the changes – hit OK and away you go.
Boot the machine from the Windows 7 DVD. Select the appropriate language and then "Install Now".
On the product key page, press SHIFT + F10 to launch a Windows PE 2.0 command window. Then type in DISKPART and press enter to get into the DISKPART utility.
Now type in LIST VOLUME - this gives you a readout of the volumes available on the system. Select the main Windows Vista volume by typing in SELECT VOLUME 0 (in most cases it will be Volume 0 - in our lab in was Volume 1).
Now type in SHRINK. Windows 7 will reduce the size the selected Volume by around 50%.
Option 3 - Using Disk Management
Using the Disk Management GUI is really no different to using DISKPART (it's the GUI frontend to the DISKPART utility), but using the GUI does mean that you can make the changes within Vista before rebooting to install Windows 7, without needing to use DISKPART on the Windows 7 DVD.
Right-click on Computer and select Manage. In Computer Management, expand Storage and select Disk Management.
Right-click the primary partition (the one you need to make space on) and select Shrink Volume
The default values which Vista provides represent a fairly aggressive shrink - as long as the values will give you enough space to install Windows 7 (at least 10GB), accept the defaults and select Shrink.
Vista will churn away for a moment, and then you'll see the newly-created free space on the primary disk. Now you can reboot and install Windows 7.
For more information go to this link.
Source: apcmag.com
Create an Installation Disc
Once you obtain your copy of Windows 7 (the official release is an .ISO file), you will need to burn it to a blank DVD to continue.
There are countless applications out there which will burn image files, to name a few popular free ones: Burn4Free CD and DVD, CDBurnerXP, ImgBurn and Ashampoo Burning Studio Free. I used CDBurnerXP.
Create a New Partition
Moving on to more pressing matters, we'll need to create unallocated disk space by resizing an existing partition followed by creating a new partition on this unallocated disk space where Windows 7 will call home.
I imagine a majority of you will only have one partition, which is dedicated to whatever operating system you're currently using.
To complete this task we'll be looking at two different approaches because while Windows Vista has built-in tools to resize active partitions, XP does not, and thus we must resort to a third party application (GParted).
Create a New Partition on Windows Vista
In Windows, click the Start button and enter "diskmgmt.msc" into the search bar. This will open a window titled "Disk Management" displaying basic information about the drives attached to your PC. Right click the partition on "Disk 0" and select "Shrink Volume".
This should present you with drive capacity information and the option to enter the amount you would like to "shrink" your partition by. The recommended minimum partition size for Windows 7 is 16GB, so enter an amount of that size or larger and then click "Shrink".
You should now see unallocated space on your hard drive in the capacity specified, situated just after your resized partition.
Before you create a new partition and assign a letter to it, be a perfectionist and reassign your optical drives to the next letter down from what they are now, so that your new empty partition can have whatever letter follows your first partition (probably "D").
Right click the newly unallocated space and select "New Simple Volume..." which ought to open a wizard screen.
On your way through the wizard you'll be asked to define the capacity for your new volume. Let it occupy the entire size of the unallocated space and assign it the letter that you've just freed. Quick format the volume using the NTFS file system and default allocation unit size (Volume label can be anything, just name it Windows 7).
You should now see a healthy primary partition with the capacity and label you had defined, and with that you can move onto step 3.
Install Windows 7
With the Windows 7 DVD in your optical drive, reboot and "press any key" to boot from the disc when prompted. The installation wizard that you'll meet is pretty straightforward for the most part.
The only thing worth noting is that during the process make absolutely sure that you choose the "Custom (advanced)" installation option so you're able to select the fresh partition created above, and be careful, you run the risk of installing over your old operating system along with all of your data if you select the wrong partition.
After defining all configuration parameters Windows will continue with the installation process for roughly 15-30 minutes and then prompt you to set up your account, provide a key and set up Windows.
Source: techspot.com