Windows 7 Dual Boot

[paulemannsen]

Hi there,

Im currently trying to setup a 2x windows 7 boot, but running into problems...
i made two primary partitions, install w7 on the first. after that i activate the second one, hide the first and install w7 on the second one.
now, when i activate the first one again, it turns out to be "destroyed".

with xp this method was 100% working. win7 seems to handle it somehow different.
i would be very grateful if you can provide me with some insight knowledge or even useful links on that subject.

thx in advance

 

[Guest]

I'm pretty sure that what you are trying to accomplish is in breach of the EULA.

 

[darth pravus]

What do you need two boots for that a virtual machine wont accomplish?

 

[paulemannsen]

i need a clean system for audio stuff and a crap system for gaming and everything else.
and, although it has absolutely nothing to do with my question, i can assure you, digital alchemy, that everything is in law and order.

 

[darth pravus]

I'm assuming you're installing them on 2 separate partitions?

 

[Guest]

i need a clean system for audio stuff and a crap system for gaming and everything else.
and, although it has absolutely nothing to do with my question, i can assure you, digital alchemy, that everything is in law and order.

Unless you have 2 seperate licences what you are doing is in breach of clause a. section 2 of the Windows 7 EULA.

2. INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS.
a. One Copy per Computer. You may install one copy of the software on one computer. That computer is the “licensed computer.”

If you do have 2 separate licenses then apologies.

It does have something to do with your question, if you're using one license twice, because assisting you to solve the problem is also assisting you to breach license agreements, which is against Tom's T&Cs.

 

[paulemannsen]

yes, i want them physically separated.
like i said. i already installed them both, but somehow the second one seems to overwrite the bootheader(or whatever its called) of the first during install and therefore renders the first unusable.
what made me suspicious is the fact, that w7 reserves itself some space at hte beginning of the hdd(also a primary partition). probably its always starting from there. but since the second install seems to hug that very same partition too for booting this leaves me in kind of a predicament.


to DA: i got 2x XP and 2x w7. but you better make sure and call the cops. and no, it has nothing to do with my question. if id ask an engine related question for my VW Golf, it just wouldnt fit to ask if it was stolen, right?

 

[Guest]

yes, i want them physically separated.
like i said. i already installed them both, but somehow the second one seems to overwrite the bootheader(or whatever its called) of the first during install and therefore renders the first unusable.
what made me suspicious is the fact, that w7 reserves itself some space at hte beginning of the hdd(also a primary partition). probably its always starting from there. but since the second install seems to hug that very same partition too for booting this leaves me in kind of a predicament.


to DA: i got 2x XP and 2x w7. but you better make sure and call the cops. and no, it has nothing to do with my question. if id ask an engine related question for my VW Golf, it just wouldnt fit to ask if it was stolen, right?

Poor analogy, given that the vast majority of questions on this forum regarding this type of issue (amongst others) is actually asking how to circumvent EULAs then I don't think it is unreasonable to assume that is the case by default.

I gave an apology in my last post if you did have 2 separate licenses and explained why I gave the response I did. Good day to you sir..

 

[darth pravus]

There was no need for that message to DA to be honest.

Can I ask the need for two seperate physical? if it's for security why not use two physical hard drives?

 

[paulemannsen]

i only got 2 hdds and the other one is occupied with 2 times xp(only 4 primary partitions max are possible and i also got a logical partition on it). i wanna keep xp until im firm in and sure about win7. didnt expect it to be that much of a hassle.
arent there any websites on that subject? i cant manage to find decent info...

to DA: how often did you play forum sheriff on such topics and how often did you uncover a crime by that? youre wasting time with such posts, thats what made me angry. sry for that.

 

[darth pravus]

It's against the rules to discuss pirated material so most people do it, it's just he was first this time and took up his duty.

If we determine it is illegal then we just don't help.

Windows 7 does tend to overwrite the MBR which is why they say install it first.

What error do you get when they are on two paritions?

 

[Guest]

i only got 2 hdds and the other one is occupied with 2 times xp(only 4 primary partitions max are possible and i also got a logical partition on it). i wanna keep xp until im firm in and sure about win7. didnt expect it to be that much of a hassle.
arent there any websites on that subject? i cant manage to find decent info...

to DA: how often did you play forum sheriff on such topics and how often did you uncover a crime by that? youre wasting time with such posts, thats what made me angry. sry for that.

Sorry but I think you're missing the point here - It's not about playing sheriff or uncovering crimes, it's about alerting posters to restrictions that they may genuinely not be aware of, and to a certain extent protecting my own arse by not inadvertently helping someone bypass copy protection, security or breach license agreements.

 

[paulemannsen]

im not 100% sure, but i think its something along the lines "ntldr.dll missing". if my theory about the minipartition w7 is making during installation is correct, i should get a message about mbr missing though. which leads me to assume that w7 is deliberately overwriting any other mbr it finds apart from its own.

DA: ok, so you were just lecturing me. considering the amount of fools, roaming these forums, that might even be a good idea to do first . no hard feelings then.

 

[darth pravus]

After some research I'm pretty sure you can dual boot the same os on one disk as they share MBR per disk.

Options are another disk (safest for security between the two os's) or there are free utilities to dual boot.

http://download.cnet.com/EasyBCD/3000-2094_4-10556865.html

 

[Guest]

Yeah no worries, as Darth Pravus said it's just the default response to this kind of question, sorry if it caused offence but that's how it is.

Now to the original question, and I'm not a 100% on this but as far as I know both installations will need to share the same BCD. The BCD will be written by each installation, by hiding the first installation when installing the second I would assume the secondary installation would write the BCD thinking it is the only one (as it cannot see the first one) and therefore only create the entries for itself.

I found this social.technet discussion, hope it is of help. http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itproinstall/thread/c173b8ee-bac3-45c8-95ae-112c83765ba3

 

[paulemannsen]

thx guys. im going to check it out.

 

[hedwar2011]

yes, i want them physically separated.
like i said. i already installed them both, but somehow the second one seems to overwrite the bootheader(or whatever its called) of the first during install and therefore renders the first unusable.
what made me suspicious is the fact, that w7 reserves itself some space at hte beginning of the hdd(also a primary partition). probably its always starting from there. but since the second install seems to hug that very same partition too for booting this leaves me in kind of a predicament.


to DA: i got 2x XP and 2x w7. but you better make sure and call the cops. and no, it has nothing to do with my question. if id ask an engine related question for my VW Golf, it just wouldnt fit to ask if it was stolen, right?

Firstly paulemannser, watch your tone. Digital Alchemy was only attempting to assist. Your response could almost be considered a flame against him/her.

To clear up a couple of questions:

Can Windows 7 be dual booted using the same installation media on the same hard drive? Yes, it can, but it should be noted that the MBR or bootcfg file will need to be modified to show the primary boot partition first (which all this headache can be alleviated using either VMWare Workstation (paid program) or VirtualBox (freebie)). The computer has to have somewhere to look in order to boot so that change will have to be made.
Can the same COA be used for both installations? No
Will Tom's Hardware forum participants assist in using the same COA on duplicate installations? No, because it technically is in breach of the Microsoft EULA

 

[paulemannsen]

i cloned it. works.

 

[adversu]

"I'm pretty sure that what you are trying to accomplish is in breach of the EULA." sounds like an arbitrary accusation to me...
Thanks paulemannsen for the feedback...