Need Advice on dual Boot Win 11 Pro and Win 10 Pro Computer


RIBob

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5:36 PM
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Win 7 Pro, Win 10 Pro, Win 11 Pro
About ready to take the plunge. Dell XPS 8930 tower computer has retrofitted I-9 9th Gen K-series CPU which is max available for existing socket/MoBo, so computer "should" also have TPM2--I hope. All other physical specs are consonant with Win 11 Pro. I understand that it's best to adjust BIOS settings (UEFI, AHCI, etc.) identically for both Win 10 Pro and Win 11 Pro OS. From reading, it appears that installing Win 11 Pro first is mandatory. Please advise if I'm wrong about anything.

In order to save money and some hassle, is it possible to D/L trusted and free versions of both Win 11 Pro and Win 10 Pro, from trusted sites? Please, which specific D/L sites are GTG? I understand I'll need an Activation Code (correct terminology?) for each OS. Where are trusted places to obtain both codes? Obviously, I'd prefer above-board sites like Amazon or even Ebay for obvious reasons.

Due to personal time constraints, and my personal ignorance, I'll be having a trusted computer Pro wipe and partition existing 2TB SSD, I/2 for each OS. Instructions on accessing a given (Win 11/Win 10) OS will be appreciated. Hopefully such a dual boot system will automatically give me a choice on start-up.

TYVM for comments.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 7 Pro, Win 10 Pro, Win 11 ProVariousVariousVarious
OS
Win 7 Pro, Win 10 Pro, Win 11 Pro
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell
CPU
Various
Motherboard
Various
Memory
Various
Graphics Card(s)
Various
Sound Card
Various
Monitor(s) Displays
Various
Screen Resolution
Various
Hard Drives
Various capacity SSDs
PSU
Various
Case
Various
Cooling
Various
Keyboard
Various
Mouse
Track ball and mouse pad
Internet Speed
Unknown
Browser
Firefox, Brave, Edge
Antivirus
MSE
Other Info
Regret vagueness, will post details when pertinent.
Before doing anything CREATE A SYSTEM IMAGE.
There are many step by step guides and videos available as well as several ways to set up dual boot.
One such is here

Rather than dual booting, my personal preference is to use a virtual machine for the second OS.

Many folks here download their isos from UUP UUP dump
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 26H2 26300.9457i9-10900 10 core 20 threads32 gbnone-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 26H2 26300.9457
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    2x1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+2tb Kingston m2.nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    #1 Edge #2 Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.9457AMD Ryzen 7 6800U32 gbintegrated
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.9457
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink Mini PC SER5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Crucial nvme
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    still too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
  • System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.9457
Why waste money? Just shrink your current partition, then install windows 11 on the unallocated space. Will keep your current OS intact and make your pc dual boot with 10/11.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro
OS
Windows 11 Pro
VHD boot is pretty handy for this kind of thing. No partition jiggering, no hypervisor.

 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Enterprise 25H2
OS
Windows 11 Enterprise 25H2
Usually when you dual boot, you install the old OS first, although Windows 10 64-bit and Windows 11 behave similarly and share the same Windows bootloader, so it shouldn't matter. However, since you already run Windows 10 64-bit you can either install Windows 11 on a spare disk or shrink the partition and install Windows 11 on the unallocated space as suggested. Windows 10 64-bit and Windows 11 share the same digital licence on Microsoft servers per computer, so you don't need a new key, even if you reinstall Windows 10 64-bit. Once connected to the internet both versions should activate automatically as long as they are both Home or both Pro, depending on what digital licence you have.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (7584), 26H2 (9550)Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz4GBMobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (7584), 26H2 (9550)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    802.11g wireless 54 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 26H2 (build 26300.9550)Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generat...2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB...
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 26H2 (build 26300.9550)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3050 WINDFORCE OC V2 6GB (GV-N3050WF2OCV2-6GD)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gamma Archer CPU cooler, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Mouse
    Microsoft Compact Optical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    802.11ac 5GHz wireless 260Mpbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
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