I need some help with a bit complex Windows 10 dual boot situation..

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  1. Posts : 9
    Windows 7, 10, and 11
       #1

    I need some help with a bit complex Windows 10 dual boot situation..


    Hello everyone!

    I bought a new laptop which i am going to use for automotive related software.
    Wherefore i absolutely need Windows 7 32 bit...

    The laptop is a Dell Latitude 5580 6th gen (so latest gen for windows 7)

    There is space for 2 harddrives, 1 M2 slot, and 1 Sata normal drive slot.

    My main harddisk is a M2 4TB Samsung drive which i have Windows 10 64 bit on. And because of the 4TB i have to format it in GPT style.
    The second drive is a 2TB sata SSD, and because you all know Windows 7 32 bit doesn't run on GPT, so have formatted this in MBR style.

    I have set in the Bios the following:

    - Boot option at UEFI
    - Advanced boot option: Enable Legacy Option ROM and Enable Attempt Legacy Boot
    - Disabled secure boot ofcourse
    - Sata operation at AHCI

    I have both operation systems running at the moment. Windows 10 boots as standard operating system because GPT ofcourse override MBR..
    But when i wanted to boot in Windows 7 32 bit, i have to push the F12 button on startup, and select the internal drive by the Legacy boot options..

    So my questions:

    - I don't know if i can somehow get a Boot menu with this setup?

    - And my second question is, is this the best or maybe only way to get into Windows 7 with this setups? Is this AT ALL even possible the way i would like it with my hardware? Or is there a better way to install this?

    - And yesterday after that Windows 7 had installed for almost ALL his latest updates, the system didn't boot anymore, i was only getting black screen, and nothing happend further..
    So i plugged USB Windows 7 installation in the laptop to try to repair the Windows, the Windows was not regonised because "before" Windows has booted, my Windows 7 installation is installed on D: drive, this is what i can see in Command Prommt...
    While when i am in Windows 7, it is just the C: drive at that moment...

    Long story short, is there anyway to maybe correct intall this both Windows OS's? with 1 GPT and 1 MBR drive?
    I have now reinstalled Windows 7 the same way, but when it get corrupted again somehow, i have again to reinstall it, which is not very handy...

    All tips are welcome! And thank you for reading!!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 16,963
    Windows 10 Home x64 Version 22H2 Build 19045.4170
       #2

    It's not a subject I know about but I kept these links with a note that they were the best advice on the subject:-
    Boot into a vhdx file [Kari] - TenForums
    NavyLCdr alternative, simple dual-boot method [post #5] - TenForums
    Hyper-V virtualization [Pro-only] - Setup and Use - TenForumsTutorials

    @Bree - Since this OP's best solution might well be a VirtualMachine [VM] could you step in here?


    Best of luck,
    Denis
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 16,963
    Windows 10 Home x64 Version 22H2 Build 19045.4170
       #3

    pveeningen said:
    ... automotive related software ...
    Do try searching the forum as well as pursuing your own thread. Needing Win7 because of automotive software seems such a familiar tale [from about five years ago] that I think there must be other threads about it.

    Oh dear, this might have been a bad suggestion. The word maintenance is used so much that it just swamps attempts to find it used in relation to automotives.
    These are all I could find and I don't think they are are going to help you. The first link [from 2020] is probably what my vague recollection was of.
    Vehicle service DVD needs IE to run - TenForums
    Problem running Mercedes EWA/ECP/WIS - TenForums


    Best of luck,
    Denis



    Welcome to TenForums.

    It's really worth making time to browse through the Tutorial index - there's a shortcut to it at the top of every page.
    - At the foot of the Tutorial index is a shortcut to download it as a spreadsheet.
    - I download a new copy each month.
    - By downloading it as a spreadsheet I can benefit from Excel's excellent filtering capabilities when I search for topics of interest.
    - Tutorials are also listed by category at Tutorials - there's also a shortcut to that at the top of every page.
    - Both tutorial lists are searchable.
    - You can also search for TenForumsTutorials in many general search engines, such as Google, by adding site:tenforums.com/tutorials after your search term. For example,
    taskbar toolbars site:tenforums.com/tutorials

    You can search TenForums using the search box in the top-right corner of all TenForums webpages or using Advanced Search - TenForums
    - You can also search TenForums threads in many general search engines, such as Google, by adding site:tenforums.com after your search term. For example,
    Search for drivers by HardwareID site:tenforums.com
    - [This is what the search box in the top-right corner of TenForums webpages does automatically]
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 31,691
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #4

    pveeningen said:
    I bought a new laptop which i am going to use for automotive related software.
    Wherefore i absolutely need Windows 7 32 bit....... .....All tips are welcome! And thank you for reading!!
    Try3 said:
    @Bree - Since this OP's best solution might well be a VirtualMachine [VM] could you step in here?
    I have 32-bit Win7 as a Hyper-V VM with an MBR install. As an experiment I've tried copying its .vhdx onto a UEFI/GPT laptop and tried to native-boot it. I couldn't set it up, BCDBOOT reported it couldn't copy the boot files.

    I agree, a good solution may be to run Windows 7 32-bit as a VM. But for automotive software it's probably going to need direct access to the hardware, such as USB ports. Hyper-V does not allow that, all hardware is virtualised. Oracle VirtualBox may be more appropriate in this case as it does allow direct access to the host machine's hardware.

    Oracle VM VirtualBox
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 41,481
    windows 10 professional version 1607 build 14393.969 64 bit
       #5
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 2
    Windows 11 Insider Build
       #6

    you really need win 7 "32bit"? wont 64bit work? it would make stuff much easier and you could even put both OSes on one drive and select what OS to boot while its booting
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 697
    WIN 10 19045.4291
       #7

    I run a lot of CAE/CAD Software packages being used in the automotive industry. They are all 64-bit applications. So tell us what the related questionable software packages are. I just do not believe that any relevant company is running old software with a 4 GB RAM limitation.
    VMWARE gives you access to external hardware like printers/scanners etc.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 9
    Windows 7, 10, and 11
    Thread Starter
       #8

    I really need 32 bit, because off old immobilizer related tools, and some specific Opel tool for example, also older BMW tools for older cars really need 32 bit otherwise they won't start...

    And indeed they don't work in VMWare.

    But everyone is coming with input that is not question related.. I like the 2 harddrives able to work in 1 laptop with MBR and GPT windows OS. And what are the possibilities then?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 77
    Windows 10 Pro
       #9

    Install both operating systems on the MBR disk.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 6,361
    Windows 11 Pro - Windows 7 HP - Lubuntu
       #10

    You did everything right. Each OS has it's own drive and should be independent.
    I have almost the same as you do. Only thing is that I have a desktop and Win 7 x64.
    The fact the Win 7 got un boot able is an accident and probably can be fixed.
    Did you detached the M.2 drive before you begin win 7 installation on the SATA drive?
    Do you press F12 during post to launch the one time boot menu?
    Win 7 doesn't boot. Is there an error message?

    Please post a whole window Disk Manager image of ALL your drives. Don't forget to expand the columns so we can read them. How to Post a Screenshot of Disk Management
    If you have a MiniTool or AOMEI Partition use it instead or Windows disk manager.
      My Computers


 

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