Windows Dual Boot Systems

Griff79 · Oct 18, 2023

Hi there all the experts!!!

I have been running Windows 11 Pro and Windows 10 Pro as a Dual-Boot System but find myself getting bored with Windows 10 lately as nothing new happens with it.

So I'm looking to change the Windows 10 to an 11 version but don't what Build I should go with: Beta, Dev or Release Preview? This is just merely for curiosity I guess.

Any suggestions or thoughts who be welcomed......

OAT · Oct 18, 2023

Jacques79 said:
Hi there all the experts!!!

I have been running Windows 11 Pro and Windows 10 Pro as a Dual-Boot System but find myself getting bored with Windows 10 lately as nothing new happens with it.

So I'm looking to change the Windows 10 to an 11 version but don't what Build I should go with: Beta, Dev or Release Preview? This is just merely for curiosity I guess.

Any suggestions or thoughts who be welcomed......

According to your profile below your avatar, it seems that Canary is the only channel you haven't installed.

Griff79 · Oct 18, 2023

OAT said:
According to your profile below your avatar, it seems that Canary is the only channel you haven't installed.

Beta and Dev are running on WinToGo USB actually lol

Just bored/curious I guess.....

Berton · Oct 18, 2023

Part of the 'bored' thing with Win10 can be laid on Win11 being compatible with things Win10 does, programs able to run, just rearranged.

If really really bored look at Linux OS, about a hundred mostly-free versions available and most have an .iso download uses to create bootable DVDs that are fully usable. They may include different Desktops for the view.
www.distrowatch.com column on right

Griff79 · Oct 18, 2023

Berton said:
Part of the 'bored' thing with Win10 can be laid on Win11 being compatible with things Win10 does, programs able to run, just rearranged.

If really really bored look at Linux OS, about a hundred mostly-free versions available and most have an .iso download uses to create bootable DVDs that are fully usable. They may include different Desktops for the view.
www.distrowatch.com column on right

Thanks Berton, I'll have a look at running Linux in a VM sometime and see how it goes

TM21 · Oct 18, 2023

Jacques79,
Bored? In South Africa?
I'm unable to go there, but if I could, I doubt I'd be bored.

But it seems like the only OS's you've tried come directly from Microsoft. Eh? Reality dictates that not all Windows come from MS.
Around the world, there are some very good programmers working on cleaning the garbage out of Windows, and preparing some really nice versions of Windows/pro/64.

Maybe that's why you're bored. There ARE other versions that you could try.
My own hobby is downloading and trying new and different versions of Windows. Currently, that's Windows 11/Pro/64.
My latest download was a Win-11 version called "Tiny 11". You can find it, with a Google Search.
It loads very cleanly, with almost zero questions, and also runs cleanly. Take a look!

TM

Griff79 · Oct 18, 2023

TechnoMage2021 said:
Jacques79,
Bored? In South Africa?
I'm unable to go there, but if I could, I doubt I'd be bored.

But it seems like the only OS's you've tried come directly from Microsoft. Eh? Reality dictates that not all Windows come from MS.
Around the world, there are some very good programmers working on cleaning the garbage out of Windows, and preparing some really nice versions of Windows/pro/64.

Maybe that's why you're bored. There ARE other versions that you could try.
My own hobby is downloading and trying new and different versions of Windows. Currently, that's Windows 11/Pro/64.
My latest download was a Win-11 version called "Tiny 11". You can find it, with a Google Search.
It loads very cleanly, with almost zero questions, and also runs cleanly. Take a look!

TM

Thanks for the reply @TechnoMage2021

Yes we get bored in South Africa too hahaha especially when you have to work long hours often.

I had a look at Tiny11 before but could not find a decent working link for it so I gave up eventually lol seems all the links I tried just had issues with the downloaded ISO file. Maybe you know of a reputable site to download it from?

cereberus · Oct 18, 2023

Jacques79 said:
Hi there all the experts!!!

I have been running Windows 11 Pro and Windows 10 Pro as a Dual-Boot System but find myself getting bored with Windows 10 lately as nothing new happens with it.

So I'm looking to change the Windows 10 to an 11 version but don't what Build I should go with: Beta, Dev or Release Preview? This is just merely for curiosity I guess.

Any suggestions or thoughts who be welcomed......

RP is a waste of time as stuff there gets released not long after anyway.
Beta is petty boring as any new stuff has come from Beta or Dev
I would say Dev is marginally better than Canary, as any stuff there has a chanced of getting released.
Nothing interesting ever seems to come out of Canary - just a zillion more ways to search and add 5 trillion more emojis.

I have got so bored with the Insider versions, I only keep Dev and even then I rarely get excited about it anymore.

The Insider Programme has dumbed down so much that it is obvious the Development Team has truly lost the plot.

Griff79 · Oct 18, 2023

cereberus said:
RP is a waste of time as stuff there gets released not long after anyway.
Beta is petty boring as any new stuff has come from Beta or Dev
I would say Dev is marginally better than Canary, as any stuff there has a chanced of getting released.
Nothing interesting ever seems to come out of Canary - just a zillion more ways to search and add 5 trillion more emojis.

I have got so bored with the Insider versions, I only keep Dev and even then I rarely get excited about it anymore.

The Insider Programme has dumbed down so much that it is obvious the Development Team has truly lost the plot.

Thanks Cereberus.

I found Canary to be utterly boring beyond words but then again it is the Birdie build and just so unstable.
Beta seems to have lost it's luster these days coz it's pretty much the same as RTM in my opinion, nothing exciting there.....
Dev I been enjoying in VM for a while now, just something to play around on and maybe eventually use as a Dual-Boot system.
RP is just an absolute waste of time. Only hype about it is that it's 23H2 and a lot of people want to be on 23H2 all of a sudden. Me, I'll rather wait till MS makes it available to my laptop when it is ready.

Just a note: These are my personal opinions on the Insider Builds, there are those who would disagree with me of course. Am always open to being proven wrong.

johnlgalt · Oct 18, 2023

You could do as I have done, make VMs for XP through 11:

That will take some time, and should alleviate the boredom for at least a few days! Of course, you'd need a good bit of HD / SSD space for all those....

But if you want to do it on the dual boot, might also look multi-booting directly from .VHD/X, too. Boot the VM discs on your real hardware. Even capture your existing Windows 10 dual boot to .VHD/X, and make a VM out of it, so it is still there if you decide to go back - or feel like you want to boot from that VHD/X instead of re-creating the manual dual boot.

Also, I think there is an error in your system specs - in the Memory slot it looks like you listed the size of your hard drive, not the amount of RAM.

Griff79 · Oct 18, 2023

johnlgalt said:
You could do as I have done, make VMs for XP through 11:

View attachment 74650

That will take some time, and should alleviate the boredom for at least a few days! Of course, you'd need a good bit of HD / SSD space for all those....

But if you want to do it on the dual boot, might also look multi-booting directly from .VHD/X, too. Boot the VM discs on your real hardware. Even capture your existing Windows 10 dual boot to .VHD/X, and make a VM out of it, so it is still there if you decide to go back - or feel like you want to boot from that VHD/X instead of re-creating the manual dual boot.

Also, I think there is an error in your system specs - in the Memory slot it looks like you listed the size of your hard drive, not the amount of RAM.

Thanks for picking up on the Ram error John, I have rectified that now actually to 8GB Ram.

I thought of attaching the DEV Build WMWare to an existing partition too but got lost on all the instructions I read here in the forum and maybe I just didn't fully grasp on the how to do it part. The attaching VM to physical disk may be a bit above me lol. I know there are detailed tutorials here on the forum but it just seems I cannot get it right and am scared I may screw up my laptop if I don't do it right.

johnlgalt · Oct 18, 2023

@Bree another boot from VHD/X question lol.

Bree · Oct 18, 2023

Jacques79 said:
I thought of attaching the DEV Build WMWare to an existing partition too but got lost on all the instructions I read here in the forum and maybe I just didn't fully grasp on the how to do it part. The attaching VM to physical disk may be a bit above me lol. I know there are detailed tutorials here on the forum but it just seems I cannot get it right and am scared I may screw up my laptop if I don't do it right.

johnlgalt said:
@Bree another boot from VHD/X question lol.

Dual booting a second OS from a vhdx file is the simple part. All you do is add a BCD boot entry that points to the Windows in the vhdx. There is no risk of messing up your existing system, and it's as easy to remove as it was to set up, you just delete the vhdx file and the boot entry. This tutorial shows how.

Native Boot Windows 11 Virtual Hard Disk (VHDX)

This tutorial will show you how to boot a Windows 11 VHDX file natively to dual boot with Windows 10 or Windows 11. Native Boot allows you to create a virtual hard disk (VHDX), install Windows to it, and then boot it up, either on your PC side-by-side with your existing installation, or on a...

www.elevenforum.com

The more difficult part would making a vhdx file from the vmdk file that your VMWare VM is using, I don't use VMWare, I'm only familiar with Hyper-V and VirtualBox. If you can make a vhdx that can run as a VM in Hyper-V then it will also be suitable to run as a native boot vhdx. This may help....

Convert VMDK to VHD(X) and run it on Hyper-V - Tech with Jasmin

In this article, learn how to migrate VM from VMware to Hyper-V by converting VMDK to VHD(X) virtual disk using vmdk2vhd.

techwithjasmin.com

Griff79 · Oct 19, 2023

Thanks to all for the advice and assistance, much appreciated

I have a lot to consider and experiment with the next few days

cereberus · Oct 19, 2023

Bree said:
Dual booting a second OS from a vhdx file is the simple part. All you do is add a BCD boot entry that points to the Windows in the vhdx. There is no risk of messing up your existing system, and it's as easy to remove as it was to set up, you just delete the vhdx file and the boot entry. This tutorial shows how.

Native Boot Windows 11 Virtual Hard Disk (VHDX)

This tutorial will show you how to boot a Windows 11 VHDX file natively to dual boot with Windows 10 or Windows 11. Native Boot allows you to create a virtual hard disk (VHDX), install Windows to it, and then boot it up, either on your PC side-by-side with your existing installation, or on a...

www.elevenforum.com

The more difficult part would making a vhdx file from the vmdk file that your VMWare VM is using, I don't use VMWare, I'm only familiar with Hyper-V and VirtualBox. If you can make a vhdx that can run as a VM in Hyper-V then it will also be suitable to run as a native boot vhdx. This may help....

Convert VMDK to VHD(X) and run it on Hyper-V - Tech with Jasmin

In this article, learn how to migrate VM from VMware to Hyper-V by converting VMDK to VHD(X) virtual disk using vmdk2vhd.

techwithjasmin.com

I sometimes found it to be unreliable converting directly.

I find it more reliable just to image backup the vmware vm (using good old Macrium Reflect inside vm) to an external drive, then restore image to a blank vhdx.

neves · Oct 19, 2023

What exactly do you want from an Operating System?! What do you use it for?

Cause all i could get from this topic about your experience with different Windows builds: "Boring... Bored... just Boring... 100x bored with them..."

That being said: Linux could be the answer you're looking for. And when i say Linux - i don't mean just 1 Operating System with its multiple builds - but actually search for a Linux Distribution (there's hundreds with around a dozen - than are worth trying out). It's a different world - with different tribes and completely different ways of thinking from one Linux Distribution to next (each having its own alliance and level of acceptance among its communities, for example: Ubuntu, Mint welcomes everyone to join their community - Arch does not till you prove worthy, as in - till you stop asking stupid/basic questions which were already answered time after time).

johnlgalt · Oct 19, 2023

cereberus said:
I sometimes found it to be unreliable converting directly.

I find it more reliable just to image backup the vmware vm (using good old Macrium Reflect inside vm) to an external drive, then restore image to a blank vhdx.

Holy smokes, that actually works?

LMFAO - learn something new every day.

Griff79 · Oct 29, 2023

johnlgalt said:
Holy smokes, that actually works?

LMFAO - learn something new every day.

Double Holy Smokes THIS ACTUALLY WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Created a VHDX on my system, backed up my Windows 11 Beta WinToGo using Aomei Backupper, booted back into my PC and did a restore to the empty VHDX, added it as a Native Boot Entry using bcdboot and it works wooooohoooooo

Griff79 · Oct 29, 2023

Griff79 said:
Double Holy Smokes THIS ACTUALLY WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Created a VHDX on my system, backed up my Windows 11 Beta WinToGo using Aomei Backupper, booted back into my PC and did a restore to the empty VHDX, added it as a Native Boot Entry using bcdboot and it works wooooohoooooo

Only problem I have now is coz I restored it from a WinToGo USB is this keeps showing up every time I boot into the VHDX. Any suggestions to fix this????

Bree · Oct 29, 2023

Griff79 said:
Double Holy Smokes THIS ACTUALLY WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is by far the easiest way to multi-boot a PC. Almost all my laptops now have at least one native boot vhdx, and my System Four (in 'Other Info') now quadruple boots its own Windows plus the Insider Win11 Pro Beta, Dev and Canary builds as native boot vhdx.

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