F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop Is it possible to dual boot Windows 11 alongside Windows 7?

Is it possible to dual boot Windows 11 alongside Windows 7?

Is it possible to dual boot Windows 11 alongside Windows 7?

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Razlorus
Posting Freak
976
08-04-2021, 03:59 PM
#1
I placed a new Windows 11 PC with 500G storage using MVME. I aim to dual boot it with Windows 7 for applications that perform better. It seems straightforward—just insert the W7 DVD, and it will either confirm you have an OS or prompt you to remove it.
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Razlorus
08-04-2021, 03:59 PM #1

I placed a new Windows 11 PC with 500G storage using MVME. I aim to dual boot it with Windows 7 for applications that perform better. It seems straightforward—just insert the W7 DVD, and it will either confirm you have an OS or prompt you to remove it.

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OhhGodness
Junior Member
20
08-10-2021, 06:36 PM
#2
Windows 7 doesn't understand Windows 11. It might try to remove it. In the past, dual booting meant placing the older version first and then the newest, which becomes complicated when going backward. Also, Windows 7 probably lacks drivers for the latest hardware. Is there a 64-bit version of Windows 7? Does your PC have a DVD drive? You'd be safer using a virtual machine with Windows 7 on a Windows 11 computer.
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OhhGodness
08-10-2021, 06:36 PM #2

Windows 7 doesn't understand Windows 11. It might try to remove it. In the past, dual booting meant placing the older version first and then the newest, which becomes complicated when going backward. Also, Windows 7 probably lacks drivers for the latest hardware. Is there a 64-bit version of Windows 7? Does your PC have a DVD drive? You'd be safer using a virtual machine with Windows 7 on a Windows 11 computer.

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LOICPLAYER
Junior Member
22
08-10-2021, 08:11 PM
#3
If you insist on proceeding, I would really think about using a completely different hard drive for Windows 7...or even a virtual machine.
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LOICPLAYER
08-10-2021, 08:11 PM #3

If you insist on proceeding, I would really think about using a completely different hard drive for Windows 7...or even a virtual machine.

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angelzer0
Junior Member
10
08-12-2021, 02:22 PM
#4
If your motherboard is fairly old (pre-2017) and comes with drivers for Windows 7, try installing each operating system on a separate physical hard disk or SSD. Avoid dual booting both OSes from the same drive. I stopped doing this after the Windows 98/Windows XP era.
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angelzer0
08-12-2021, 02:22 PM #4

If your motherboard is fairly old (pre-2017) and comes with drivers for Windows 7, try installing each operating system on a separate physical hard disk or SSD. Avoid dual booting both OSes from the same drive. I stopped doing this after the Windows 98/Windows XP era.

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IHazDaCrumblez
Junior Member
40
08-14-2021, 01:07 AM
#5
The software being discussed is likely related to compatibility issues with native drivers for older systems.
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IHazDaCrumblez
08-14-2021, 01:07 AM #5

The software being discussed is likely related to compatibility issues with native drivers for older systems.

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ryana115
Member
51
08-14-2021, 02:44 AM
#6
The PC includes a DVD drive, which is interesting because many modern desktops do as well. I'm running a W11 64-bit system and own a dual W7 DVD set with both 32 and 64-bit versions. This situation is a bit confusing for me since it seems like a better option would be to use a virtual machine with Windows 7 on the Win 11 PC. It comes with an MVME 500G Windows 11 drive plus two 500G SSDs. Not going into too much detail, but this relates to Microsoft's policies—Windows 7 was resistant to these kinds of approaches.
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ryana115
08-14-2021, 02:44 AM #6

The PC includes a DVD drive, which is interesting because many modern desktops do as well. I'm running a W11 64-bit system and own a dual W7 DVD set with both 32 and 64-bit versions. This situation is a bit confusing for me since it seems like a better option would be to use a virtual machine with Windows 7 on the Win 11 PC. It comes with an MVME 500G Windows 11 drive plus two 500G SSDs. Not going into too much detail, but this relates to Microsoft's policies—Windows 7 was resistant to these kinds of approaches.

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GrinningTube
Member
185
08-14-2021, 03:02 AM
#7
No longer applicable. I believed my previous PC had a Blue Ray drive, which I only used three times. Most DVD functions can now be handled with USB drives. Many devices lack DVD slots and instead feature mesh fronts or are thinner to save space. You might still purchase external optical drives, though I haven’t done so in years. A virtual machine allows installing Windows 7 on software that mimics a real PC. Since Windows can't distinguish between virtual and physical hardware, it enables running applications that don’t need the actual system. This approach is simpler than setting up dual booting. The linked video demonstrates how to configure a VM for Windows 7. I’m planning to update my Windows 10 systems soon, as I’ll have more storage available and my current ones are too small.
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GrinningTube
08-14-2021, 03:02 AM #7

No longer applicable. I believed my previous PC had a Blue Ray drive, which I only used three times. Most DVD functions can now be handled with USB drives. Many devices lack DVD slots and instead feature mesh fronts or are thinner to save space. You might still purchase external optical drives, though I haven’t done so in years. A virtual machine allows installing Windows 7 on software that mimics a real PC. Since Windows can't distinguish between virtual and physical hardware, it enables running applications that don’t need the actual system. This approach is simpler than setting up dual booting. The linked video demonstrates how to configure a VM for Windows 7. I’m planning to update my Windows 10 systems soon, as I’ll have more storage available and my current ones are too small.

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monkeyboo2004
Member
117
08-14-2021, 04:05 AM
#8
Not exactly. Many features from Windows 10 were brought back to Windows 7.
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monkeyboo2004
08-14-2021, 04:05 AM #8

Not exactly. Many features from Windows 10 were brought back to Windows 7.

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iGozaay
Member
186
08-14-2021, 02:25 PM
#9
Just wanted to mention I still have a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive and plenty of disks for it. Perhaps Microsoft will release Windows 12 for these.
Can't handle too many requests at once.
I do have an optical drive with a really long 4 inch cable.
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iGozaay
08-14-2021, 02:25 PM #9

Just wanted to mention I still have a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive and plenty of disks for it. Perhaps Microsoft will release Windows 12 for these.
Can't handle too many requests at once.
I do have an optical drive with a really long 4 inch cable.

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iron_finder1
Posting Freak
750
08-16-2021, 12:04 AM
#10
Gather the necessary files for Windows 11 setup,
Create a dedicated partition for installing Windows 7,
Start from the Windows 7 installation disk in UEFI mode only, as legacy options won’t work with Windows 11,
Install Windows 7 into the prepared space (bootloader will be updated to be compatible with both Windows 7 and 11),
Launch the Windows 11 installation media and resolve bootloader issues (it will now support both versions).
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iron_finder1
08-16-2021, 12:04 AM #10

Gather the necessary files for Windows 11 setup,
Create a dedicated partition for installing Windows 7,
Start from the Windows 7 installation disk in UEFI mode only, as legacy options won’t work with Windows 11,
Install Windows 7 into the prepared space (bootloader will be updated to be compatible with both Windows 7 and 11),
Launch the Windows 11 installation media and resolve bootloader issues (it will now support both versions).

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