Windows 10 as duel boot with Win 7. Can non geek's do it ?

[Lakewood90712]

Going to add 10 as primary on my decktop. Can mere mortal non tech Geek's reasonably expect to do this sucessfully ?.

 

[Lawrencewendall]

Not sure why you would want to. Upgrade to 10 and any old programs can be ran in Win7 mode via emulation built into Win10.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Did not know that. Thank's

 

[easysurfer]

Not sure why you would want to. Upgrade to 10 and any old programs can be ran in Win7 mode via emulation built into Win10.

Didn't know that either. How does one invoke Win 7 mode in Win 10?

 

[Lawrencewendall]

Been awhile but I believe you right click on the executable, select properties, select compatibility and say "run as" and you can chose the OS you want to run under. I'm still running programs designed for XP and it's totally transparent to me.

Side note. Just found an Android emulator (Bluestacks) that lets me run android apps inside of windows. It's the cat's meow for running my security cameras that only come with an Android app.

 

[Peter]

Been awhile but I believe you right click on the executable, select properties, select compatibility and say "run as" and you can chose the OS you want to run under. I'm still running programs designed for XP and it's totally transparent to me.

I did not know that, thanks! Just tried it on an old xp program. It worked!

 

[Ian S]

Going to add 10 as primary on my decktop. Can mere mortal non tech Geek's reasonably expect to do this sucessfully ?.

It's been a long time since I did exactly that and it wasn't too hard. I had the space and tools to add an appropriate partition to the SSD which I used for for both OS's and programs. In a dual-boot system, your programs will be installed for each OS so if you have Open Office on your windows 7, you will also need to install it separately when you have Windows 10 up and running. IIRC, it's easier to add WIN10 to an existing WIN7 than the other way around. Anyway, here's a decent description of the procedure. https://www.howtogeek.com/197647/how-to-dual-boot-windows-10-with-windows-7-or-8/

One thing you might do before starting is clean up the existing WIN7 installation to get more space on the drive for the new partition where WIN10 will go. Maybe uninstall programs that are no longer used. If you have your WIN7 on an SSD and you're not sure if you'll have sufficient room for both systems, then now is the time to get a larger SSD! Also, I have all my data on a separate hard drive. The data is then easy to access from either OS - no need to duplicate the data. Good luck!

 

[jim584672]

You could run Win7 in Virtualbox on Win10. Not sure why you want to.
Win 7 should not be used, it is a security risk.

 

[Lakewood90712]

I am assuming I need to purchase a full retail version , and the home vs pro is just encription of data. What is the best way to purchase : disk , thumbdrive, download ?

 

[jim584672]

As long as the Win 7 has a valid license you should still be able to do a free upgrade to Win 10.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/14/21065140/how-to-upgrade-microsoft-windows-7-10-free-os
I think it still works, haven't tested it.

 

[Ian S]

I am assuming I need to purchase a full retail version , and the home vs pro is just encription of data. What is the best way to purchase : disk , thumbdrive, download ?

I'd go for the cheapest. This seems like a pretty good deal: https://www.frys.com/product/8532219?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG&requestComingFromSearch=true

NB you don't want an upgrade since that would eliminate your windows 7 license. The OEM version lacks any Microsoft support. If that's important to you, the full retail version runs about $140 at BestBuy or they have the PRO version for $170.

 

[Ian S]

As long as the Win 7 has a valid license you should still be able to do a free upgrade to Win 10.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/14/21065140/how-to-upgrade-microsoft-windows-7-10-free-os
I think it still works, haven't tested it.

O.P. wants to keep using Windows 7 so they can't go the upgrade route.

 

[jim584672]

My opinion, no one should be using Win7, so do the upgrade and leave 7 behind.

Do an image backup before.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Not sure I need to keep 7 , only have 3 years of turbotax as installed programmes. Might be best to get a new hard drive for the new win 10 op sys. .elativly cheap. and move data at my leisure.

Other fix is another refurb desktop for well under $200 ( my 2 last desktops including this one was )

 

[jim584672]

If your going with a new HD/SSD do the upgrade to 10, when you change out the drive and reinstall 10 it will auto activate and you will have a good license. It knows by hardware ID.

 

[Ian S]

Not sure I need to keep 7 , only have 3 years of turbotax as installed programmes. Might be best to get a new hard drive for the new win 10 op sys. .elativly cheap. and move data at my leisure.

Other fix is another refurb desktop for well under $200 ( my 2 last desktops including this one was )

I'm guessing that recent years of turbotax would work fine in WIN10 so you could just do the upgrade. I would of course print out all returns to pdf just to be safe before you upgrade. I'd also recommend getting an SSD in lieu of a conventional hard drive for the OS but best maybe to wait until everything is up and running in WIN10 before that change. I had several reasons for retaining my WIN7 installation for future use but your situation is not compelling to do so IMHO.

 

[REWahoo]

I'm guessing that recent years of turbotax would work fine in WIN10 so you could just do the upgrade.

^ This.