How to Configure a Dual Boot Windows 7 and Windows Vista PC

The latest operating system by Microsoft Windows 7 boasts of many major improvements in comparison to its predecessor Windows Vista. This new operating system from Microsoft was officially released on October 22nd, 2009. The pre-release or the beta version of the operating system that was available for download on Microsoft website will expire on June 1st, 2010.

Although Windows 7 promises of several attractive features, there are many users, who don’t want to leave the comfort of the interface they are familiar with to move on to something new. If you are one of these users, setting up a dual boot Windows 7 and Windows Vista computer will give you the leverage to test waters, before you take the final plunge.

Having a dual boot Windows computer is beneficial both if you want to beta test a new operating system or when you already have the release copy of the new operating system. You can continue using your old operating system to do your daily chores and when you have time, you can test the new operating system and get familiar with it.

Here, we are considering a scenario, where you already have a pre-installed Vista computer and you want to install Windows 7 Beta or final release version on it to make a dual-boot Windows computer.

To create a dual boot Windows 7 and Windows Vista computer, in this case, perform the following steps:

1. If you have downloaded Windows 7 Release Candidate from the Microsoft website, burn the downloaded installation files to a DVD. Label this DVD so that you can easily locate it when required.
2. When you install dual boot system, you need to install each operating system on a different hard drive. If you have only one partition on your Windows Vista computer, you will have to create a new partition before you proceed with the remaining steps.

To create a new partition, you first need to shrink the existing partition, and then create a new partition in the space that frees up. To learn how to do this, check Windows Harddisk Management - 5 Simple Tasks In Vista

3. Insert the Windows 7 DVD you created earlier in the drive and then restart your PC. Next, follow the screen instructions to install the operating system in the new hard drive partition you just created.
4. When you restart your PC, you will get the boot options to choose which operating system you would like to boot into.

Congratulations! You now have a new Windows Vista and Windows 7 dual boot Windows computer

Things to Remember

If you have installed Windows 7 pre-release version, you must know that this copy will expire on June 10, 2010. Also, the operating system will reboot every 2 hours after March 1st, 2010. So by this time, you must have finished your testing and made a decision whether or not you want to go for Windows 7.

Also, all updates, applications, tools and utilities will have to be installed separately on each operating system. You will not be able to access applications installed on one operating system from the other operating system. It is best that you keep using Windows Vista ass your main operating system unless you choose to completely switch to Windows 7 computer.

If something goes wrong with the Windows 7 installation process, it may leave your PC un-bootable. This is why it is recommended that you make a backup of your data before proceeding with these tasks. Also, keep a Windows Vista rescue disk handy to help you recover your computer from this type of failures.

See also:

• Windows 7
• Windows Vista
• Create A Windows Boot CD