UEFI and Legacy BIOS HELP- Windows 7/10 dual boot

[Adam_192]

Hi All,

My grandfather recently got a new desktop that is installed with windows 10 (which he likes) to replace his windows 7 computer from 2008. He has had conflicting help from several people in regard to transfering data (because he knows all the folder names, programs, etc in his old computer). Rather than transfer data, I simply added his old hard drive to his new computer (so the new computer now has 2 HDD's). Now, he can access all of his old files from file explorer> my computer>OS:F.

However, I (and He) would like to dual boot his new computer with both windows 10 (which is installed on the new hard drive) and windows 7 (which is installed on the older hard drive, which is now in the same computer). I attempted to use EasyBCD, but his new computer's windows 10 installation was running in UEFI mode, which caused several problems when attempting to dual boot windows 7 (installed under legacy mode). How should/can I fix this so that I can use a bootloader to let him pick between windows 7 and windows 10? (The ones he already has installed with programs and files).

NOTES:
-These are not custom built machines, both are Dell Studio XPS with proprietary hardware/drivers (for the most part). One from 2008 with a 1st gen i7, the other from 2016 with a 6th gen-skylake i7.
-The reason for dual booting is because he adores windows 7, but likes windows 10 and is slowly becoming more familiar with it. He often needs to go back to 7 for certain tasks.
-He is NOT computer literate in any way.
-Switching the bios from UEFI to Legacy allows me to boot into windows 7, but I can't boot into windows 10 (Changing the boot order yields the error "No OS Detected").
-Currently, the only way I can switch back and forth between 10 and 7 (that I know of) is to switch the BIOS back and forth between legacy and UEFI.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Multipack]

Try turning off Fast Boot and enabling UEFI with Legacy support in BIOS settings rather than BIOS *or* Legacy mode. Most 6th gen boards have the feature (am not sure about proprietary Dell boards tho).

 

[Bobby_chaos]

Hi All,

My grandfather recently got a new desktop that is installed with windows 10 (which he likes) to replace his windows 7 computer from 2008. He has had conflicting help from several people in regard to transfering data (because he knows all the folder names, programs, etc in his old computer). Rather than transfer data, I simply added his old hard drive to his new computer (so the new computer now has 2 HDD's). Now, he can access all of his old files from file explorer> my computer>OS:F.

However, I (and He) would like to dual boot his new computer with both windows 10 (which is installed on the new hard drive) and windows 7 (which is installed on the older hard drive, which is now in the same computer). I attempted to use EasyBCD, but his new computer's windows 10 installation was running in UEFI mode, which caused several problems when attempting to dual boot windows 7 (installed under legacy mode). How should/can I fix this so that I can use a bootloader to let him pick between windows 7 and windows 10? (The ones he already has installed with programs and files).

NOTES:
-These are not custom built machines, both are Dell Studio XPS with proprietary hardware/drivers (for the most part). One from 2008 with a 1st gen i7, the other from 2016 with a 6th gen-skylake i7.
-The reason for dual booting is because he adores windows 7, but likes windows 10 and is slowly becoming more familiar with it. He often needs to go back to 7 for certain tasks.
-He is NOT computer literate in any way.
-Switching the bios from UEFI to Legacy allows me to boot into windows 7, but I can't boot into windows 10 (Changing the boot order yields the error "No OS Detected").
-Currently, the only way I can switch back and forth between 10 and 7 (that I know of) is to switch the BIOS back and forth between legacy and UEFI.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bobby_chaos]

Hi Adam. I have the same setup you are wanting I think. I have 2 hard drives and am running Legacy. It is a good setup as you have both worlds,7 and 10. I have all the info if you need it for settings....I can give them to you. But mine works fine and I had not had 10 before so it is nice to be able to flip back and forth till you get the hang of 10. But I guess the answer is yes, run Legacy bios as I have and things are fine, I have a 250 and a 320 H.D. so no incredible amount of drive space but no problems and have had build for 2 months. Running wi-fi to 1 pc and of course ethernet to main pc. If I can help with any settings let me know. I did not do complete build myself a friend and I happen to have it just as I was there but have all info you need if this is what your looking for. Can go back and forth between the 2 no problems. I do want to add a larger memory but may just use a flash or ready boost although I have never increased mem that way. Good luck to you and Grandfather. (I am not sure how old this post is may already have answered by another)