Windows Boot Manager issue with Dual Boot on different Hard Drives

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  1. Posts : 22
    Windows 10 x64 UEFI
       #1

    Windows Boot Manager issue with Dual Boot on different Hard Drives


    Issue: after installing Windows 10 UEFI on Hard drive, I can't boot anymore on Windows 7 UEFI (SSD).

    My main system, W7 UEFI, is on a SSD. I would like to have a backup system on a different drive (HD) in case my SSD fails so I can be up and running without losing any time. This drive is not plugged at all times. I plug it in only when I need to backup my files or need to boot on W10.

    Yesterday, after unplugging my SSD SATA cable, I installed W10 UEFI on this backup HD (GPT). Everything went fine. Except now I can't boot on my W7 since the W10 install messed with the Windows Boot Manager in the BIOS. When I manually select my SSD to boot, it seems to try to boot but it goes back to the BIOS.

    I imaged my W7 boot partitions so I can go back to the previous Windows Boot Manager state... but it'll mess everything for W10.

    How can I make this working?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 5,294
    Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
       #2

    Hi @PODxt

    Are you dual booting Windows 7 and Windows 10?

    Are the Windows 7 and Windows 10 installed same storage drive?

    Have you disabled Secure Boot from BIOS/UEFI setup utility, Windows 7 64-bit don't support Secure Boot.

    Can you boot your computer with Windows 10?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 22
    Windows 10 x64 UEFI
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Hi FreeBooter, here is my setup:
    SSD (GPT) - Windows 7 64bits UEFI
    HD (GPT) - Windows 10 64bits UEFI (this drive is not plugged in when I use Win7 and vice versa)

    So I don't know if we can call this "dual booting" because the 2 Windows can't see each other.

    I have no Secure Boot option on my BIOS/UEFI.
    I can't boot my computer with Windows 10 because this was the last Windows I installed. I think it changed something in the Windows Boot Manager in the BIOS/UEFI that prevents me from booting with my SSD (Windows 7 64).
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 5,294
    Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
       #4

    You are not dual booting and no Windows 10 have not change any settings in BIOS/UEFI firmware. But if you want to be sure you can reset BIOS/UEFI firmware settings to there factory default settings from BIOS/UEFI setup utility.

    You also cannot boot your computer with Windows 10 so reset the BIOS/UEFI firmware settings to see issue resolves.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 22
    Windows 10 x64 UEFI
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Sorry I don't know why I typed that, I meant the opposite: "I can boot with Windows 10 because this was the last Windows I installed". It's Win7 (SSD) that can't boot.

    So by just resetting the BIOS/UEFI, I will be able to boot on my 2 drives? (like removing the battery?)
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 5,294
    Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
       #6

    You don't need to remove CMOS battery you can reset BIOS/UEFI firmware settings from within BIOS/UEFI setup utility which you can get to it by booting your computer into BIOS/UEFI setup utility. Restart your computer and press the appropriate key to enter the BIOS or UEFI firmware settings screen while it boots. This is often the F1, F2, Delete, F10, or F12 key. Consult your computer’s manual for more details, or just perform a web search for your PC’s model name and number as well as “enter BIOS.”
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 22
    Windows 10 x64 UEFI
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Unfortunately, resetting the BIOS/UEFI hasn't changed anything. I can't boot on my SSD (Win7) but I can boot on my HD (Win10). Do you (or anyone else) have some other pointers?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 5,294
    Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
       #8

    Do you get any error message?

    Can you please check and see if the BIOS detects Windows 7 installed SSD drive.

    Please boot your computer with Windows 7 Setup Media and from Windows Recovery Environment start the Command Prompt.

    Please type below command into Command Prompt and press Enter key.

    Following command will fixes errors on the disk and locates bad sectors and recovers readable information.


    Code:
    Chkdsk D: /f


    Please replace partition letter D: with Windows installed partition letter. When computer boots into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) environment the drive letter assign to Windows partition may not be C: drive letter because Windows 7, 8 , 8.1 and 10 creates a separate system partition when it's installed from scratch. The system partition contains boot files WinRE assigns the system partition the C: drive letter and the Windows installed partition will be assign any other drive letter usually D: drive letter is assign to Windows installed partition. The Bcdedit /enum | find "osdevice" command can be use to find out the drive letter of the Windows installed partition the output of the Bcdedit command is similar to this osdevice partition=D:. The drive letter after partition= is the drive letter of the Windows partition.





    Please boot your computer with Windows 7 Setup Media and from Windows Recovery Environment start the Command Prompt.

    Please type below command into Command Prompt and press Enter key.

    The following command scans integrity of all protected Windows system files and repairs files with problems when possible.

    Code:
    Sfc  /Scannow   /OFFBOOTDIR=D:\   /OFFWINDIR=D:\Windows


    Please replace partition letter D: with Windows installed partition letter. When computer boots into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) environment the drive letter assign to Windows partition may not be C: drive letter because Windows 7, 8 , 8.1 and 10 creates a separate system partition when it's installed from scratch. The system partition contains boot files WinRE assigns the system partition the C: drive letter and the Windows installed partition will be assign any other drive letter usually D: drive letter is assign to Windows installed partition. The Bcdedit /enum | find "osdevice" command can be use to find out the drive letter of the Windows installed partition the output of the Bcdedit command is similar to this osdevice partition=D:. The drive letter after partition= is the drive letter of the Windows partition.

    After finish executing the commands restart your computer to see issue resolved.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 4,594
    Windows 10 Pro
       #9

    I boot W7 and W10 on my Z170 no problem, like you I only use 1 drive or the other, 99% of the time I use W10, I only plug in the W7 drive to update W7, usually only once a month or so.

    My installs are both Legacy/MBR and I have no issues at all, when I plug in the W7 ssd I use the boot menu to select that drive one time, after that it boots to 7 no problem, it would probably boot on its own no problem, but I just like to chose it like that the 1st time.

    Have you tried to use the boot menu when you want to use 7 ? Instead of just letting the Bios decide ? Try that once, see what happens.

    As mentioned, installing W10 will not do anything to the Bios, changes in the Bios only happen if you make the changes.


    Rather strange you can`t boot into each install if they were both done separately while the other drive was unplugged.

    I would have made a duplicate of W7 using Macrium to create an image, then imaged W7 to the new ssd and not have installed W10, it sounds to me like you'd rather use 7 than 10.
    Last edited by AddRAM; 31 Jan 2018 at 20:11.
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 18,421
    Windows 11 Pro
       #10

    I would create a bootable USB flash drive of Kyhi's recovery tools:
    Windows 10 Recovery Tools - Bootable Rescue Disk - Windows 10 Forums

    Then with the Windows 7 drive connected, boot the computer into Kyhi's Recovery Tools. Run the program Macrium Reflect and from the restore menu select the option to Fix Windows boot problems.
      My Computer


 

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