Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14946 for PC and Mobile Insider

I have my dual boot setup on separate SSDs. Each drive has it's own boot loader. I used EasyBCD to make my boot menu. have my menu setup so I can chose between Window 10, Windows 10 Insider, Windows Safe Mode Or Macrium.

dencal said:

Good luck with a dual boot.....I had nothing but trouble with the two O/S,s clashing on same SSD.
Solved by installing a Dual Hard Drive Rack with quick swop over.

Best method of dual-booting is to install each OS either on a separate partition on the same physical drive, or else on separate physical drives, IE, put initial OS on c:\ and the secondary on d:\--that way, no chance of commingled files--I had thought that this is the way everyone dual boots... Guess not!

dencal said:

When W10 insider was first released over two years ago M$ in order to control free issues of the O/S made it difficult to run RTM on the same drive by putting restrictions on the MBR....in other words forgo one to use the other.
My experience being during these early days

Now M$ are much more relaxed about the issue ie- ISA,s now being available as well as being able to control better who can have both.

Nothing to do with your quoted "files"... all to do with what was at the time the MBR.

Yes, but I've never had a problem with dual booting going wa--a-a-a-aayyy back...;) Was merely offering a suggestion as to your mention of "I had nothing but trouble with the two O/S,s clashing"--On separate partitions and/or drives there is no way the two OSes could ever "clash"--But perhaps you are talking about problems with your boot manager...? And yes, of course, you must "forgo one to use the other," because you surely cannot run them both at the same time...;) It's always been a one-at-a-time proposition, whether dual booting, tri-booting, quad-booting, etc., unless we are talking about virtual boots and so on. Still not sure if I understand what you're getting at, exactly. As I've described it here, I've not had anything but minor routine problems with dual-booting ever since I started the practice with WinXp/Vista dual booting, and then later to Vista x32/Vistax64 dual booting, etc., up to my last experience with it, with Win8.1/Win10--which I ceased when I went Win10x64 single around March 2015, or so.

BunnyJ said:

I do it via separate part ion on the same SSD. Overall this method has worked fine for me for years.

Yep, I've done the same (separate partitions on the same physical drive) and I've done it on two physical drives, too... Sort of routine, I guess, as that is the only way you can do it, imo (not counting VMs, etc.)

No necessarily on the exact topic, but I've also really gotten into dynamic disk formatting of late--quite flexible and nice in certain situations, I've found (I've got several drives & and SSD, too.) I'm pleased to note that for me Dynamic formatting has been rock-solid in every instance under Win10x64 and I'm completely unafraid to use it, now... (Wasn't always that way--I was leery of it for a long time.)

I wish I could see a way to format c:\ boot partition to dynamic, but I don't think it's possible, even with a GPT setup and a hand-off to C:\ from a Fat32/NTFS "hidden" boot partition. Have you ever looked at that? As the entire disk itself has to go dynamic and the GPT hand-off partition to C:\ boot must be Fat32/NTFS, I can't see it working. Just thought I'd throw it out there...in case...

dencal said:

When W10 insider was first released over two years ago M$ in order to control free issues of the O/S made it difficult to run RTM on the same drive by putting restrictions on the MBR....in other words forgo one to use the other.
My experience being during these early days

I've been dual booting a very long time; even before Windows 7 & 8.x, then on to Windows 8x & Windows 10 Insider. When Build 10240 went RTM, I changed my dual boot system to Windows 10 Insider and Windows 10 RTM (10240) because I was glad to get rid of Windows 8.

I never had the first problem with either system on the 1TB drive that came with this system. Later, I installed a 500GB SSD and changed my dual boot system over to it. Still no problems at all.

dencal said:

Now M$ are much more relaxed about the issue ie- ISA,s now being available as well as being able to control better who can have both.

Nothing to do with your quoted "files"... all to do with what was at the time the MBR.

I guess I'm not understanding what you're saying here because I've never noticed Microsoft being stringent about my dual booting Insider and RTM. In fact, at one time I was running four Insider/RTM dual boot systems. I wanted to be sure I could keep working if one or two of 'em croaked. :)

And yeah, I've been dual booting much longer than I care to remember.

I'm not sure what "forego one to use the other" means, but if you're saying I can't be booted into both systems at once, you're right. I have to close Windows 10 Insider in order to use Windows 10 RTM and vice versa.