Thread: Regarding Dual-boot

Originally Posted by Drew

Let's say W7 & W8. Let's say there's a Sys drive & a Data drive & maybe others, too. When > Computer in the W7, see all the drives. AND... when in W8 > Computer AND still see & can access ALL the same drives... nice bonus to dual-boot, can get @ & use everything you already have from BOTH OSs.

I take advantage of this while dual booting. I've left all my personal files on my Windows 7 partition, and configured my libraries on the Windows 8 side to just add my personal folders in from the other partition. It's definitely more efficient than duplicating everything. I only recently discovered that you can also add network folders to the library, so I'm thinking my next stop is to setup my main system to just retrieve all my content from my secondary system, which I use mostly as a media center.

I used a virtual hard disk and didn't mess with another partition. Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprisr allow creating a bootable virtual hard disk.
Joe

Dual Boot Win 7, Win 8 CP with a separate Data Drive. I installed most apps in Win 8 that I had installed in Win 7 and pointed to data in data drive from same apps in Win 7. I have been using the Win 8 CP partition all day doing all my work today. Have not booted to Win 7 at all today. My financial app (Quicken) points to my Quicken file in the data drive so whether I use Win 7 or Win 8 CP the data file is the same file. Same with other data apps. This works well for me. I am about 2 make an Image of the Win 7 and Win 8 CP partitions. I will do this from outside both OSes. The Image will be comprised of both OSes. I will boot into Win 7 just long enough to clean everything up because I always do before creating an Image.

Yep, yep & yep, Ted. It's pretty slick done thusly. When one can see & access everything in the box & either OS & so quickly & conveniently copy or move thing over or about... I, too, since getting want I want put wherever (of & from W7 to W8) am spending most of my time w/ 8. Gotta get to know it & critique it so, majority of time spent w/ it only makes (good) sense. + (bonus) using the functionality of 8 is proving to be quite fun & enjoyable... it, actually, gets likable rather quickly.

Instead of using a VPC vm, I was considering creating a bootable virtual hard disk since, I have Ultimate. But then, recently (cus I never used it) I blew away the W7 x86 I had on a drive in this machine, knowing it would be so straightforward to install W8 there (instead) & be so workable & 'real'. And when MS has the next Build to be tested, can easily blow this install away & quickly replace it w/ the next.... and, I always do clean installs, anyway.

In point of fact in many cases I had the exe files of the apps on my Win 7 partition and simply pointed to these files from within Win 8 CP and installed the apps from there, then pointed to the data on the 3rd (Data) partition. really slick!

Yes, Ted, that's it. I did the same, very smooth... You install to 8 from where the installer is already located. For example my installer for CCleaner is in a Misc. Tools folder on my Data drive; installed to or on 8 from there... leaving no need to take the time or trouble to download the same installer to somewhere on the W8 C:\ . Oh, yes, really slick. To have it be so seamless and not even non-virual

Drew

Oh & we didn't mention that it, the added OS grabs the Printer, Camera & such, already attached machine, as that peripheral gear becomes common hardware, too

My printer is attached to my router and my Win 8 CP sees it just fine. I had to install the driver from, you guessed it, my data partition. If I plug in my phone or camera the OS will install the drivers automatically, This is so cool.