Hey Shawn, theres an easy way to choose the partition on which Windows 8 will be installed, even if one is doing

it from inside win7. Mount the Windows 8 iso using the inbuilt iso mount feature, then instead of starting the install by double clicking Setup.exe, open the SOURCES folder. Locate SETUP.EXE inside the SOURCES folder and double click it to start the install. That'll give you the partition choice.

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1) Put the iso file you download back onto C: 2) Download 7-zip and unzip your iso file. 3) After unzipped, go into the Windows 8 folder, go into Sources and double-click Setup. This will then kick off the pre-installation window and from there you will be able to select Parition F to install your Windows 8 on. Thanks aem Now I copy / paste it from the F: partition into the C: partition Unzip in C: with that app Open the folder (still in C:?) > Sources > Setup > giver me that pre-installation window. Sorry mate think I have got that I just want to be absolutely sure don't want to end up trashing anything.
Hello John, Yep, you have it right. You should be good to go from there. After this, select the "Custom" option instead of "Upgrade", then select the drive/partition that you want to install Windows 8 on. Shawn ------------------Hello John, As with Windows 7 and Vista, you have 30 seconds by default to choose a OS to boot to before the default OS is started by default. By default, the last OS installed is the default OS. Looking at the two example screenshots at the top of the tutorial, you can click on the Choose defaults or choose other options to be able to Choose the default operating system (ex: Windows 7 or Windows 8)

Originally Posted by ICit2lol Originally Posted by aem

Shawn

----------------Hi Brink, I'm about to install Windows 8 to a completely separate HDD from a bootable USB. A few questions: 1. Is it still advisable to unplug my other HDD's and my SSD prior to installation? 2. My current MBR probably resides on my SSD where my current Windows 7 installation resides. Is this MBR modified by Windows 8? If so, presumably I should not unplug my SSD when installing Windows 8? I'm a bit unsure what the relationship of the two Windows are with respect to each other, and the MBR. Thanks, Golden ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hello Golden, It modified the MBR on my PCI-E SSD when I installed Windows 8 to a separate HDD, so it should do the same for you. I would recommend to leave the SSD plugged in so that it will be included in the dual boot setup, and unplug any other HDD that you are not installing to to help prevent it from getting the MBR placed on it by mistake. When you are finished installing Windows 8, you should see the Windows Boot Manager from Windows 8 afterwards at boot. Please let us know how it went.

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Hi Brink, Thanks. Unfortunately it didn't work....in fact I was left with having to do a Repair Install and MBR fix on my Windows 7 installation These are the steps I followed: 1. Unplugged all Samsung HDD's with the exception of the WD HDD to which I wanted to

install Windows 8 - I also left the OCZ SSD plugged in. 2. Booted from the Windows 8 ISO. 3. Select the WD HDD to install Windows 8 (if was formatted as a single primary partition) 4. Clicked Next 5. Was presented with a message that i could not install to this disk. 6. Deleted the partition, reformatted it as Primary, and tried again - same message 7. Exited installation and shutdown PC 8. Removed USB and tried to boot into Windows 7 I was left with : Loading Operating System ... _ Attempted a few unsucccesful Repair Installs on the Windows 7 installation, but I think the MBR was damaged? Booted into PW7 ISO and repaired the MBR, and have my W7 back again. So.....did I miss something critical here? I'm absolutel positive I tried to install to the WD (its the only WD HDD I have). Regards, Golden ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Golden, The drive letters at boot will not always be the same as they were from within Windows, so I suppose that you could have used the wrong drive letter to install to.
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Hi Brink, I'm confused, there were only two options to install too : the SSD (C drive) and the HDD (H drive), and I selected the HDD. How do the drive letters come into play here? Thanks, Golden
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Sorry, I had thought you did it at boot.

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Hi Brink, No worries. It seems for whatever reason the dual-boot setup is just not working for me....not entirely sure why. I'll do some research and see if I can work out where the problem lies.... Thanks, Golden
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The way you tried it should have worked. Apparently there is something in your WD HDD that the installer did not like. Unplug all other disks including the SSD and leave only the WD. Then lets see what happens. If the installer is still coughing, we'll have to see what's wrong with the WD.
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Thanks Wolfgang - I'll try that. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Hi Wolfgang - it works perfectly if the SSD is not plugged into the motherboard. Regards, Golden
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Yep...now I have Windows 7 on the SSD and Windows 8 on the HDD - each with their own MBR. Time to get the dual boot sorted now.... Golden
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OK. I think I've nailed it. I'll do a little tutorial as an alternative method to yours Brink once I've tested it a bit more. Is that OK? Regards, Golden
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whs
Team Member

Great!! Now all you have to do is switch the boot sequence in the BIOS.

Wolfgang ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I think your method may be an exception instead of something to always do though since that's actually a harder way of dual booting with them. You would normally not have to install EasyBCD or have that much trouble to dual boot with them. For now, I'd say to make a post in the existing tutorial outlining this for those with the same issue that you had, and we can go from there if it turns out to be more common.

Shawn ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Wolfgang - I've managed to make it dual boot by editing the bootloader of Windows 8 using EasyBCD. That way, I get the choice which OS to fire up. Basically, the outcome is the same as that in Brink's tutorial, I just went about it differently.
That is another good way - although I personally prefer to switch via the BIOS boot sequence and leave my bootmgrs as is. Wolfgang
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Originally Posted by Golden

Brink, This is the approach I took to overcome my issue with installing Windows 8 as a

dual boot via the normal method outlined in your tutorial - feel free to add as an alternate approach to your tutorial if you like. Background: Currently Windows 7 is installed to an SSD - lets call this DISK0. I wish to install Windows 8 to a separate HDD - lets call this DISK1. I wish to be able to select which OS to run at bootup. Step 1: Disconnect from the motherboard all existing hard drives, with the exception of DISK1 to which i wish to install Windows 8. Step 2: Boot from the Windows 8 ISO as normal, and install to DISK1. You now have the situation where: - Windows 7 is installed to DISK0 with its own MBR - Windows 8 is installed to DISK1 with its own MBR You can boot to either OS simply by changing the DISK order in the BIOS. If DISK0 is first, the Windows 7 MBR will be read and will boot. If DISK1 is first, the Windows 8 MBR will be read and boot. The goal is to edit the bootloader so that that you can choose which OS to boot from, without having to change the DISK order in the BIOS. Step 3: Shut down the PC, and reconnect all your hard drives again, including DISK0 (the Windows 7 installation). Step 4: Reboot the PC, and enter the BIOS. Ensure that the first disk to boot is DISK1 (the Windows 8 installation). Step 5: Once booted, download and install EasyBCD. Run EasyBCD, and click on Add New Entry. Select the following: Type: Windows Vista/7 Name: Windows 7 Drive: <browse to DISK0>

If you select View Settings, the bootloader will show two entries - one for Windows 8, and the other for Windows 7. Step 6: Reboot the PC. You will get the option of which OS you wish to boot into. Note : Originally I tried to edit the bootloader whilst I was booted into Windows 7, but that doesn't work. You must edit the bootloader when you are booted into Windows 8. Regards, Golden
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Golden, I'm with Wolfgang (whs). I also prefer to have both OS's on the same MBR as well to be able to easily switch between them by selecting one in the Windows Boot Manager at boot like it's suppose to be. Having the MBR on two separate drives like that is just to much work and not real pratical IMO. I couldn't recommend that as an option for everyone to use.

Shawn

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I agree Brink, but if you have no other choice....well, it works. I don't know why following your tutorial never worked for me, I just can't work it out. Regards, Golden
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Brink, I've come to the conclusion that my workaround for the dual boot is not a feasible long-term solution.

Although its worked fine, I've had some oddities popup occasionally that finally resulted in it giving me the sad face and "not able to boot message". I've not been able to boot into Windows 8 now for quite a few days. Some of the symptoms of the oddities were interesting : on occasion I would get the light blue Windows 8 dual boot screen as shown in the 1st image on your tutorial, and other times I would jest get the classic black background with text dual boot message. This is probably because of the way I edited the booloader. I've decided I will try again to setup a dual boot as per your tutorial, so for now I've wiped the disk that had the Windows 8 installation and reverted my bootloader back to just the default Windows 7. I'll post back here when I eventually get around to it. regards, Golden

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Hello Brink, I've installed 3 different operating system's. Windows Vista is on a separate hard drive while Windows 7 & 8 are on the same individual drive. Both are differentiated by partition's. Everything was working just fine. Windows 8 booted to the operating system selection but after permitting Windows 7 to operation, I have yet to see the booting screen. How can I repair this? The automatic fixing method through Windows 8 dvd didn't work and the message appeared"G:\Windows\System32\Logfiles\Srt\SrtTrarl.txt". I was able to comply with the system selection including default opearting machine varation.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Hello ISF, Windows 8 will always have to be set as the default OS to run at startup before you will see the newer Windows 8 boot screen. Otherwise, you will see the older boot screen from Windows 7 or Vista instead. Default Operating System - Change Default Boot OS - Windows 7 Forums or

Startup Options - Choose a Default OS to Run at Startup in Windows 8 Hope this helps, Shawn

^^^^^^^^^^^^ Hello SIW2, I'm not familiar with command line input's for Windows 8 nor Windows 7. How do I proceed in Windows 8 cmd? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ISF, You can do this by opening either a command prompt at boot or elevated command prompt in Windows, typingbcdedit, then press Enter. Afterwards, drag the borders of the command prompt large enought to see everything, and post a screenshot of it like below.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ISF, As a test, see if running an Automatic Repair (startup repair) with your Windows 8 installation DVD/USB may be able to help. You may need to run it a couple of times with a restart inbetween each time.

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Are you guys sure about that? I mean once I use the serial key of windows 8, what will happen of my OEM key of windows 7 for which I have paid.

Originally Posted by omnius Originally Posted by sam9953

By "can't" he means the EULA says you're not supposed to keep using windows 7 alongside the 8 upgrade. I'm not going to elaborate on this because I just saw a thread about this get closed and a couple of bans handed out. I'm hoping for the forum admins to clarify their stance on whether we can even discuss this topic because that thread was locked but there are still dual booting tutorials on this website
Omnius, This should clear it up for you. If you purchased an upgrade copy of Windows 8, then you can NO longer use say the qualifying Windows 7 (the OS you upgraded from) while the upgrade Windows 8 is installed. This means Windows 7 cannot be installed, and not even in a dual boot. This is as per the EULA above. If you purchased a system builder (full) copy of Windows 8, then you can still use both Windows 7 and Windows 8 however you like so as they are only installed on no more than one computer at the same time.

This is also the exact same way it has been with Vista and Windows 7 for their upgrade vs full copies. Yes, you can discuss dual booting as long as it's not violating the EULA, and thus be an illegal discussion and against the forum rules.

Shawn ----------------------------------

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my post question: to golden

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2344-dual-boot-installation-windows-8-windows-7-vista21.html#post171855