VHD for Dummies 101 aka best way to Dual Boot Windows 10 (With Windows 8 or 10)

[boltman2013]

Ok folks here's my painfully simple guide to DUAL booting Windows 10 (the best way)..its easy.

1st off we need to create a VHD from the official ISO..we have a script for that.
Before you accept any ISO check its HASH using HASH TAB,
Hash it up

Compare official hash value of your ISO to make sure its authentic!
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YOU NEED at least 50 GB of free space! Before you start.

Now we NEED to create a VHD...easiest way assumes you have Windows 8 or 10 already to use this Powershell script.

Convert-WindowsImage.ps1

Get it here:
Script Convert-WindowsImage.ps1 ?€” WIM2VHD for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

Now know where you parked your ISO of Windows 10..I suggest C:\ISO\Windows10.iso

Open up a Powershell Prompt and get to the directory containing Convert-WindowsImage.ps1

We need to allow scripts so run....copy and paste below into powershell... run it
Set-ExecutionPolicy unrestricted

Now all you need to do at this point is run the correct command it will be something like this.

.\Convert-WindowsImage.ps1 -SourcePath C:\ISO\Windows10.iso -Edition Professional -VHDFormat VHD -SizeBytes 40GB -VHDPath C:\Windows10.vhd

This will take 7-8 minutes!

After it will say done and on your root drive you will have

Windows10.vhd ...this is bootable! and sysprepped!

Its like a 40GB hard drive with Windows 10 ready to boot. (Just virtual)

Now move a copy into another folder (want to save the original) such as c:\VMs

This copy will be your dual boot Windows 10

Use this guide to mount....
How to Create Windows 8 VHD for Boot to VHD using simple, easy to follow steps - Harold Wong's Blog with Geekie Thoughts and Insights - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

What you will have is a 40GB Windows 10 and Drive D will be your old OS...when done delete the VHD and remove the boot entry in msconfig.

Hope this guide helps!

The reason I want you to use 8 or 10 its super easy and works! In windows 7 I could not get the key to work that they provide...you could use windows 7 though to get a non activated 10 ..and then use that to create a real good VHD with the above steps. Look for my other posts for a link to Windows 7 method.

 

[RichardBurt]

Or... you could just use VMware Player (free by the way) to do a fresh install of Windows 10 and run it as a VM with none of the faffing about or RISK with dual booting to a tech preview operating system.

 

[boltman2013]

Or... you could just use VMware Player (free by the way) to do a fresh install of Windows 10 and run it as a VM with none of the faffing about or RISK with dual booting to a tech preview operating system.

Risk?...VHD's are well known and in fact since they are MIcrosoft Windows inherent technology actually are much safer than a third party VM platform. All a VM platfor offers is a seemingly easier way to test...BUT its not nearly as good.

Why do VHD?... Just like bare metal install with REAL drivers not VMWARE ones.
Faster than a VM
Access to all your stuff...old windows drives are D: etc.

Why not to do VHD....

Takes a bit more tech expertise
Does modify boot BCD registry store.
Have to know what you are doing.

Otherwise a VHD beats VM in every facet of testing on any system.

Stands for Virtual Hard Disk...thats like attaching a new windows 10 Hard drive to your computer.... how cool is that?

There is NO more risk to using a VHD over say VMWare...just a few more steps.
With VHD you run the entire OS in one file on your harddrive... when done delete it.

All you need is free space and know how.

 

[JaiMento]

I still like Hyper-V VM via RDP. Only real downside is no real hardware to test for hardware compatibility, but I'm far from caring about testing for hardware compatibility at the moment. However, it is nice to have access to the VM from any PC and to have access to both the VM and the PC at the same time.

 

[Idiosyncrasy]

If people need a "For Dummies" guide on how to install a Technical Preview, then they are DEFINITELY not the target audience. While the build is mostly stable and I haven't had issues with it, it is definitely geared towards IT Pros in an Enterprise environment.

 

[chuck willis]

Powershell replies that the term " .\Convert-WindowsImage.ps1" is not recognized

 

[F3rzz]

try using the actual path where you downloaded the file "C:\XXX\XXX\Convert-WindowsImage.ps1" instead

i did that and it started the process... too bad i changed 40 GB to 20 GB (my HDD is quite full smh) and it returned a error mid-process.

i'll try again later when i backup some stuff :3

THANKSS i was really struggling with another tutorial, but this feels like it will work flawlessly.

 

[psgenious]

is that any risk in simply install in dual boot. ?

 

[boltman2013]

Must be in directory with the PS script or configure environmental variable path.

 

[anon(123856)]

I still like Hyper-V VM via RDP. Only real downside is no real hardware to test for hardware compatibility, but I'm far from caring about testing for hardware compatibility at the moment. However, it is nice to have access to the VM from any PC and to have access to both the VM and the PC at the same time.

I just tried this myself and have to say I'm impressed with the Hyper-V technology. My laptop supports it and I already had it installed so setting up Win 10 was a piece of cake.

 

[JaiMento]

I just tried this myself and have to say I'm impressed with the Hyper-V technology. My laptop supports is and I already had it installed so setting up Win 10 was a piece of cake.

Yes, it's a nice solution. And with RDP, you are still able to grant access to your ports and drives to the VM and run the VM full screen, even across multiple monitors.

Additionally, it was nice, yesterday, being able to RDP into it from a remote site to access the RSAT tools to reset a PC before having to replace it. The best part is when I'm doing actual production work on it and come across something I can't run on it, I don't have to reboot the PC just to access my Windows 8.1 install.

Posted via Windows Phone Central App

 

[dalydose]

If people need a "For Dummies" guide on how to install a Technical Preview, then they are DEFINITELY not the target audience. While the build is mostly stable and I haven't had issues with it, it is definitely geared towards IT Pros in an Enterprise environment.

Why not? Every single one of had to do stuff like this for the first time. Why do you want them to be forever without knowledge?