Dual-Boot Installation - 2 copies of Windows

N

nwgilbert

Member
I am setting up the dual windows on my laptop. The laptop has 2 drives (ssd 256gb and hdd 1tb).
I am wondering if someone can give some advice on how the dual-boot windows installation should be achieved.
The purpose of putting dual boot windows on this laptop is that we run a server at local events from time to time. We have noticed that if we use the laptop (one operating system) for both personal use and the server, the applications installed on Windows used for general use, interferes with the server.
To avoid this, we want to create a second installation of Windows which will have server data only and be used for this only (no personal use). The other copy of Windows (which already exists) will be used for general use.
I have some initial questions as listed below:
  • Would you agree the best way for us to do this would be dual-boot?

  • Can I dual boot 2 x Windows 10’s?
    or does it need to be Windows 10 and another version of Windows such as Windows 7?
    Windows 10 already exists on the laptop from factory.

  • The current Windows is installed on the SSD as it came factory loaded like this. I need the second installation of Windows (used for Server only) to also be installed on the SSD. This is because the server will need the power of the SSD to run efficiently. Would it be possible to split the SSD into 2 partitions? Could there be any complications around this?

  • If I split the SSD and have 2 partitions on the SSD each with a Windows copy,
    Will I be able to access the 1tb HDD drive (also in the laptop) from both Windows copies from within Windows?

  • Is dual-boot Windows difficult to achieve? How should I install the second copy?
Any advise would be really appreciated on how I can best achieve this.
Look forward to hearing from you.
 
You can dual-boot W10 with another copy of 10 or with 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP or Linux.
You will need an installation DVD (or other equivalent media)
If your laptop W10 came pre-installed, then it's an OEM licence and you probably don't have an installation medium, just an inbuilt recovery facility to "factory reset" a broken OS.
If you have an installation disk of some version of Windows you can use, you can use "shrink volume" from Disk Management to create space on your SSD.
Dual booting happens automatically as part of the setup process during the install of a second (or subsequent) OS.
If you create a second partition on your SSD, make sure to give the partition a unique volume label during format. That way you won't accidentally install your new OS over the top of the old one. (Load of people have due to an insufficient understanding of the "virtual" nature of disk letters.) Volume labels are "real" not virtual, so you can't accidentally misidentify them.
Dual booting is therefore as easy as installing a single OS.
Boot the DVD, point it at the correct empty space, answer the couple of questions about language etc and wait for as long as it takes.
 
Back
Top