Dual Boot Two Drives

J

joepwpb

Active Member
I installed EasyBCD on a two drive setup both of which contain Windows 7. I want to clean install Windows 10 on the second drive (I already named it Windows 10) which requires booting from a USB drive. So, how do I get it to the second drive booting from a USB drive?


FWIW I get the "EFI Bootloader Detected" warning although the dual boot works without issue.

Thanks

Joe P
 
Last edited:
I don't quite understand what problem you're having, and what it has to do with EasyBCD.
If you want to clean install W10 to a drive you've already named, you should have no problems doing so.
Just boot the installation medium and when Setup asks where you want to install W10 point it at the drive you've already named (you'll need to have formatedt it first to remove the old W7 and create space)
Setup will detect the other W7 system and automatically create the dual-boot for you.
You might want to use EasyBCD subsequently to edit the automatically created BCD entries e.g. to change "Previous Vesion of Windows" to Windows 7 in the boot menu, but that's purely cosmetic. MS Setup will produce a working dual boot for you automatically.
 
The problem is when both drives are connected it boots directly to Drive #2 Windows 10. Before I installed Windows 10 on Drive #2 (which is not where EasyBCD is installed) I got the EasyBCD menu from Drive #1.

Or stated differently...EasyBCD is on Drive #1 but it boots directly to Drive #2.


Thanks again!
 
It doesn't matter where EasyBCD is.
EasyBCD has absolutely nothing to do with the boot, that's all MS bootmgr.
EasyBCD just helps you manage the contents of the BCD on an already running system, so it can/will affect the choices bootmgr offers on subsequent boots, but it's not taking any part in the booting process itself.
It's quite right that you are now booting from drive 2, the latest version of Windows must always control the boot because it's backwards compatible with all previous versions, whereas W7 knows nothing about (to it) future systems like W10 and will not recognize the digital signature of later versions of Winload.
From your other thread it seems you might have a different problem if you've installed one OS as UEFI/GPT and the other is BIOS/MBR.
Here's a bit of light reading for you over the holidays about what you can and can't do with a mixture of the two.
docs.microsoft.com

Windows and GPT FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Windows and GPT.
docs.microsoft.com
Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year to you.
 
I found a solution to converting the Windows 10 drive from GPT to MBR without losing any data - EaseUS Paritition Master Pro. I used it and it was successful!!! ...BUT...when I reconnected the Win 7 drive I get the EasyBCD menu and it successfully boots to 7 but it would not boot to 10. I get the attached error. If I disconnect the 7 drive it boots every time to 10 without any issue. Curiously, I discovered that the 7 drive is now GPT!!!

This is getting too strange!! I attached the screen shots to demonstrate. I am considering converting the Win 7 drive which somehow is now GPT to MBR if that would solve the issue.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to lose the data on either drive if at all possible.

I wanted to add the following to the previous post but could not find "edit"

I was wondering if using the BCDBOOT command on the Win 10 drive or the Win 7 drive would be the solution: bcdboot X:\Windows /addlast /d

Thanks

Joe P
 

Attachments

  • Win 10 Boot Error.jpg
    Win 10 Boot Error.jpg
    87.8 KB · Views: 6
  • GPT - MBR.jpg
    GPT - MBR.jpg
    142.2 KB · Views: 6
  • EasyBCD Settings.jpg
    EasyBCD Settings.jpg
    149.2 KB · Views: 5
Last edited by a moderator:
Well, since nobody has jumped in here I guess this is a dead issue?

Is there anyone on this fourm that is willing to take a look at this issue?


Simply stated. 2 Drives, the one with EasyBcd is Win 7 and the other is Win 10. Only the Win 7 will boot when both are connected BUT both will boot without any issue if separated. There are several screen shots in this thread.

Thanks

Joe P
 
For those here that may be interested, I found a workaround...not the greatest but it works!

With BOTH drives connected, I boot to the Startup Menu and choose SATA1, which is the Windows 10 drive and it boots without any issue and I can access the second drive, which is Windows 7, once it gets to the Desktop. If I choose SATA0 from the Startup Menu, which is Windows 7 with EasyBCD, it will not boot and I get a "Missing Operating System" error message. So, if I want to boot up Windows 7 I have to disconnect the Windows 10 drive and it will boot to the EasyBCD menu to allow selecting Windows 7.


Joe P
 
Back
Top