Windows 10: Dual booting inside a VMWARE Virtual Machine.

I decided (more out of academic interest than need) that I would setup windows 10586 in a vm on VMWARE, and also Insider version.

Problem was I could not find anyway of doing this. You could install first version, but how to install second version, as you automatically boot to the installed version?

I looked on various sites including Macrium, and I saw dual booting was possible, but all videos referred to windows, linux where you can install linux as dual boot within windows.

Some sites said it was not possible but I was sure if you could modify boot files with linux there had to be a way with two windows installs.

I am sure it can be done using pre-prepared virtual hard drives and initially jumping to a command prompt to attach vhds etc. I did not want to do that as you cannot upgrade OS in vhds.

So I had a ponder, and my good old friend Macrium Reflect Free came to mind.

So I installed 10586 in a vm, installed Macrium Reflect Free, and used that to create a boot entry, unsure if this would work in a vm.

To my surprise, it worked first time. So now it was a simple case of:-

1) creating an image backup of an existing install 10 pro, home, Insider, 8 or even 7. I put this on a large usb flash drive.

2) shrinking c drive in vhd to create enough space (could have expanded drive instead)

3) restart vm, booting into Macrium and restore C drive partition only (not system partitions) from backup to unallocated space.

4) use Macrium 'fix windows boot problem'

I am sure there are other maybe quicker ways, but this allows you to use setup versions etc, and was easy to do once I worked it out.

What I can do now is share files between each OS version without having to store externally to the VM as I would have to do if installs were separate instances.

So here it is:-





:)

 

Windows 10 and XP dual boot.

Do you think Windows XP will have drivers for your hardware? Not likely. Rather than dual-booting, a much better idea is to run XP in a virtual machine as Andre suggested. It's easy to setup a VM with either VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation Player and
illustrated tutorials are on the web.

 

Windows 10 and XP dual boot.

Yes, you can, but why not run that software in a virtual machine instead?

Dual boot:

How to: setup a dual boot configuration with Windows
10 and previous versions of Windows

Virtual machine:

Run Older or Incompatible Software on Windows 10 in a ... - groovyPost

 

You can even combine two individual virtual machines to a single dual boot vm. In Hyper-V this is extremely easy, you just copy the .vhd or .vhdx file of the other vm to your first vm, mount it and add to boot menu (adding a VHD to boot menu for native boot: Hyper-V - Native Boot VHD - Windows 10 Forums)

You are using VMware, a .vmdk file. That needs first to be converted to .vhd file but then it's easy. See this tutorial on our sister site Seven Forums for converting a VMDK file to VHD and adding it to native boot: Windows 10 - Test Try with No Risk, No Install - Windows 7 Help Forums (Part One steps 2 & 3 for tools needed, Part Three for converting VMDK to VHD, Part Four to add it to boot menu).

 

Thanks - and I am certain you can do similar in VMWARE as I said, but key problem (afaik) is you cannot do build upgrades to installs in a vhd. This is a limitation of vhds (afaik) not VMs themselves.

 

Just to clarify: You can upgrade Windows on a VM, but not when its virtual hard disk is used in native boot. If upgrade is launched when VHD of the VM is used in native boot, you just get this:





I use two of my W10 virtual machines almost exclusively for native boot, to be able to use real physical hardware with them. Only when I need to upgrade them to next build I launch them in Hyper-V.

They are both activated when native booted because of my hardware digital signature, not activated when using them as VM in Hyper-V but luckily you can upgrade Windows 10 even if it's not activated.

 

Yes - that is what I meant - you have stated it more clearly. It is a shame you cannot upgrade on a virtual drive - that is why I went through the Macrium route installing as "native boot" as it was easy to do, and the installs are upgradeable..

I do not have PRO hence VMWARE.

 

Hi there

Call me peverse - but why would you want to dual boot from WITHIN a VM -- what's wrong with having TWO VM's -- no prob running both at the same time if you have anothing bigger than a tiny netbook. Even a small laptop is more than capable of running two VM's concurrently. !!

I know you specifically asked for dual booting within a VM -- I'd love to have your reason for this -- I'm always interested in learning stuff and you might well have a great reason for doing this.

(By dual booting of course I mean running say Windows and Linux VM's. I don't mean running say something like ESXI as a VM and then installing VM's on it or say a Windows virtual server and running VM's on that (second level VM's) which is quite possible and easily done).

Cheers
jimbo

 

So..., you have a machine running a v-machine, running a ......
What's the point? Isn't that just a waste of overhead?
Why not just dual boot on clean metal?

 

Read the first sentence in the original post:

 

Oops! *Zip*Zip*Zip*Zip*Zip

 

You & Jimbo both should understand that.
You both are two of the biggest "Hmmmm, what if I...." members here*Smile

 

I think you missed one point, although I admit the point was well hidden in between the lines *Smile

Dual boot means that both operating systems have direct access to each other's disks. This in its turn means that if and when I set up a virtual machine to dual boot with another vm, I only have to have one vm running to move data between them. Much faster than running both virtual machines simultaneously and moving data over the network.

Not too often needed feature but an important one.

Some of us are virtualization freaks like me, or just interested in finding out what's possible.

Dual booting on physical hardware, I have one OS running. Running a vm I have two operating systems running at the same time on same hardware, visible on same displays. Having that vm set to dual boot, see my reply to Jimbo above.

 

As I said it was more out of curiosity to see if it was possible.

The only advantage I can see is that you can share data between the installs without having to resort to external drives or other virtual drives. And only one vm to backup.

 

Hi there

OK - I agree about the networking bit -- copying data between 2 VM's on same physical host goes through Network - seems to use the PHYSICAL wi-fi network rather than internal "Virtual NIC" even though both VM machines are on the same Host. I should get 1 Gb transfer but instead get network wifi speed --still OK where I am but it shouldn't really send data over the "Real" wi-fi" adapterr !!!!

(Using "Local Host" networking fixes that problem - but then I can't access the VM's from the rest of the network !!.

Cheers
jimbo