2nd Windows Install corrupts 1st?


  1. GregJ7
    Posts : 55
    Windows 10 x64 up-to-date
       New #1

    2nd Windows Install corrupts 1st?


    This has happened to me more than once. I have an NVMe drive (1TB) and an SSD (500GB EVO 860). The NVMe is the main drive and a clean install of Windows 10 is all set up on it and it worked fine.

    I booted to a Windows 10 installation media (USB) and installed Windows 10 on the second drive (the SSD) and got it all set up and working wonderfully. Now any attempt to boot to the first drive (the NVMe) results in me indicates there is no valid Windows installation on it. It will still boot to the SSD. Both were installed in the last week—neither has been activated. msconfig doesn't show the NMVe. My BIOS is set so that it only knows about the NVMe.

    Anyone know why this happens?
    How do I make them both bootable (especially my main NVMe that the startup sequence does not see a Windows 10 install on it)?

    My motherboard is an ASUS Prime X570-P with the latest BIOS. An AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is in it along with 16 GB of RAM.
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  3. Berton
    Posts : 14,020
    Win10 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home, Win7, Linux Mint
       New #2

    How do I make them both bootable (especially my main NVMe that the startup sequence does not see a Windows 10 install on it)?
    You can't make them both bootable at the same time. I don't do it but from reading forums you may not have set up the second install as Dual Booting. I'd Search this Forum and the Internet for that term and how to do it. Generally, Windows does much better with the install on the only drive in the computer. There's also pages on the Internet on how to Dual-Boot with a different OS such as Linux.
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  4. GregJ7
    Posts : 55
    Windows 10 x64 up-to-date
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    What is special about a 2nd Windows 10 rather than Windows 7 or Linux?


    Why can't I have two bootable Windows 10 installs and select the one I want to boot from the BIOS order-of-boot-devices? I can have a Windows 7 and Windows 10 dual-booting system. (I would prefer a technical answer, if possible.)
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  6. Samuria
    Posts : 8,111
    windows 10
       New #4

    When you installed the second windows did you have the other drive in as thats a big no no if you install with no other drives its works leave another in and it often writes data and system files to the other drive
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  7. GregJ7
    Posts : 55
    Windows 10 x64 up-to-date
    Thread Starter
       New #5

    Why would the installation process write to a drive that has nothing to do with what it is doing? Is this a Windows installer bug, or another one of Microsoft's epic fails because they try so hard to prevent copyright-infringing Windows 10 installs?

    Strangely, AOMEI Partition Assistant corrupted my Windows 10 install SOURCE when I tried to tried to clone it to a different (destination) drive. Now I'm afraid to use it for anything. Perhaps I should be afraid of installing Windows, too.
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  8. Samuria
    Posts : 8,111
    windows 10
       New #6

    Its standard practice from MS it sees boot files on and active drive and naturally puts some system files there. If you clone a drive and have both in at the same time they will both have the same disk signature so windows will be confused as its uses signatures to identify drives
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  9. Plankton
    Posts : 2,075
    Windows 10 Pro
       New #7

    What you're wanting to do is called multi-booting.....where you use multiple HDD/SSD and have a OS installed on each and that are independent of each other. To achieve this you have to do one HDD at a time and only 1 connected to the mobo. After the first install is complete unplug cables and then insert 2nd HDD and plug in cables and install OS and so on.

    You can only use one OS at a time. To get into each OS requires a reboot and at post beep start tapping the F12 key. This bypass the BIOS and goes straight into the boot menu. Once that window appears just pick the drive with the OS on it and hit enter. That's it. Simple but time consuming.
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  10. NavyLCDR
    Posts : 18,432
    Windows 11 Pro
       New #8

    Plankton said:
    What you're wanting to do is called multi-booting.....where you use multiple HDD/SSD and have a OS installed on each and that are independent of each other. To achieve this you have to do one HDD at a time and only 1 connected to the mobo. After the first install is complete unplug cables and then insert 2nd HDD and plug in cables and install OS and so on.
    You don't have to do it that way. For example, a laptop computer with two internal hard drives would be rather difficult. But if you leave all the drives connected, you do need to know how to manually create a System partition on the secondary drives to boot the OS on them. I can manually create a System partition on a drive in less time than opening the computer to unplug cables.
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  12. Plankton
    Posts : 2,075
    Windows 10 Pro
       New #9

    NavyLCDR said:
    You don't have to do it that way. For example, a laptop computer with two internal hard drives would be rather difficult. But if you leave all the drives connected, you do need to know how to manually create a System partition on the secondary drives to boot the OS on them. I can manually create a System partition on a drive in less time than opening the computer to unplug cables.
    Thanks.....I knew there were other ways. I've never done it that way as you described. I would love to learn how. As it would sure make life a whole lot easier doing it your way. Are there any vid tutorials on this?
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  13. Try3
    Posts : 16,949
    Windows 10 Home x64 Version 22H2 Build 19045.4170
       New #10

    When I set up dual-booting I used the instructions at
    How to dual boot Windows 10 Technical Preview with Windows 7
    Windows 10 how to dual boot with Windows 7
    How to dual boot Windows 10 with Windows XP

    The author, JWStuart, was/is a highly competent contributor to the MS user forums and I found his dual-boot procedures to be both correct & decently explained.

    You will also find guidance in Dual Boot Windows 10 - TenForumsTutorials

    Denis
    Last edited by Try3; 09 Oct 2019 at 13:53.
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