[SOLVED] Dual Boot Windows 7 not working

Dec 9, 2020
8
0
10
Background:
I had an old Acer Windows 7 Home computer I kept around for my kids to play some old PC games that worked well on Windows 7. I was recently given a newer HP Pavilion with better hardware for free that was my old office PC at my place of employment, so I know it is a good computer. It has Windows 10 Pro on it. I tried installing those games on the Win10 HDD, but they are not playing well with Win10. So I decided to take my Windows 7 HDD and install it into the HP as a secondary drive from which to dual boot so my kids can keep playing games on that one but with the faster processer, better graphics card, and more RAM than the old Acer.

Problem:
When I start the computer and enter the boot menu to choose to boot from the Win7 HDD, the "Starting Windows" screen pops up, the colored lights start spinning to make the Windows logo and then it shuts down. It never gets any further than this. With both drives installed, it will automatically restart to the Win10 drive.

This is what I have tried so far:
1) Connected both drives to the Mobo and PSU and tried to boot from Win7 HDD. Result as described above.

2) Disconnected the Win10 HDD and used the same SATA and power connection to connect the Win7 HDD to rule out any issues with SATA ports, SATA cables, or power supply. In this configuration, the computer boots automatically to the only drive now installed (Win7 HDD), but it gets to the "Starting Windows" screen then goes into infinite reboot. I can get into the System Repair, but from there, the dialog box does not show the drive to choose from. So I click the Load drivers button but am not sure what it is I need to look for to make the drive appear.

3) I have taken the Win7 HDD and reinstalled it back into the Acer and it boots fine, no problems. So I ruled out the HDD going bad.

As I said, the Win10 drive always boots fine. Is this a hardware issue or a settings issue? What other things can I check? Both Windows OS are legit installations, nothing pirated. Thanks in advance for any help. Let me know what other info I can provide that may be missing from my post or if I should post in a different part of the forum.
 
Solution
It is an OEM Win7 installation. Even if I reinstall Win7 from an ISO file and install appropriate drivers, are you saying it still won't work on the newer PC? Why would a new Win7 license be required? Is the OEM not transferrable?
An OEM Acer license is not transferable to a HP system and viceversa.
If the Windows 7 installation came with the Acer system, you won't be able to activated on the HP system.
The license is attached to that Acer system.
Since you are installing Windows 7 on a system that does not have a WIndows 7 license, then you need to get one.

In Windows 10, did you installed and ran the Windows 7 apps in Combability Mode?
If you have not, I would suggest you try that first.

Installing Windows 7, might not...

nofanneeded

Respectable
Sep 29, 2019
1,541
251
2,090
You have different hardware drivers here from older PC ... If you want to run win7 on your new PC , you need to look if win 7 drivers fromfor it exists , and if yes then you will need to install a fresh clean windows 7 on it then install the drivers.

I Doubt that your new PC supports win7 anyway.
 
Last edited:
Background:
I had an old Acer Windows 7 Home computer I kept around for my kids to play some old PC games that worked well on Windows 7. I was recently given a newer HP Pavilion with better hardware for free that was my old office PC at my place of employment, so I know it is a good computer. It has Windows 10 Pro on it. I tried installing those games on the Win10 HDD, but they are not playing well with Win10. So I decided to take my Windows 7 HDD and install it into the HP as a secondary drive from which to dual boot so my kids can keep playing games on that one but with the faster processer, better graphics card, and more RAM than the old Acer.
That is not how dual boot works.
Since the Windows 7 disk was pulled from system with diferente configuration, components and drivers, it won't boot when it tries to loads the drivers that correspond to another system and do not match the current system.
By the way Windows 7 on the Acer is attached to that specific system (OEM) and it won't activate on a diferente system.
If you can find drivers and Windows 7 is supported on the newer system, you might be able to install it. You will need a new license.
You will have to start with the Windows 7 installation and when done, you could install Windows 10.
After that, you will have the option to boot from either OS.
 
Dec 9, 2020
8
0
10
Thanks for the reply, nofanneeded.

I had considered a driver issue, especially with discrete graphics card in the new PC. I had attempted to install the Win7 drivers for that card on the Win7 HDD hoping it would work. So should I just be concerned about the Mobo drivers (chipset, etc) and the discrete graphics card drivers? When I reinstall Win7, will it boot on the new PC and allow me to install the drivers or do I need to boot it up on my old PC and install the drivers and then transfer it back to the new PC?

The new PC was originally Win7 when I operated it at my work, but got the free upgrade to Win10, so I know it will run Win7.
 

nofanneeded

Respectable
Sep 29, 2019
1,541
251
2,090
Give me please the HP model number I will see the best way .

you will need a clean install and all drivers as well including chipset and lan and etc not only the GPU.

Also , do you want dual boot ? win 7 and win 10 ?
 
Dec 9, 2020
8
0
10
That is not how dual boot works.
Since the Windows 7 disk was pulled from system with diferente configuration, components and drivers, it won't boot when it tries to loads the drivers that correspond to another system and do not match the current system.
By the way Windows 7 on the Acer is attached to that specific system (OEM) and it won't activate on a diferente system.
If you can find drivers and Windows 7 is supported on the newer system, you might be able to install it. You will need a new license.
You will have to start with the Windows 7 installation and when done, you could install Windows 10.
After that, you will have the option to boot from either OS.

It is an OEM Win7 installation. Even if I reinstall Win7 from an ISO file and install appropriate drivers, are you saying it still won't work on the newer PC? Why would a new Win7 license be required? Is the OEM not transferrable?
 
Dec 9, 2020
8
0
10
Give me please the HP model number I will see the best way .

you will need a clean install and all drivers as well including chipset and lan and etc not only the GPU.

Also , do you want dual boot ? win 7 and win 10 ?

Yes, I would prefer to have both HDDs installed in the same PC. One with Win10 and one with Win7.
 
It is an OEM Win7 installation. Even if I reinstall Win7 from an ISO file and install appropriate drivers, are you saying it still won't work on the newer PC? Why would a new Win7 license be required? Is the OEM not transferrable?
An OEM Acer license is not transferable to a HP system and viceversa.
If the Windows 7 installation came with the Acer system, you won't be able to activated on the HP system.
The license is attached to that Acer system.
Since you are installing Windows 7 on a system that does not have a WIndows 7 license, then you need to get one.

In Windows 10, did you installed and ran the Windows 7 apps in Combability Mode?
If you have not, I would suggest you try that first.

Installing Windows 7, might not be a simple feast.
You would be able to install or reinstall and activate Windows 7 but you won't get any updates via Windows Update.
Some of the apps you have now Working in the Acer system, might not even work if you are not able to install certain updates.
 
Last edited:
Solution

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
It is an OEM Win7 installation. Even if I reinstall Win7 from an ISO file and install appropriate drivers, are you saying it still won't work on the newer PC? Why would a new Win7 license be required? Is the OEM not transferrable?
An OEM Win 7 license is NOT transferable to new hardware.
It will be unactivated, and time out in 30 days.


Moving a drive+OS to new hardware, especially a version earlier than Win 10, is highly unlikely to work.
In this instance, it does not.
 
Dec 9, 2020
8
0
10
An OEM Acer license is not transferable to a HP system and viceversa.
If the Windows 7 installation came with the Acer system, you won't be able to activated on the HP system.
The license is attached to that Acer system.
Since you are installing Windows 7 on a system that does not have a WIndows 7 license, then you need to get one.

In Windows 10, did you installed and ran the Windows 7 apps in Combability Mode?
If you have not, I would suggest you try that first.

Installing Windows 7, might not be a simple feast.
You would be able to install or reinstall and activate Windows 7 but you won't get any updates via Windows Update.
Some of the apps you have now Working in the Acer system, might not even work if you are not able to install certain updates.

Ok, so running the Win7 HDD on my newer PC is not an option without purchasing a new license. I guess this is true even if I reinstall the Win7 via a factory reset?

I have tried running the apps in compatibility mode for Win7 and even WinXP and many other things, but nothing has worked. The games are old and I think they just won't work on Win10. I have considered just getting them on Steam but am nervous they still won't work.
 
Dec 9, 2020
8
0
10
An OEM Win 7 license is NOT transferable to new hardware.
It will be unactivated, and time out in 30 days.

Moving a drive+OS to new hardware, especially a version earlier than Win 10, is highly unlikely to work.
In this instance, it does not.

Thanks USAFRet. That appears to be the consensus. I was not aware of this restriction on OEM Windows installations. The newer PC I was trying to move it to was originally Win7, but was upgraded to Win10, so I know Win7 will work on that machine. Sounds like this is a case of missing drivers for the new hardware and the OEM not being transferrable.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Ok, so running the Win7 HDD on my newer PC is not an option without purchasing a new license. I guess this is true even if I reinstall the Win7 via a factory reset?

I have tried running the apps in compatibility mode for Win7 and even WinXP and many other things, but nothing has worked. The games are old and I think they just won't work on Win10. I have considered just getting them on Steam but am nervous they still won't work.
Correct. A fresh OS install will require a valid Win 7 license.

Steam games should absolutely work in Win 10.
I have Quake I (1995) in Steam, running on a Win 10 Pro no problem.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Thanks USAFRet. That appears to be the consensus. I was not aware of this restriction on OEM Windows installations. The newer PC I was trying to move it to was originally Win7, but was upgraded to Win10, so I know Win7 will work on that machine. Sounds like this is a case of missing drivers for the new hardware and the OEM not being transferrable.
Its not just the "drivers", but rather the whole OS install.

Windows is not nearly as modular as we all want. You can't just pick it up from this PC and put it down in that PC.
Especially pre-Win 10.