On almost any computer you can install several operating systems. To do this, you need to know its minimum system requirements. For example, to install Windows 7 on a second system, you will need about 10 GB of free disk space. While for version 10, a little less is needed. This is explained by optimization and compression of system files.
Before you install multiple operating systems, carefully review their requirements and make sure your computer meets them.
In this guide, we will look at two questions: how to install Windows 7 as a second system on a computer with Windows 10 and vice versa.
Preparing for installation
If your computer already has several partitions (Local drives C, D, E), then you can safely skip this step. For example, if your “ten” is on “C”, then “seven” is best placed on “D”. To do this, format the disk by first doing backups important data.
If there is only one partition on the computer ( Local disk C), then you need to create an additional one. For this:
1. run system utility“disk management” through the “start” menu;
2. select the disk whose free memory will be used for the additional partition;
3. in context menu select “shrink volume”;
4. as soon as the utility finishes analyzing and compressing the free space, enter the size of the future partition (it should not exceed the maximum available);
5. after you click “compress” a new “undistributed” will appear disk space»;
6. click on it and click “create simple volume”;
7. here you will be asked to determine the amount of memory for the new partition (for example, if you want to create several disks from it);
8. Assign a new letter to it and format it (all parameters are default).
The disk is now ready to install multiple operating systems.
The guide is then divided into two parts:
- for those who want to install Windows 7 as a second system on the “ten”.
- for those who want to install Windows 10 as a second OS on the “seven”.
Windows 10
The first thing you need to do is download the *.iso image from Windows 10. You can find the “top ten” for free on the official Microsoft website in the “downloads” section. To do this, click on the “download tool now” page and wait until the special MediaCreationTool utility completes downloading. It is with its help that we will create bootable USB flash drive with Windows 10.
The main convenience of the utility is that with its help you can immediately upgrade to “top ten” and download the *.iso image (for installation on another computer). At the same time, another third party software We don't need it to create a bootable USB flash drive.
Launch MediaCreationTool, accept the terms of the license agreement. In the next step, select "create installation media for another computer" and select required parameters OS. 
Pay special attention to the choice of processor architecture. You can find out the bitness of your computer by right-clicking on “computer” - “properties” - “system type”.
Creating a bootable USB flash drive for Windows 10
To immediately create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 10 using the MediaCreationTool utility, select “USB flash memory device.” To do this, you will need any flash drive with a memory capacity of at least 4 GB. An SD or mini SD (if you have an adapter) card is quite suitable.
Attention! All files on the USB drive will be deleted, so be sure to back them up.
After this, the program will prompt you to select the media on which the OS will be installed. Wait until the download completes.
Creating a bootable USB flash drive for Windows 7
You can download a *.iso image from Windows 7 for further recording on a flash drive from a torrent tracker. In this case, during the installation process you will need to enter a key to activate it (or activate the trial version).
If you have any left old disk with the “seven”, then feel free to move on to the next stage.
To create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows 7 and install it on Windows 10, you will need a special utility for burning the image to a USB drive (or disk). We will use UltraISO (the demo version of the program allows you to do this). For this:
1. launch the UltraISO program and select “open” from the “file” menu on the toolbar; 
2. indicate to the application the path to your *.iso image and click “open”;
3. now find the “bootstrapping” - “burn image” item on the toolbar;
4. specify the method for recording the image “USB HDD” and format the flash drive;
5. Wait until the operation is completed and proceed to recording the image by clicking the “Burn” button.
As soon as the program finishes recording, the bootable USB flash drive will be ready and you can proceed to the final stage.
Installing a second OS
Before you begin installation, change BIOS settings’and so that the device boots from a USB drive. To do this, restart the computer and as soon as the screen lights up, press the key on the keyboard to launch the BIOS menu.
As soon as you get into its interface, find the “Boot” menu in it, here you need to change the boot order “Boot Priority” and put USB in first place (if the installation will take place from a USB drive or CDROM if from a disk) and in second place - HDD ( HDD).
Save the changes, insert the USB flash drive into the computer and restart the computer. If you did everything correctly, a Windows welcome window will appear in front of you asking you to install the OS. If the computer boots normally, double-check the Boot Priority order. 
All further steps are equally suitable to install any Windows version as a second OS. For this:
1. configure basic OS settings (language, license agreement);
2. On the “installation type” screen, you must select “custom”;
3. the system will prompt you to select the disk on which the installation will be performed;
4. here you need to click on the partition we created, it will be designated as “unallocated disk space” (the disk with the OS will be listed as the main one);
5. After this, continue installation as normal.
This completes the installation of Windows 7 with the second system. Now, after turning on the computer, you can select the OS to work with. 
Often, only one operating system is installed on a computer, but if you wish, you can install two Windows operating systems and select the one you need when turning on the computer. According to the recommendations, you need to first install the older operating system, and then the newer one, for example: first install Windows 7, and then install Windows 10.
What do we have to do:
- Install the first operating system: If you already have Windows installed on your computer, good, let's move on! If not, install Windows and configure it;
- Free up space for a second operating system: if all your disks are busy, you need to shrink one of them to free up space and we can create another partition for another operating system;
- Installation of the second Windows versions: We are installing a second operating system, and at the beginning of the installation you need to select a custom installation, not an update! During installation, select the unallocated disk space that appeared after compression in the previous paragraph.
This was a short plan that, when you turn on your computer, you will be able to choose which Windows to boot. Moreover, all files will be common to both operating systems.
Install the first version of the operating system if it is not already installed:
Let's say we have a clean laptop (or desktop computer), first we install the first operating system there:
2. When the dots appear and Press any key, press Enter and the installation begins. Select the language, accept the license, and choose a custom installation!
3. If there is no important information on the disk - delete the old ones and make new ones, or select one and install Windows there;
If you already have an operating system - , and make room for the new operating system:
2. When the dots appear and Press any key, press Enter and the installation begins. Select the language, accept the license, and choose custom installation! If you choose to update, the new operating system will become over the old one!
3. When prompted to select a disk for installation, select the space that is freed up during compression, we can simply select it and click next, or we can select unallocated space => click Create => and create a disk of the required size. No need to install Windows on an existing partition! Choose only an unoccupied seat!
Selecting the operating system to boot and changing boot options:
Depending on which operating system you installed as the second one, the screen will look different; for example, I installed Windows 8.1 as the second system and the selection screen looks like this:
And in other cases it can be black, or another color, which, of course, is not important :)
You can go into boot options and select the default operating system to boot, the time to determine the choice, or automatic download etc. To do this, right-click on Computer => properties => additional system settings => in the additional tab, select Boot and Recovery, select Options => configure the necessary boot parameters
If you want to install another operating system, then do it on another partition. But I wouldn’t recommend many of them; if you want to conduct experiments on different operating systems, then it’s better to use . That's all for today! Good luck to you :)
In order to try using the latest Windows 10 system painlessly for your beloved Windows 7 (or 8), you can install it on your computer as a second, additional OS. In general, if your hard drive has at least 200 gigabytes of total space, then this is a start the best option. As they say, the wolves are fed and the sheep are safe - in the sense, the old beloved and familiar Windows 7 is at hand with all the programs and settings, and at the same time you can use the new Windows 10 system on the same computer. For the “top ten” itself, 20GB is enough free space.
So, in order to install Windows 10 side by side on the same computer with Windows 7 (or 8), first you need to prepare an image of your new system. IN this moment it is possible to do this by downloading a special utility from the official website Microsoft. On the link page, select “Download the tool now” and run the program on your computer MediaCreationTool. Next, you need to accept the terms of use of the tool to create an image of Windows 10 and select “ Create installation media for another computer"(if you select "Update this PC now", the program will start the process Windows updates 7 to ten).
If you plan to install Windows 10 on the same computer on which the image is recorded, then in the “Select language, architecture and edition” window, you can leave a checkmark in the “ Use recommended settings for this computer"and the desired image will be automatically recorded. If you plan to install Windows 10 next to Windows 7 on another machine, then it is better to uncheck the box and select the desired architecture: 64-bit or 32-bit.
To understand which version to download (32 or 64 bit), look at the bit capacity of your computer. We discuss how to do this in the article. Select the desired media and click next.
Step 2. Burn the image to a DVD or flash drive
After this, the MediaCreationTool program prompts us to choose where we want to record Windows image 10: to DVD or flash drive. Next, the loading of “tens” begins. This process can take from 15-20 minutes depending on the speed of the Internet connection and the workload of Microsoft servers. After that in automatic mode The downloaded Windows 10 image is written to the selected media.
Step 3. Create a hard drive partition for installing Windows 10
If your computer's hard drive already has two or more partitions (for example, Local Disk C and Local Disk D), then you can skip this step. In this case, the partition on which you plan to install Windows 10 must be completely cleared of the information located there, and for reliability, you can format it. It is clear that if your main drive is C, then it will remain on it previous version Windows. For “ten” you need to select another drive (for example, D).
If you have one partition or the second partition contains valuable data that you do not want to lose, then to create a new partition you can “pinch off” a piece from the partition that has more free space. I explain in detail how to do this in the material. . Despite the fact that the article is about Windows 10, in the “seven” or “eight” everything is done by analogy. and you shouldn't have a problem with this.
After separating free space, immediately create new disk not necessary on it. This can be done in the process Windows installations 10.
Step 4. Setting up BIOS or UEFI to install Windows 10 from a flash drive or DVD
If you don't know what a BIOS is (or more modern computers UEFI), then it is better to understand this issue before installing Windows 10. I will briefly say only what we need to understand.
BIOS or UEFI is what allows our computers to work without any operating system. It is through this software we can install and run any operating system.
Why would we even need to configure the BIOS or UEFI to install Windows 10 as a second operating system? So that when we restart the computer, the installation process for the “ten” starts loading, and our “seven” or “eight” does not start, as usual.
In general, at the very beginning of booting the computer, depending on its model, you need to press the button to enter the BIOS or UEFI even before the splash screen appears Windows boot. As a rule, these are the “Del”, “F2” or “F12” buttons.
By going into the BIOS or UEFI settings, you need to find where the boot order of your computer changes. Usually our computer boots first with hard drive where Windows is installed. To install Windows 10 as a second OS, we need to change this order: first of all, the system must boot from a DVD or flash drive. (Depending on where you wrote your Windows 10 image).
Step 5: Install Windows 10 as a Second Operating System
After we have configured the BIOS or UEFI, we need to restart the computer. To do this, in the BIOS or UEFI itself, we need to click “Save & Exit”).
If you did everything correctly, then after the reboot you should see an image like the one in the picture.
We wait for some time. Then the window for selecting the language to install appears.
Next, we can choose one of two items. Either we update the existing “seven” or “eight” to Windows 10, or we install Windows 10 as a second system. In this case, select the bottom option “Custom: Windows installation only (for advanced users).”
In the next step, we select the partition on which Windows 10 will be installed by the second system. In the case illustrated in the picture, we see that we have “Disk 0 Partition 1: System Reserved” and “Disk 0 Partition 2”. The second partition has our previous version of Windows installed. To install “ten”, we select “Unallocated space on disk 0” (for you this may be an already created empty partition), select it and click “Next”.
Attention! At this moment, before rebooting, you need to remove the DVD or flash drive from which we installed Windows 10. If this is not done, the computer may start installing Windows 10 again: the language selection screen will appear again, etc.
We reboot and wait while the system makes further necessary settings.
The pictures below were taken by me a year and a half ago, when I tested the technical version of Windows 10. Now the process looks a little different. But the essence did not change at all, so I decided not to change the images (let them remain for history).
In order not to dwell on the details, we leave everything as it is (if desired, you can change everything later), and click “Use standard parameters”.
We choose who owns the computer (it’s clear that it’s “me”).
At the last stage, we log in with our existing Microsoft account or create it again (you can use any email to create - for example, I registered with Microsoft at This address Email protected from spam bots. You must have JavaScript enabled to view it.).
It is the password for your account that you will need to enter when logging into the system.
By the way, I have an article telling How to disable entering a password when logging into Windows 10. If you wish, we can do this after the first login.
That's all! Welcome to Windows 10. Now, every time you boot your computer, you will be presented with a pretty nice blue window asking you which system you want to boot. By default, if there is no choice, “ten” will load within 30 seconds, but both the waiting time and the default OS can be changed in the settings. To do this, find it through the search and launch the application msconfig(System configuration). If you change the default boot to Windows 7, instead of the nice blue selection window, the usual black one will appear.
Still have questions? Ask in the comment form below.
We are all accustomed to the fact that our computer has an operating system installed, with the help of which we communicate with the machine. In some cases, it may be necessary to install a second “axis” for familiarization or other purposes. We will devote this article to analyzing ways to use two copies of Windows on one PC.
There are two options for solving this problem. The first involves the use of a virtual machine - a special emulator program. The second is installing the operating system on a physical disk. In both cases we will need installation distribution with the required version of Windows, recorded on a flash drive, disk or image.
Read more: How to create a bootable USB flash drive.
Method 1: Virtual Machine
Talking about virtual machines, We mean special programs, allowing you to install as many copies of any OS as you like on one PC. In this case, such a system will work as full-fledged computer, with its main nodes, drivers, network and other devices. There are several similar products, but we will focus on VirtualBox.
Installing and configuring the software usually does not cause difficulties, but we still recommend that you read the article at the link below.
To use a virtual machine for Windows installations, it must first be created in the program interface. At the first stages of this procedure, it is worth paying attention to the main parameters - volume virtual hard disk allocated random access memory and the number of processor cores used. After the machine is created, you can begin installing the OS.
As we wrote above, first you need to create a partition on the disk. Perfect for our purposes free program Minitool Partition Wizard.
- We launch the program and select the partition from which we plan to “cut off” space for installation.
- Right-click on this volume and select “ Move/Resize".
- Set the required partition size by dragging the marker to the left and click OK. At this stage, it is important to determine the minimum working volume required to install the OS. For Win XP you will need at least 1.5 GB, for 7, 8 and 10 - already 20 GB. You need so much space for the system, but don’t forget about updates, programs, drivers and other things that “eat away” free space on system disk. In modern realities, you need approximately 50 - 70 GB, and preferably 120.
- Apply the operation with the button "Apply".
- The program will prompt you to restart your PC. We agree, since the disk is used by the system and can only be edited in this way.
- We are waiting for the process to complete.
After the above steps, we will get the amount of unallocated space required for installing Windows. For different versions For Windows, this process will be different.
Windows 10, 8, 7
Windows XP
When starting a computer with several installed copies"Windows" we will get an additional boot stage - selecting the OS. In XP and 7, this screen looks like this (the newly installed system will be first in the list):
In Win 10 and 8 it’s like this:
Method 3: Install to another drive
When installing on a new (second) disk, the drive that is currently the system drive must also be connected to motherboard. This will make it possible to combine two copies of the OS into one group, which, in turn, will allow you to manage the boot.
On the screen Windows installer 7 – 10 it might look like this:
In XP, the list of partitions looks like this:
Further actions will be the same as when working with one disk: select a partition, installation.
Possible problems
During system installation, some errors may occur due to incompatible file table formats on disks. They can be eliminated quite simply - by converting or using a correctly created bootable USB flash drive.
Conclusion
Today we figured out how you can install two independent Windows on one computer. Option with virtual machine suitable if you need to work simultaneously in several operating systems at once. If you need a complete workplace, then pay attention to the second method.
Hello, I finally have the opportunity to tell you about how it’s going installing the Windows 10 operating system, and we will consider the situation when you need to install “ tens"The second system, and the first will be Windows 7.
This situation may arise when you are so accustomed to Windows 7 that you do not want to completely abandon it, but at the same time Windows time 10 also attracts you as it is a newer and improved operating system.
As you already understand, there is a way out in this situation; it is to install Windows 10 next to Windows 7, in other words, in the end you will have two fully installed operating systems on one computer. IN in this case When you boot your computer, you will choose which system you want to boot into, and you can specify any default system to automatically ( for example after 5 seconds) boot into a specific operating system, for example Windows 7.
Note!
For such a configuration, i.e. two Windows 10 and Windows 7 systems on one computer, it is important that Windows 7 is already installed on the computer or should be installed first, and Windows 10 second. This is a recommendation from the developers themselves, as they say, Windows 10 knows that Windows 7 exists, and Windows 7, accordingly, does not know about Windows 10, since Windows 10 is a newer OS.
Description of the process of installing Windows 10 next to Windows 7
Now we will take a step-by-step look at all the necessary steps that need to be performed to install Windows 10 next to Windows 7, i.e. second system.
Step 1 – Prepare Windows 10 installation media
If you, like me, have licensed disk with Windows 10, then your installation media is already prepared and you don’t need to do anything. But if you don’t have a disk, then you will have to download the Windows 10 distribution and create installation media.
There is an official program to create installation media Media Creation Tool, with the help of which the Windows 10 distribution kit is downloaded and, accordingly, written to the media ( We discussed this process in detail in the material – “How to download Windows 10 and create installation media? »).
If you already have it in stock ISO image, then you need to burn it to a DVD disc or USB flash drive, and the disk or flash drive should become bootable.
To burn to a disc, you can use the CDBurnerXP, ImgBurn or UltraISO programs, and the Rufus program is suitable for creating a bootable USB flash drive.
Step 2 – Preparing the hard drive (partition) for Windows 10
Since we are considering installing Windows 10 as a second system on the computer, to install it we need a separate partition or hard drive on which the operating system will be installed Windows system 10, for example, I simply connected an additional hard drive specifically for Windows 10. Accordingly, there should be no data on the partition for Windows 10, i.e. You must first format it as a file NTFS system. This can be done as standard using Windows 7 (Right button by disk -> Format). Also, if you have many partitions on your computer, I recommend setting a clear label for the partition with Windows 10 ( or just remember the partition size), so as not to make a mistake during the installation process at the moment when you specify the partition to install Windows 10.
Step 3 – Boot from media (DVD or USB flash drive)
After you have prepared the installation boot disk or a USB flash drive, as well as the partition in which you will install Windows 10, you need to boot the computer from the installation media. To do this, you need to go into the BIOS and in the boot settings (Boot) set this media to first place so that the boot goes from it, and not from the hard drive. We discussed in detail how to do this in the article. “How to boot from a flash drive? Changing the boot order of devices in the BIOS ». When you install Windows 10, you can reset the settings so that by default the system boots as usual from the hard drive.
Now, after making the necessary settings in the BIOS, when you boot your computer you will see the following message ( when the installation media is inserted into the computer).
Currently, in order to enter the Windows 10 setup program, you need to press any key on the keyboard, for example, “ space».
Step 4 – Launch the installer and select your language
As a result, the Windows 10 installation program will start, first select the language of the installation program.
Step 5 – Selecting the language and time format of the installed system
Then we need to select the language of the operating system to be installed, the format of time and currency, and also specify the keyboard layout, by default everything is selected correctly, so we can immediately press “ Further».
Step 6 – Run Windows 10 Installation
Now we need to select the action that we need, in our case it is installing Windows 10, so click “ Install».
Step 7 – Activating Windows 10 (entering the license key)
At this step we enter license key and click " Further».
Step 8 – Accept the terms of the license agreement
Then we accept the terms of the license agreement, check the box and click “ Further».
Step 9 - Selecting Installation Type
Then we need to select the installation type, since we are considering new installation, then click on the item “ Custom: Windows installation only (for advanced users)».
Step 10 – Selecting a partition to install Windows 10
Now we select the partition in which we want to install Windows 10; as you remember, we should have already prepared it in advance. I named the label for this partition Windows 10, so I know exactly which partition to install on, even though I have many partitions and connected drives.
Step 11 – Start installation (copying files)
The Windows 10 installation process has begun, this stage will last about 10 minutes.
Then the computer will reboot for the first time ( in the future, during the process of setting up the system, there may be another 2-3 reboots).
Step 12 – Select System and Boot
After the computer reboots, you will see an operating system selection interface. By default, Windows 10 will boot, but if necessary, you can change this by specifying the system by Windows default 7. You can also specify a delay before automatic selection and loading, i.e. if at the time of boot you do not indicate which system you need to boot into, after this interval ( delay) time the system will be loaded by default. If you want to change these parameters, click on the item " Change defaults or choose different options».
For now we need to select " Windows 10" to continue installing and configuring the system.
Step 13 – Configuring System Settings
Then the computer will reboot again, and after that we will need to configure several parameters. You can, of course, immediately click “ Use standard settings“, but just for fun, I’ll look at what the parameters are and, if necessary, change them. I press " Settings».
I disabled most of the functions. Click " Further».
Step 14 – Account Setup
Now we need to configure the user account under which we will work. Since we set to home computer, select the item “ This computer belongs to me", and press " Further».
Then we are asked to indicate the account Microsoft entry, if you have it, then you can enter it, if not, then you can create it, if you have such a desire, or simply skip this step, for example, that’s what I do, i.e. I press " Skip this step».
But there must still be an account in the system, so next we create a local account, for this we enter the name and password twice ( for confirmation) and a hint in case you forget your password. After filling out the form, click " Further».
Step 15 – Completing Installation
After creation account Several more system setup tasks will be completed, after which Windows 10 will start and you can use it.
So you and I have installed Windows 10 on our computer, that’s all for now!