WINDOWS 10 & WINDOWS 11

[KERICHO]

Now that there is a big buzz about installing WINDOWS 11 - i have a Q for you folks. I do have WINDOWS 10  installed and have been used to it for past few years . However there is now a choice given by HP to install WINDOWS 11. 

The Q to you folks is would someone PLEASE detail for me as to how can 

- RETAIN WINDOWS 10

- INSTALL WINDOWS 11

kind of "dual boot" . As i mentioned if someone can detail STEP-BY-STEP for me that would be great.

Thank you

Raman

[itsmyname]

@KERICHO -- try these steps:

1. purchase a new HDD (or SSD);
2. connect "data" and "power" cables to the new device;
3. use free software, such as Macrium Reflect, to "clone" your current disk-drive to the new disk-drive;
4. disconnect "data" and "power" from your current disk-drive;
5. boot from the new disk-drive;
6. use Windows Update to update to Windows 11;
7. when the install has finished, reconnect the "data" and "power" to the current disk-drive;
8. restart your computer, and enter BIOS SETUP;
9. select which disk-drive is to be the "first" disk-drive to be booted (Windows 10 or Windows 11);
10. save/exit from BIOS SETUP;
11. allow the boot from the selected device to run.

Note that both disk-drives will be accessible from whichever system is running.

So, when you "save" to your "My Documents" folder, remember which disk-drive you have selected, because the same folder-name will exist on both computers.

Or, consider using software like VMWARE to create a "virtual machine", and install Windows 11 into that virtual machine. Thus, Windows 11 will run as a "guest" operating system, under control of the VMWARE "supervisor".

[WAWood]

@KERICHO 

I did the same thing -- but I did it differently, as follows:

1) Obtained an SSD the same size as the one I'm using with Win10

2) Connected the SSD to the PC

3) Used Macrium Reflect to CLONE the Win10 SSD to the new SSD -- thus making an exact copy

4) Create Win11 install media from an ISO obtained from MS

5) Rebooted the PC with only the new SSD connected

6) Inserted the Win11 install media and did an in-place Upgrade to WIN11

7) When done, shutdown the PC and reconnected the Win10 SSD

This way, not only do I have both OSs, I also have the same settings and apps on both OSs.

[VH2000]

What you get when you follow the above mentioned advices is this:

You have 2 different & independant Windows Installations. In the diskmanagement it looks like this:

Win 10 and Win 11 on one UEFI machine on 2 different disks.

That is not a DUAL-Boot-System. You always have to go into the BIOS to select the Operating system.

A DUAL BOOT SYSTEM looks like this:

During Startup you select the System you want to use. For this you just have to enter a second Bootloader in your BCD.

But what Operating system do you realy use? Home Edition or Pro Editition

Right now WIN 19044.1469 is up to date.

In the first pic you also see that all personal data on the system are located in the 1. disk in the D-Partition. That makes it easy to backup your data and when 1 system crashes, you don't loose anything.

[WAWood]

@VH2000 

Couple of comments on your remarks about "dual boot" ...

First off, the OP already said "kind of" dual-boot -- so in my view, what they said is OK.

Second you said you have to go into the BIOS to change the boot.  While that is the accepted way of doing it, there are apps out there (I believe EasyUEFI is one of them), that allow you to change the boot from inside Windows.  So, that blurs the distinction on dual-boot, to me.

[VH2000]

Apps like EasyBCD are not needed for a simple bcd-command and they ruin your BCD if you don't know what commands they execute. But is there anything important you have to say?

[itsmyname]

@VH2000 -- You always have to go into the BIOS to select the Operating system.

Not always.  When you power-on your computer, press one of the F1-F12 keys (depending on your motherboard) to "select a temporary boot device". Both the Windows 10 and the Windows 11 disk-drives will be listed, as well as CD/DVD and USB.  Select one of the disk-drives.

QED

[KERICHO]

Thank you so much for your quick response. Absolutely useful.

[KERICHO]

THANK YOU SO MUCH - very helpful....

[KERICHO]

Tahnk you so much - absolutely helpful