Dual Boot Setup With Windows 7 and Windows 8 RTM

Dual Boot Setup With Windows 7 and Windows 8 RTM

Most Windows users are currently running Windows 7. I bet there are many of you who would like to dual-boot Windows 7with Windows 8 RTM without affecting the experience of Windows 7. Well, you can actually do that by installing Windows 8 RTM in dual-position and thus get both versions of the operating system work on the same computer.

Now before doing this, you will have to take care of some things in order to avoid any displeasure. So, the first thing to do is to backup all the data you care about. Once you do that, make sure that you have at least 20GB of free space in a certain partition or even more if you intend to install a great number of applications. A DVD or USB is needed to boot, so make sure you have one. If you go for a USB, you need a 4GB one for the 32 bit or an 8GB for the 64-bit version.

Now get started following things:

1. First things first. You will need Windows 8 RTM ISO which you can easily download if you have a subscription or you can go for Windows 8 Enterprise RTM which can be downloaded for free.
2. Download a tool to mount Windows 8 ISO to USB/DVD. Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool does a great job. Don’t be fooled by the name of the tool. It works just fine with Windows 8 as well.
3. Now you’ll have to create a separate partition of at least 20GB. Start by right-clicking on the Computer icon or by going to the Start Menu and click Manage. You will then get to the Computer Management window where you’ll have to hit Storage and then Disk Management.
4. Once you get here, you will see that the available partitions are displayed in the right column. Now choose the partition you want to shrink in order to create a new one that has at least 20GB.
5. Press the “Shrink volume” button only after you’ve entered the value of the new partition. The newly created partition will be displayed in the “Disk Management”. Once this happens, you can close Computer Management.
6. The next thing to do is to open the tool you’ve downloaded to mount Windows 8 ISO to USB/DVD. If that’s Windows 7 USB DVD, Download Tool, then open it and select the Windows 8 RTM ISO file you’ve downloaded at the beginning. Click Next and choose the media type you are going to use (USB or DVD) and then hit “Begin copying”. When the copy process finishes, you can close the Windows 7 USB/DBD Tool.
7. It is now that you’ll begin the installation of Windows 8 RTM. So, restart your computer and then insert the DVD or plug in the USB you’ve used to mount Windows 8 RTM.
8. You need to press a certain key in order for your PC to boot from an external media. This differs from a computer to another and depends on the PC manufacturer.
9. Once you boot from Windows 8 RTM bootable media, you will get to the installation window. Follow the instructions until you get to the screen where you have to choose the hard drive partition you’ve created earlier.
10. After you’ve selected the partition for installation, hit the “Install” button. When the installation completes, your PC will restart. The Windows 8 logo will be displayed in the boot menu. Windows will now install the drivers and begin the configuration of your PC.
11. When the configuration completes, your machine will restart again. You will have to choose the colors for Windows and the Wi-Fi connection. You will also have to create a Microsoft Account (in case you don’t have one) or log in with the one you have. Then just follow the instructions and you’ll see the OOBE tutorial. The apps will be installed after that and you’ll be signed into Windows 8 RTM.
12. You don’t have to worry about Windows 7 because it’s still there. You can use it again by selecting it from the boot manager displayed each time you boot.