Windows 10: Image backup in Windows dual boot PC (7/10)?

I have tended over the years to use Windows' own image backup, which I have found no less reliable than any 3rd. party software I have used (like Macrium).

I use Windows 7 far more often than 10 on my dual boot PC, but gradually that is changing... unfortunately. Still much prefer Windows 7, but obviously that's becoming less and less viable as time goes on.

My question is, on such a dual-boot PC, will an image of the Windows 10 drive (on a different physical disc from Windows 7, all SSDs BTW) made in Windows 7 work as a boot partition if it were restored via Windows 7 to the same location? Or would it be unbootable for some reason? Seems to me that an image is an image is an image, but...

O/S = Win7 x64 & Win10 Pro

Thanks.

:)

 

Install windows 10, 7 or both on my desktop pc?!

Here's what I would do, I'd get a backup USB HDD and create a backup image of your system with Windows 7.

Use Macrium Reflect Free to do this. That way you can simply restore your Windows 7 image at the moment you backed it up and have things back to normal. Even if you don't upgrade your OS, and want to dual boot...I'd do a total backup first.

Then upgrade to Windows 10 and see what you do/don't like. I have done both upgrade and fresh install paths, both generally work pretty well...and have their pro's/con's. You have 30-days to rollback from a 10 upgrade as well.

I haven't dual booted 10 with anything but 8. Dual booting Windows can be a finicky affair but is generally doable.

https://www.howtogeek.com/197647/how-to-dual-boot-windows-10-with-windows-7-or-8/

Here Is a Free Way to Dual Boot Windows 7 and 10 - MiniTool​
You may need to learn how to manage the Windows boot manager in the future, but it is WAY better than it was 10 years ago! So odds are you'll be fine if you go that route.

Frankly I'd run 10 and call it a day, but to each their own. Many folk still prefer 7, and it is still a very good OS. *Toast :toast:

 

Dual Boot Setup 10 and 8.1 and 10 and 7 using image backup / restore


I have multiple computers with Dual Boot setups and have questions about the correct way to do system image backups to be able to restore only one OS in event of issues. After cloning hard drive that already had dual boot with 10 and 7 working successfully, the new hard drive would not boot Win 7, only Win 10. Both OS versions were visible, from both 10 and 7 dual boot menus. I had taken image backups from within each of the OS software, and tried to do a restore of the win 7 from the win 10 recovery media ( i did not want to risk doing a restore from Win 7 recovery media that would not be aware of the newer OS.). It found the Win 7 OS and the backup image when I selected the win 7 OS from the restore option, but it wanted to delete all other partitions on the drive (only one hard drive on system), which would have wiped out the working Win 10 partition.

Is it possible to restore only one OS partition from System Image Restore for dual boot setups using one hard drive, and, if so what is the image creation scenario and image restore scenario to follow.

I had a system image that I created in Win 7 (system and OS partition option) before I did a clean install of Windows 10 to a new Partition. I created a system image of Windows 10 after the successful install. I set up dual boot and was able to access both version of the OS successfully multiple times. I cloned to a new, larger hard drive and was able to access the Win 10 partition, but got an error ( unable to boot from partition) and wanted to restore only the Win 7 partition from win 10 recovery media. It found the OS and the image restore set, but wanted to delete all other partitions on the hard drive. I wound up re-cloning the hard drive.

Is there a known process for being able to use the existing windows tools to create system images for each OS in a dual boot system and be able to restore one or the other

Do you have to do a system image backup from Win 10, and include all partitions on the drive and then restore everything if you have a problem with either?

Any thoughts or suggestions how to be able to use system image backups to maintain a dual boot system with maximum flexibility on the restore side of things?

 

Dual Booting with Windows 8.1


The procedure below will allow you to boot Windows separately or in dual boot configuration.
Here's what I recommend to do:

1. Disconnect the drive containing Windows 8.1
2. Install Windows 10 with one drive connected.
3. After step 2, reconnect the drive containing Windows 8.1
4. Boot up Windows 8.1. Open disk management and take a note of the drive letter of Windows 10 OS.
   NOTE: if you boot up Windows 10, then take a note of Windows 8.1 drive letter
5. Open Admin command prompt and type: bcdboot X:\windows where X: is the drive letter of Windows 10 (Windows 8.1 if you boot from Windows 10 in step 4)
6. Reboot the PC. You should have a dual boot screen.

NOTE: To break off the dual boot setting, Win+R->msconfig->boot and delete the none default entry on the list.