I was unable to locate a good guide on dual-booting Windows 7 with another copy of Windows 7.
Turns out it was really easy, but you can do some things that will result in unexpected behavior.
The proper way to install Windows 7 on another Windows 7 is to INSTALL IT FROM WITHIN YOUR ORIGINAL WINDOWS INSTALL!
You need to choose a ‘Custom’ in the following Window, then choose your partition to install it on. Make sure you choose a different partition than the one you are installing from if you want to retain a dual boot.
After your new Windows 7 install is completed, you may want to run the command “msconfig” or the program “EasyBCD” to change your boot order and waiting times.
The nice thing with EasyBCD is the ability to rename the OS display name in the boot menu. You can also reduce the timeout to less than 3 seconds. I found anything less than 2 impractical.
After your install, you should find that your new Windows 7 is on ‘D:’ drive, and your original Windows 7 is on the ‘C:’ drive
If I install Windows 7 from Boot?
In my install of Windows 7 from boot, it did the following:
- removed the original Windows 7 from the startup boot menu
- moves master boot record to the partition of the new Windows 7 install and marks it as the boot partition (verified with UBCD)
- can break your rescue and recovery partition options from your computer manufacturer (tested on my Lenovo SL410)
- original Windows 7 partition becomes ‘D:’ drive, but is unbootable until you perform a startup repair from the Windows 7 setup disc
Conclusion: to save yourself some trouble, just do it from within Windows!
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