Windows 10: How to dual boot to x86 OS when Windows 10 is already installed?

I have a Acer Aspire XC-603G desktop upgraded to Windows 10 64bit Home (no Hyper-V). I want to run 16 bit software that is incompatible. I would like to dual boot with Vista x86 (gave away my XP). From what I understand, you must load the older version first due to Windows 10's MBR. Can I backup/clone Windows 10 partition, reformat and repartition the HDD, install Vista in first partition, then restore Windows 10 to the second partition? I'm thinking I'll need a fresh Windows 10 install. Or is there a simpler way? The only other way I see is to buy the Pro upgrade to get Hyper-V. And if I did the latter would it really be compatible with my Windows 95 16bit ImageReader Scanner software? Thanks

:)

 

How to dual boot to a x86 Windows OS when Windows 10 is already installed?

Thanks for the reply.

Therein lies the problem. Originally an 8.1 x64 machine, updated to 10 Home. Old computer, Athlon 64 3800+, running Vista x86 would run my old ImageReader Scanner software (until motherboard smoked). According to the reference below, I could mess up the
MBR by loading an older version (Vista x86) on top of Windows 10.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/install-multiple-operating-system-multiboot#1TC=windows-7

Tried every possible compatibility mode.

Wish Home edition included Hyper-V. May try third party Oracle VirtualBox.

 

How to dual boot to a x86 Windows OS when Windows 10 is already installed?

Hello,

Thanks for showing your interest in Windows 10, I will certainly help you with this.

Yes, you can dual boot on the Windows Vista computer check the Specifications however
the 16 bit program may not run as 32-bit is the basic flat platform, you may try installing those programs in compatibility mode.

Please refer the Microsoft help article below for detailed information:

How to dual boot Windows 10 with previous
versions of Windows

Set up a dual-boot system

Let us know if you need further assistance. We will be glad to help you further.

____________________

Thanks & Regards,

 

Don't know if it's simpler -- you have to make that call.

You could do the following:
1) make room on the drive for Vista
2) install Vista
3) reboot, but into Win10
4) download and install EasyBCD from NeoSmart Technologies
5) open EasyBCD, click the Add New Entry button, in the Operating Systems section, use the pulldowns and enter info to add Vista as a boot option, click the Add Entry button, save the results

When you reboot, you should get an OS selection screen, with entries for Vista and Win10.