F5F Stay Refreshed Software Operating Systems I have a dual boot setup and I need to transfer Windows 10 to the Windows 7 partition?

I have a dual boot setup and I need to transfer Windows 10 to the Windows 7 partition?

I have a dual boot setup and I need to transfer Windows 10 to the Windows 7 partition?

J
JustcallmeBank
Junior Member
Find
49
01-13-2016, 02:26 PM
#1
I have a dual-boot setup with Windows 10 and Windows 7 on distinct drives. The Windows 7 version resides on Drive 0 with the EFI partition, while Windows 10 is on Drive 1 using a recovery partition. Each OS has its own separate drive. I've performed backups of every drive to an external USB storage device via EaseUS ToDo Free. The system is functioning well as it stands, but over the past few years I've switched from Windows 7 to Windows 10. Additionally, the Windows 10 drive is a 500G Crucial SSD that's approximately 78% full, appearing older (installed in 2017) with about 87% remaining life, whereas all other drives report 100%. The Windows 7 drive is newer, a 1TB EVO 860. Recently, I discovered the Windows 10 drive was formatted using MBR instead of GPT... it's unclear how this happened. Given this situation, here are my plans:

1. Format the Windows 7 partition on Drive 0 and effectively discard it while keeping the EFI partition intact.
2. Restore Windows 10 from my backup to the newly formatted partition on Drive 0.
3. Remove the drive with Windows 10 installed.
4. Install a fresh 1TB EVO 870 in that location and install Zorin OS 18 there.
5. Swap Disk 3 (the old Windows 7 data drive) with a new 1TB EVO 870 intended for ZORIN.

I prefer not to perform a full Windows 10 installation since I have significant engineering software in the programs folder and don’t want to reinstall everything along with its data. I’ve explored using diskpart on the EFI partition, which currently shows Windows 10. I’m considering recreating the EFI partition because it appears to default to Disk 1, or perhaps adjusting the boot order.

I believe I have the original Windows 10 installation USB (available on three machines: this system, a debug machine for driver development, and a laptop) along with the corresponding key. The H: drive is my external USB storage device.

Any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m cautious before making changes...
Reply
Reply
J
JustcallmeBank
01-13-2016, 02:26 PM #1

I have a dual-boot setup with Windows 10 and Windows 7 on distinct drives. The Windows 7 version resides on Drive 0 with the EFI partition, while Windows 10 is on Drive 1 using a recovery partition. Each OS has its own separate drive. I've performed backups of every drive to an external USB storage device via EaseUS ToDo Free. The system is functioning well as it stands, but over the past few years I've switched from Windows 7 to Windows 10. Additionally, the Windows 10 drive is a 500G Crucial SSD that's approximately 78% full, appearing older (installed in 2017) with about 87% remaining life, whereas all other drives report 100%. The Windows 7 drive is newer, a 1TB EVO 860. Recently, I discovered the Windows 10 drive was formatted using MBR instead of GPT... it's unclear how this happened. Given this situation, here are my plans:

1. Format the Windows 7 partition on Drive 0 and effectively discard it while keeping the EFI partition intact.
2. Restore Windows 10 from my backup to the newly formatted partition on Drive 0.
3. Remove the drive with Windows 10 installed.
4. Install a fresh 1TB EVO 870 in that location and install Zorin OS 18 there.
5. Swap Disk 3 (the old Windows 7 data drive) with a new 1TB EVO 870 intended for ZORIN.

I prefer not to perform a full Windows 10 installation since I have significant engineering software in the programs folder and don’t want to reinstall everything along with its data. I’ve explored using diskpart on the EFI partition, which currently shows Windows 10. I’m considering recreating the EFI partition because it appears to default to Disk 1, or perhaps adjusting the boot order.

I believe I have the original Windows 10 installation USB (available on three machines: this system, a debug machine for driver development, and a laptop) along with the corresponding key. The H: drive is my external USB storage device.

Any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m cautious before making changes...

Reply
Reply
D
Danfox4
Junior Member
Find
3
01-20-2016, 03:41 PM
#2
1. No requirement to format the Win7 partition. Simply remove it.
2. Duplicate the Win10 partition onto Drive 0. Label the new copy X: .
Fixing the bootloader might need bcdboot.
bcdboot x:\windows
(X: - letter for the new cloned Windows 10 partition)
3. Disable Drive 1 while using Win 10. Boot from the cloned Windows 10.
4. The instructions are separate (Zorin setup).
Perform them once you successfully boot from the newly created Windows 10 clone.
Reply
Reply
D
Danfox4
01-20-2016, 03:41 PM #2

1. No requirement to format the Win7 partition. Simply remove it.
2. Duplicate the Win10 partition onto Drive 0. Label the new copy X: .
Fixing the bootloader might need bcdboot.
bcdboot x:\windows
(X: - letter for the new cloned Windows 10 partition)
3. Disable Drive 1 while using Win 10. Boot from the cloned Windows 10.
4. The instructions are separate (Zorin setup).
Perform them once you successfully boot from the newly created Windows 10 clone.

Reply
Reply
F
FireFalconII
Member
Find
85
01-25-2016, 08:15 AM
#3
Thank you for your prompt response.
It took a moment for the new drives to arrive.
I adhered to your instructions, and everything proceeded smoothly.
I also created a backup copy of the entire merged drive and stored it in the closet just in case.
Reply
Reply
F
FireFalconII
01-25-2016, 08:15 AM #3

Thank you for your prompt response.
It took a moment for the new drives to arrive.
I adhered to your instructions, and everything proceeded smoothly.
I also created a backup copy of the entire merged drive and stored it in the closet just in case.

Reply
Reply