Windows 10 & Windows 7 Dual Boot - Can it be done

cereberus said:

Ok - how about a change of tack.

Why are you trying to install Windows 7?

If it is to run a specific application, you might simply find it easier to install windows 7 into a virtual machine. This is very easy to do and you can run windows 7 and windows 10 at the same time.

@cereberus
I have a legacy problem with peripherals. It is great that Technology continues to advance although there are some advances that are not for me. Sadly, we end up with computer kit that no longer works and you have to resort to installing an earlier O/S or throw it away and buy something new.

NavyLCDR said:

@Nolly1959,

In an earlier post, I eluded to using DISM to apply the Windows 7 image to a partition. This is how you do that. Create an NTFS partition on the hard drive to hold the Windows 7. You can use any partitioning tool you want to. Make sure the NTFS partition is assigned a drive letter - let's assume it gets F: drive.

In Windows 10, mount the Windows 7 ISO file. Let's assume the mounted Windows 7 ISO file gets drive letter G:. You will need to open a Command Prompt (Admin), or I believe a Powershell (Admin) will work too. To see what Windows 7 images are available, you will run the same command I did in post #17 on the mounted Windows 7 ISO file:
dism /get-wiminfo /wimfile:G:\sources\install.wim

The drive letter in red will be to the mounted Windows 7 ISO file.

Now to apply the Windows 7 image to the F: drive partition. The F: drive should be empty before you start. You will run the command:
dism /apply-image /imagefile:G:\sources\install.wim /index:2 /ApplyDir:F:\

G:\ above will be the drive letter to the mounted Windows 7 ISO file
F:\ above will be to the empty NTFS partition you created to hold Windows 7
Index:2, change the index number to the version of the Windows 7 you want obtained from the dism /get-wiminfo command.

After the image is applied, you will need to add it to the boot menu. Do that by running the following command:
bcdboot F:\Windows /d /addlast

The F:\Windows will point to the new Windows folder that is created on the NTFS partition after applying the image to it.
You can adjust the boot menu a little bit by running MSCONFIG and changing the parameters on the boot tab.
Reboot the computer, good luck!

Very busy yesterday and I will be today so just a quick reply. Suffice it to say that I have both Windows 7 & Windows 10 bootable from mu PC:) There are some pros & cons but I will provide a fuller report this evening.

One again, thank you.

Forgot to add that the question I posed, "Can it be done", then the answer is YES.

Nolly1959 said:

Forgot to add that the question I posed, "Can it be done", then the answer is YES.

Glad it worked for you!

NavyLCDR said:

Glad it worked for you!

Well it did work! I have spent about one and a half hours trying to understand the following scenario.
Got back late this afternoon. When I powered-up the PC, it booted straight into Windows 10 like it did before Windows 7 was installed (no Windows Boot Manager). What I have found is that if I boot into Windows 10 and then Shutdown (note PC powers off), after powering back on, it boots into Windows 10. However, if I do a Restart from Windows 10 I am presented with the Windows Boot Manager (Windows 7 & 10 available) and I can boot into Windows 7. So, what the heck is going on.

Nolly1959 said:

Well it did work! I have spent about one and a half hours trying to understand the following scenario.
Got back late this afternoon. When I powered-up the PC, it booted straight into Windows 10 like it did before Windows 7 was installed (no Windows Boot Manager). What I have found is that if I boot into Windows 10 and then Shutdown (note PC powers off), after powering back on, it boots into Windows 10. However, if I do a Restart from Windows 10 I am presented with the Windows Boot Manager (Windows 7 & 10 available) and I can boot into Windows 7. So, what the heck is going on.

Need to turn Windows 10 fast startup off:
Turn On or Off Fast Startup in Windows 10 Windows 10 Performance Maintenance Tutorials

NavyLCDR said:

Need to turn Windows 10 fast startup off:
Turn On or Off Fast Startup in Windows 10 Windows 10 Performance Maintenance Tutorials

Already tried Fast Start == Disable but it made no difference. I have been considring whether it is to do with Hibernation. I cannot seem to enable Hibernation in Windows 10. Also, Power and Sleep settings option is grayed out.

When I tried the same method on my computer I ended up with two sets of BCD configurations on my EFI System partition. I ended up reformatting it, assigning it a drive letter, and rebuilding the boot files on it. Before I did that, there were two boot manager entries showing up in my UEFI boot priority settings and only one of them was the dual boot menu.

NavyLCDR said:

When I tried the same method on my computer I ended up with two sets of BCD configurations on my EFI System partition. I ended up reformatting it, assigning it a drive letter, and rebuilding the boot files on it. Before I did that, there were two boot manager entries showing up in my UEFI boot priority settings and only one of them was the dual boot menu.

I have wondered if there are two different files 'called' by Boot Manager. The fix sounds like it is fraught with danger.
Would you please talk me through it.

How can I check if I have two sets of BCD configuations? I am assuming you are talking about Windows 10.

I will have to do it again step by step on my computer, and take better notes. It's easy to fix if you know what you are doing and have plenty of software repair resources if you screw it up. But you definitely can find yourself you in a no boot situation.