How to install windows 7 on a second hard drive?

[Henryreed]

Hi, Currently I am running Windows XP 64bit on my first hdd, I would like to install Windows 7 on my second hard drive, does anyone know how to do this so i can keep Windows XP on my first HDD without loosing all the data for XP and have a dual boot between Windows XP 64bit and Windows 7.

 

[Recycle]

Hi, Currently I am running Windows XP 64bit on my first hdd, I would like to install Windows 7 on my second hard drive, does anyone know how to do this so i can keep Windows XP on my first HDD without loosing all the data for XP and have a dual boot between Windows XP 64bit and Windows 7.

First off how big is your first HDD? If it is sufficient you can install both O/S on the same HDD and do a dual boot from that HDD? Also can only loose your data from corrupted HDD and not backing up the data. Also most programs that can run in XP will run and install on 7 with some tinkering but I got my XP programs to load fine with 7. You might want to check those software site to see if they have updates to their programs so it will work under 7 as well. I myself not a fan of dual boot unless your needing it to diagnosis customers computers or a custom builder and need to test hardware and software. And if you noticied they do have W7x64 and it has more hardware and software support as well better then XPx64 does. So it might be a good time for you to decided to go 7 since you have 7 now. But you didn't mentioned which version of 7 you have as well. If you have x64 for XP you should've gotten 7x64 so that the move won't be so bad as x64 program should work for 7x64 as well.

 

[xCharvelx416]

Hi, Currently I am running Windows XP 64bit on my first hdd, I would like to install Windows 7 on my second hard drive, does anyone know how to do this so i can keep Windows XP on my first HDD without loosing all the data for XP and have a dual boot between Windows XP 64bit and Windows 7.

So easy you'll almost wish you didn't ask!! 8)


Please make sure you have everything that's important on the XP drive backed up... just in case.

Insert your Win 7 disk into the drive.

Restart the system, and make sure that it's set to boot from the optical drive first. If not, go into the BIOS and set your Boot Order to the optical drive.

After the disk is running and setup is hummin along, you will get to screen that shows all your drives in the system and the question before you will be which drive you want to install on. Simple select your second hard drive and continue.

That's it.

Once that is done, you will have a boot menu appear when you start the system allowing you to choose which OS to boot.



Also note: if you do choose to install 7 on the XP drive, you will have to do a clean install. There is no upgrade, so all the files, pics.. music etc will be wiped out.

@Recycle.... lots of people will continue to keep XP alive for not only personal reasons, but it's still easier to run older software then having to worry about using virtual software.

 

[Recycle]

@Recycle.... lots of people will continue to keep XP alive for not only personal reasons, but it's still easier to run older software then having to worry about using virtual software.

That may be but the older it gets the less secure the O/S becomes and unstable as software will be written for the new O/S and with 7 it will not support all the older XP software as well. There is a feature called xp compatbility to run XP program that I used and it has worked out fine with me. So there is no need to run virtual software when I use it. Also power management is more superior to XP on laptop as well. I myself was a XP user til I used the trial 7 and went 7 and haven't looked back. Plus it has better multiple user accounts settings compared to XP. So there are big advantages to going 7. There comes a time when XP users will have to ask themselves are they disadvantaging themselves from getting a better computing experiences or not? Yes there is cost to going 7 but nothing is ever cheap when you make the change...for anything. Plus 7 has better hardware support where XPx64 is lacking in which is something to look at as well. 7 Does has it's fault as the interface is a hybrid of vista and xp interfaces but if one has used both software already one will learn to use a new O/S as well.

 

[bogart]

I have win 8 on my primary hdd and want to install win 7 on my 2nd hdd. Did he leave the primary hdd in to install?

 

[Recycle]

I have win 8 on my primary hdd and want to install win 7 on my 2nd hdd. Did he leave the primary hdd in to install?

Just make a dual boot....I doubt Win7 will let you run it from a 2nd HDD...Windows always want's C:\ as the primary drive setup.

 

[Recycle]

Also, sometimes there are old software programs that won't work on a Windows 7 machine like MUSICMATCH.

Try Nero 6....that to me was the best burning program that Nero didn't update correctly to work with Win7....

 

[Crower]

I recently purchased a new laptop with Windows 7 Pro/64 bit, and was worried about transferring my legacy programs which I use quite a lot, but in the end all of them but one transferred and run great. The one that didn't failed probably because it had a conflict with one of the existing programs that came with the machine. Some of these programs date back to the WinME days.

It probably would be a good bet to start with a dual boot to make sure your old programs run, but you probably can go with Windows 7 alone after you verify that. You still would be stuck with the problem of wiping out your old data if you do a single install over the old XP so you would need to copy all your data to external memory until you reinstall, then copy it back.

I've heard some bad stories about Windows 8 and legacy programs though, and don't care for the Win8 environment, which is one reason I stuck with Windows 7 when I got my machine.

 

[eLbro]

Just make a dual boot....I doubt Win7 will let you run it from a 2nd HDD...Windows always want's C:\ as the primary drive setup.

Can I install windows 7 on a 2nd ssd, if I cannot change the boot order of my laptop (bios is locked)?
Scenario: I have a laptop which runs windows 7 and I want to put a new ssd in the second slot, install windows on the second ssd and then remove it to use in another laptop. The boot order cannot be changed so is it possible to install windows on to the second drive from within windows? (I hope this makes sense.)

 

[Jeff R 1]

Can I install windows 7 on a 2nd ssd, if I cannot change the boot order of my laptop (bios is locked)?
Scenario: I have a laptop which runs windows 7 and I want to put a new ssd in the second slot, install windows on the second ssd and then remove it to use in another laptop. The boot order cannot be changed so is it possible to install windows on to the second drive from within windows? (I hope this makes sense.)

First off, you're posting in a thread that's from 2011, with the most recent post from 2015 _ it's a little old...
With that said, what you're trying to do can't be done, and doesn't make sense.
Even if you could do that, W7 would load the drivers for that laptop, eg, video card, sound card WiFi etc...
If both laptops were exactly the same... but doing it that way just isn't done.
If you took the SSD out and stuck it in another laptop running different hardware, it wouldn't boot, you would immediately run into problems with the BIOS being different on the other laptop.

What needs to be done is to simply put your new SSD in the other laptop and install W7 as you would normally do.

You will need a new W7 key of course, no matter what circumstances.
If you install W7 on both machines using the same key, it may work for a little while, but eventually Microsoft will find out and you will get these annoying messages that you're not running a genuine Microsoft product.
You won't get locked out totally, but the massages will continue until you enter a new and valid key.

And why bother with W7, support will end in 2020 ?

 

[eLbro]

First off, you're posting in a thread that's from 2011, with the most recent post from 2015 _ it's a little old...
With that said, what you're trying to do can't be done, and doesn't make sense.
Even if you could do that, W7 would load the drivers for that laptop, eg, video card, sound card WiFi etc...
If both laptops were exactly the same... but doing it that way just isn't done.
If you took the SSD out and stuck it in another laptop running different hardware, it wouldn't boot, you would immediately run into problems with the BIOS being different on the other laptop.

What needs to be done is to simply put your new SSD in the other laptop and install W7 as you would normally do.

You will need a new W7 key of course, no matter what circumstances.
If you install W7 on both machines using the same key, it may work for a little while, but eventually Microsoft will find out and you will get these annoying messages that you're not running a genuine Microsoft product.
You won't get locked out totally, but the massages will continue until you enter a new and valid key.

And why bother with W7, support will end in 2020 ?

Thanks for your reply, I know the thread is old but it seemed the most relevant discussion I found.
The laptops are identical - they are the same model so that is why I thought of this solution.
Because the boot order cannot be altered, if I stick a new ssd in slot 1 and try to install windows, it will hang when it loads the ssd because it is just blank, right?
There has to be a way around this..

 

[Jeff R 1]

Thanks for your reply, I know the thread is old but it seemed the most relevant discussion I found.
The laptops are identical - they are the same model so that is why I thought of this solution.
Because the boot order cannot be altered, if I stick a new ssd in slot 1 and try to install windows, it will hang when it loads the ssd because it is just blank, right?
There has to be a way around this..

What has always happened (for me) is that the new OS will automatically format the new drive on its unallocated space.
Windows has no choice then to boot onto it, since it will be the only drive available in the laptop.

You can take the new drive and format it on anther computer and then install W7 on the other laptop, but it shouldn't be necessary.

Open the DVD drawer using a bent paper clip by inserting it into the release hole on the drawer front on the laptop that you want to install W7 on, load the disc and close the drawer.
Install you new SSD in slot #1.
Boot up...
If it doesn't find the SSD, you may have to tell the BIOS to boot to the new SSD, but in many cases you don't even have to do that.

How old is the laptop and what brand is it _ what's the model number ?

I spent 3 years over at the HP forums dealing with stuff just like this.

 

[RedFox 1]

Can I install windows 7 on a 2nd ssd, if I cannot change the boot order of my laptop (bios is locked)?
Scenario: I have a laptop which runs windows 7 and I want to put a new ssd in the second slot, install windows on the second ssd and then remove it to use in another laptop. The boot order cannot be changed so is it possible to install windows on to the second drive from within windows? (I hope this makes sense.)

There is probably a backdoor password that will get you into BIOS (so then you can remove the current bios password). Call tech support and ask for it. I think I know what it is but I don't feel like it's a good idea to publish it on the forums.

Removing the button cell battery should work. You have to leave it out for 5 minutes or so and you the system has to be totally unplugged (no battery or AC power or anything)

 

[eLbro]

What has always happened (for me) is that the new OS will automatically format the new drive on its unallocated space.
Windows has no choice then to boot onto it, since it will be the only drive available in the laptop.

You can take the new drive and format it on anther computer and then install W7 on the other laptop, but it shouldn't be necessary.

Open the DVD drawer using a bent paper clip by inserting it into the release hole on the drawer front on the laptop that you want to install W7 on, load the disc and close the drawer.
Install you new SSD in slot #1.
Boot up...
If it doesn't find the SSD, you may have to tell the BIOS to boot to the new SSD, but in many cases you don't even have to do that.

How old is the laptop and what brand is it _ what's the model number ?

I spent 3 years over at the HP forums dealing with stuff just like this.

Why do I have to use a paper clip? The laptop is a Dell latitude e7240 so it has no disc drive, would the same procedure apply using an external disc drive? I cannot 'tell the bios' to do anything as it is fully locked. full disclosure: this is a laptop my former employer has forgotten that I have.

 

[eLbro]

There is probably a backdoor password that will get you into BIOS (so then you can remove the current bios password). Call tech support and ask for it. I think I know what it is but I don't feel like it's a good idea to publish it on the forums.

Removing the button cell battery should work. You have to leave it out for 5 minutes or so and you the system has to be totally unplugged (no battery or AC power or anything)

I tried removing the battery but it did not reset the bios, it still requested a password when I rebooted. If you have some idea of a backdoor bios password please send it to me in a pvt msg, I tried looking online but could not find one that worked. This laptop was given to me by my old job but they forgot I have it, so calling tech support is probably not gonna work..

 

[DrXenos]

I tried removing the battery but it did not reset the bios, it still requested a password when I rebooted. If you have some idea of a backdoor bios password please send it to me in a pvt msg, I tried looking online but could not find one that worked. This laptop was given to me by my old job but they forgot I have it, so calling tech support is probably not gonna work..

You need to remove the motherboard battery to accomplish this, not the laptop battery.

 

[eLbro]

You need to remove the motherboard battery to accomplish this, not the laptop battery.

Thanks for the clarification but it WAS the motherboard battery that I removed...

 

[DrXenos]

If that doesn't work, there is possibly a pair of reset pins on the motherboard. Shorting the pins with a jumper and powering on should clear the password.