Startup and boot problems with 2 OS on 2 physical drives

[ZKR]

Hey guys.

I have an asus p8z77-v LX, Core i7, 8GB Ram.

Ran 2 OS on two distinct physical drives :

1. Win 8.1 on Samsung 840 pro 256GB
2. Win 7 Ultimate on WD 1TB

also have a 4TB WD without OS.

Now the boot order was that the SSD is first, with the 1TB connected too but as a slave. It was the main OS I used.

When I wanted to load Win 7 instead, I would just disconnect the SSD and the 1TB Win7 load. I would also connect another old 150GB drive as slave. At some point it started to constantly try to chkdsk for all or some of the drives on startup (while still a black screen).

When I tried to put back the SSD win 8.1 and change the boot order in it`s favor, I would usually encounter a problem loading, some of the problems would include:
* Windows would take several minutes to load (instead several seconds)
* Stuck for a long time after login to windows
* different windows startup error messages
* Stuck on Asus MB screen then restart
* "No proper boot device" message
* PC is on but screen is off
etc.

Also the 4TB WD would be constantly 100% busy (maybe because of drive letters mix)

A month ago, the problem has escalated so that Win 8.1 was dead totally. I formatted the SSD, then used samsung magician to erase and restore the drive to manufacturer settings. Installed win 7 on the SSD.

When I went back to the 1TB win7 to download some drivers, then came back to the SSD win 7 - it didn`t load but with an error message relate to a recent hardware chagnes.
Now it says select a proper boot device, it won`t even detect the SSD.

Those boot changes must cause trouble.

A. What to do now ?
B. Is there a way to use 2 OS on different drives without causing problems ?

Please help.

 

[Vergilangleos]

first install win 7 on primary drive .. second install win 8.1 on your secondary drive ..
you must install older version of windows on your primary (and set as active drive) then install new version windows

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Windows has a dual-boot setup which avoids the need to mess about with the drives like you've been doing which is totally wrong.

But in order to get a dual boot configuration you must install the second OS with the first OS drive still connected.

When both OSes have been installed you should get a dual-boot menu every time you boot up your PC. The menu will list both Windows installations. Pick which one you want to use and away you go. Windows Boot Manager takes care of which drive to boot from.

 

[ZKR]

"But in order to get a dual boot configuration you must install the second OS with the first OS drive still connected."

Connected physically and not booted from or install the OS from DVD while the other OS is running?

 

[ZKR]

first install win 7 on primary drive .. second install win 8.1 on your secondary drive ..
you must install older version of windows on your primary (and set as active drive) then install new version windows

The win 7 is already installed and working fine, but it`s not the primary system I`ll use because it`s on the old HDD.
I don`t want to risk and format that (only working) OS now and then erase the SSD, being without OS at all. I`m afraid of being left without OS at all, because of the problem I encounter (I`ve installed at least 20 OSs in my life and never had such serious problems).

 

[Vergilangleos]

If you have win 7 right now , you can simply install win 8 on your ssd and enjoy dual os setup, but never disconnect your
Storages.