How-To: Install Windows 7 RC as a Dual Boot, Over Vista, or From Scratch
Posted 05/11/09 at 11:30:00 AM by Justin Kerr
The May 5th launch date for the Windows 7 RC has come and gone, and amazingly, it went off without a hitch. The download servers held up, product keys have been free flowing, and Microsoft is once again proving to the world that they have what it takes to be the number one OS. To veteran Maximum PC readers, downloading and installing the new Windows 7 RC is a piece of cake, and they have probably been up and running for days. For newcomers however, the process can be a bit overwhelming. In the following guide, we will review the steps from start to finish on how to get the Windows 7 Release Candidate up and running in less than an hour. The entire process is free, and the only risk involved is your time, and the possibility of developing an unnatural love affair with an operating system that you’re wife probably won’t understand.
Read on to learn how to setup a dual boot with your old OS, upgrade from Vista, or even just make a plain old clean install.
What You Will Need
A PC with the following Minimum Specs:
- 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 1 GB RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
- 16 GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20 GB (64-bit)
- DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
- DVD-R / RW Drive & a Blank DVD
CDBurnerXP (Works in XP or Vista) or other DVD ISO burning software (Free)
Windows 7 RC 32 Bit or 64 Bit (Free)
A Windows Live Account (Free)
1.) Download The RC
The first thing you will need to do is navigate on over to the Windows 7 RC download page, and grab yourself the updated ISO. You will notice that it will give the option of picking either the 32 or 64 Bit version of the OS. As with Vista x64, the future is in 64 Bit computing, but you need to have compatible hardware, and the advantages don’t amount to much if you have less than 4 gigs of ram. If your not sure if your processor is 64 bit or not, feel free to take the test by downloading and running GRC’s SecureAble.
Navigate to the bottom of the page, select your edition, then hit GO.
Next you will be asked to enter your Windows Live account information, if you don’t have one, not to worry, you can create it for free. After signing up, or signing in, you will be presented with your Windows 7 product key. If you planning on installing more than one copy of Windows 7, or even a mixture of 32 bit and 64 bit, don’t worry about trying to scam yourself additional product keys. As of right now, you can activate as many copies as you want with a single key, and both editions will work with either key.
Next all you need to do is hit Download Now to start the downloader.
Next we will look at the post download process.
2.) Burn The ISO to a DVD
If you haven’t done so already, you will need to download and install an ISO burning software utility which will turn the file you downloaded, into a bootable install disk. If you don’t have Nero or another CD burning utility already, I suggest CDBurnerXP. It works in both Windows XP & Vista, despite the name, and is a free, full featured burning utility.
Just select Burn ISO from the main menu, insert a blank DVD, and hit Burn.
cant get it!!!!
Submitted by kai-pro com on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 12:02pm
I have followed the instructions on this article but when i select my language under 64-bit and hit select it goes to another page and shows me green dots chaseing each other in a circle. It wouldnt go anywhere from there... I dont know what to do other than pay ten dollars to get it of of newegg!!
Submitted by Quertior on Sat, 07/04/2009 - 1:01am
You need to be using Internet Explorer. THe Windows live Website doesnt always play nice with Firefox.
-----
There are 10 types of people in this world: those who understand binary, those who don't, and those who mistake it for ternary.
Submitted by burntham77 on Wed, 06/10/2009 - 8:14pm
I installed Windows 7 RC on my HTPC, as I had just upgraded the motherboard and CPU, and it worked great at first. That was until I tried to use my ATI TV Wonder 650 tuner card. The card is about three years old and works fine under Vista x64. Sadly, there were no drivers for it via the AMD site, Windows Update or anywhere else I could find. It is a shame because AMD/ATI are good with their drivers when it comes to new OS's but I guess Windows 7 is just too new for them to worry about it. If anyone knows more about this, let me know. I would have loved to use it for my HTPC to record TV shows, but if I can't do that one thing, it's not ready for me.
Windows 7 feels solid though, and I intend to get it for my main PC when it comes out officially.
Submitted by nemaster203 on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 8:59pm
The Vista drivers should work fine. I've had few problems with drivers for Vista in Windows 7 Beta or RC.
Submitted by van_helblaze on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 5:54pm
If I dual boot windows vista with windows 7 on the same harddrive, will I still be able to access my files on my vista partition from 7? I don't want to have to reinstall programs just to test under Windows 7.
I don't normally dual boot, and when I'm done with Windows 7 RC2 how would I be able to remove it from my HDD without reformatting.
Submitted by sirphunkee on Sun, 05/31/2009 - 8:32pm
You will be able to access files from your Vista partition, but you can't just run programs that were installed on Vista on your new install of 7. Any program that has to be installed (i.e. has it's own registry entries) will always have to be re-installed on any iteration of windows that you want to run them from, that's just part of how Windows works.
Since Win 7 will be running on its own partition, formatting that partition when you're done is the easiest way to get rid of it, and that won't affect any of your current Vista data or programs.
I found the following notes online about removing 7 from the bootloader menu after reformatting: "The boot loader on a multi-boot system will still list the Windows 7 system after removing it from the computer system. Windows XP users (or those with previous Windows operating systems) can simply edit the boot.ini file in the root of the hard drive and remove the Windows 7 entry. Windows Vista users on the other hand need to use a special editor like Easy BCD to remove the Windows 7 entry."
Submitted by van_helblaze on Tue, 06/02/2009 - 4:35pm
I'll probibly just install a second hdd before I install Win 7, My hardrive is almost full as it is.
I recently figured out how to remove boot up options, (needed to get Ubuntu off of the menu)
Submitted by sirphunkee on Wed, 06/03/2009 - 1:02pm
Well I know 7 can be run from an external drive, as long as your mobo supports it...but if you want some real fun, see if you can get it to run from a flash drive, that's what I'm going to take a stab at next ;)
Upgrading from Win 7 Beta
Submitted by big_montana on Mon, 05/25/2009 - 12:23pm
Of course this article is assuming that no one is already running the Beta of Win 7. If so none of the outlined steps will work if you intend on dual booting as MS does not allow an upgrade from the beta to the RC. There is a workaround though and that is after downloading the ISO to either expand it or copy the contents of the CD to your hard drive (after you have burned the image to disk) and modify the cversion.ini (located in the Sources folder) file. Change the MinClient=7070.0 to 7000.0 and than run the setup program from your hard drive and RC 7 will install fine than.
Submitted by Dustn525 on Sun, 05/24/2009 - 6:57pm
7 is cool, I had no problem with drivers or anything for my Acer Aspire 1691 wlmi laptop. However, Intel refuses to make a WDDM (allows you to use Aero) driver for the GMA 900 graphics on it, although the hardware itself is perfectly capable (early Vista betas allowed it to run Aero, then cut it off in later builds). There is a registry hack posted on a ton of forums out there, but be warned - it doesn't work, it is just a copy of an early Vista hack that all these idiots are posting up without testing it first. It is possible to force using the drivers for Intel Lakeport from Vista beta build 5308...but who the heck has one of those CDs laying around?
So, could someone running Windows 7 with Aero ENABLED please run regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\DWM and take a screenshot or list the entrys and values it displays? This will doubtfully be the complete fix, but it'll help me on my research, and I'll let you GMA 900 users know!
Submitted by sirphunkee on Mon, 05/25/2009 - 6:58am
I've got the shot you need Dustn, let me know where to send it. cenich at gmail
Submitted by Wolfgang on Sun, 05/24/2009 - 7:52am
Just read your comment d_sellers1, if you still havent gotten your copy of Windows 7 RC, I can send you one through my local APO. Just let me know.
Out.
Wolfgang
Submitted by vitin66 on Sat, 05/23/2009 - 12:45pm
I just installed Win 7 RC and is working perfectly dualbooting with Win XP Pro. The problem is that none of the Devices ( Printer, Sound cards, wireless network adapter, scanner ) work and the XP programs cannot be installed because the drivers are not compatible. Since the network adapter is not working the OS cannot connect to the Internet to look for the needed drivers.
The tutorial cannot be used because there is no connection to the Internet.
What is the use to have the OS and how can you test it if you have to buy all yor existing programs and upgrade your devices?
Submitted by d_sellers1 on Sat, 05/23/2009 - 1:28pm
Normally, when installing Windows, it is able to detect alot of your hardware and install it by itself. However, there's a lot more hardware out there that Microsoft cannot keep up and a lot of times it won't work without the necessary drivers. Your fix is an easy one. Just boot in to XP and either go to your computer or motherboard manufacturer's website and get the most recent drivers available. Boot into Win7 and load your drivers and go from there.
Just because your hardware doesn't work right off the bat doesn't mean that you have to upgrade them; just load the drivers. Also, who said you had to buy all new software? What's stopping you from installing the software again on the Win7 partition? You're only going to be running one version of the software at a given time anyways...
Derek
Submitted by d_sellers1 on Fri, 05/22/2009 - 5:50am
This is kinda depressing to read. Everyone gets to play with the RC of Win7 except for me. I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan and attempted to download the 64-bit of RC1. When the internet was running at a decent speed, it was going to take about 37 hours of straight downloading to get it. The downloader is capable of resuming the download which I had going to a thumb drive but that only worked once. At one point, I had made it to about 25% complete. But for some reason the downloader was not able to resume with my file. So I gave up. I guess I'm going to have to wait until I get back to the states to get my chance to play with this. Until then, everyone else have fun with it.
Derek
Submitted by sirphunkee on Fri, 05/22/2009 - 10:43am
I'd be happy to send you a copy on DVD if that's possbile on your end
Submitted by d_sellers1 on Sat, 05/23/2009 - 2:32am
That would be great. I couldn't find a way to PM you on here so email me at d_sellers1 AT yahoo.com and I'll send you my address. Thanks again.
Derek
Submitted by Curtai on Mon, 05/18/2009 - 3:21pm
I have Vista 32 Bit and I have a 64 bit compatible processor and I used SecurAble and it gave me Yes Across the board... Can I upgrade to windows 7 64 bit or do I have to stay with 32 bit? I have 4GB of RAM in my system now etc... I dont want to do a clean install and Dual Boot would be a waste of space...
Thanks in Advance...
Submitted by ffilo on Sun, 05/17/2009 - 8:33pm
thank you very much. very useful. I'll have a try.
Submitted by sirphunkee on Sun, 05/17/2009 - 5:02pm
First, for anybody that is a little nervous about trying out 7 on some less-capable hardware, I'm happy to report that I've been running it almost completely hassle-free since release date on my 3-year-old rig, including a DX9 vid card, dual-booting with XP Pro 32-bit. The only hiccup I ran into was needing to boot into safe mode -a cinch with the bootloader- and install the latest Nvidia vid card drivers from there (7 would load but wouldn't draw the desktop). I completely skipped over Vista and I'm glad I did...this is really shaping up to be the XP replacement we've all been waiting on. Here's the rig I'm running it on, and programs I've installed and run with no issue:
- Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
- AMD FX-62 (stock @ 2.8Ghz)
- 1 GB Corsair XMS DDR-2 800 (normally I run 2GB, but one went bad recently and I've been too lazy to RMA it. But 7 has been running surprisingly smooth even though I'm crippled down to 1 GB right now)
- XFX GeForce 7950 GX2
- Physical drive 1 (74GB Raptor SATA):
- C:\ Original XP partiton
- Physical drive 2 (400GB Seagate SATA):
- D:\ ~320GB original bulk storage partition
- F:\ ~50GB partition carved out just for Win 7
- *Note that 7 has no problem seeing and accessing both of the existing original partitions.
Working programs (Win 7 is build 7100):
- uTorrent 1.8.2
- CCleaner 2.19.901
- ESET Smart Security 4.0.424.0
- Yahoo Messenger 9.0.0.2152
- Foxit Reader 3.0 build 1506
- Power ISO 3.8
- Office 2007
- Steam (whatever the current version on their site is)
- Portal (almost identical FPS as when I run it under XP on this same hardware)
- Nvidia 185.85 WHQL forceware drivers
Here's a great list of other software tested with Win 7: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=285099
And 30 other lesser-known goodies found in 7: http://blogs.msdn.com/tims/archive/2009/01/12/the-bumper-list-of-windows-7-secrets.aspx
Submitted by gmanvegas on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 1:37pm
So I install win 7 on the new partition and it cant find the sound or other drivers and HP software on the complex Touchsmart computer, and the hp disk just wants to reinstall over the existing factory Vista partition drive???
Submitted by sirphunkee on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 7:24pm
For the drivers, you'll need to just download and use latest versions from the manufacturers' sites. Many already have ones that do or should work with Win 7, google for them if you don't seem them listed there. If there's not any stable Win 7 drivers for a particular device, you can try the most recent Vista 32/64-bit versions, but those are really hit and miss.
To get at the programs and drivers on your HP disk, you'll have to keep it from autostarting when you load it, and then explore the disk and look for programs and drivers in individual folders on the disk. If you can't get at them that way, you'll just have to hope HP has cooked up some interim Win 7 drivers for all the proprietary stuff in the TouchSmart or has Vista ones on its site that will do in the meantime.
Let us know how it works out for you...I'm anxious to hear about 7's touch experience
Submitted by howson on Wed, 05/13/2009 - 4:29pm
Followed the steps in this article and the setup failed twice. Kept asking for a CD/DVD Device Driver. Discovered the problem was with the disk itself (many posts online). Best fix is to extract the installation files from the downloaded ISO (using WinRAR or something similar) and put the individual setup files and folders on your hard drive. Then run the SETUP.EXE file directly. Ran perfectly after that. Hope this helps someone out there--and MaximumPC: add this info as an option in your article.
Submitted by whiplash55 on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 7:49pm
It's how I ran the build 7000 works fine.
Thanks man! Downloading now,
Submitted by heartagram on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 8:48pm
Thanks man! Downloading now, will dual boot tomorrow after work lol!
Submitted by whiplash55 on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 7:46pm
Streaming my videos and music on my Latitude XT from my desktop worked great I've installed it on 3 machines including one In Place Upgrade and it worked flawlessly each time.
Submitted by heartagram on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 2:01pm
[img]http://nfriedly.com/eoc/325641/whatever.gif[/img]
Can I dual boot with Vista 32-bit and 64bit Win7? Or would I have to do a fresh install? This would be nice since I could add the 2gb of ram I took out to put 4gb in, and have 6gb now WEEE!! lol. Thanks for the help!
Submitted by linux_dork on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 12:17pm
I think I'll just wait for Windows 8.
Submitted by tjwreds on Wed, 05/20/2009 - 2:51pm
<sarcasm> good lord you're funny </sarcasm>
Submitted by DBsantos77 on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 12:09pm
For people who don't have DVD's laying around, and are dual-booting, you can just mount the .ISO with Daemon or another mounter from within Vista. That's how I installed the 32 bit RC on my desktop and 64 bit RC on my laptop with no problems.
Submitted by maniacm0nk3y on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 7:59pm
That's nice that it's this close to releaes, and it is coming out in '09. Too bad you need a Windows Live account. I deleted mine because it's pointless to me.
When it does come out, though-I will get it. I have Vista x64 Ultimate and am fine, but Windows 7 is worthy. Vista has a couple small quircks, just like XP did but 7 is just too big to miss.
Hey I just discovered that
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 12:44am
Hey I just discovered that my most favorite feature of Vista has been included in Seven. Readyboost. Wonderful.
I'm being very Sarcastic. Readyboost is pretty lame.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 5:52pm
I suggest that we have a release night party. Perhaps someone can post a java based chat program on MaximumPC.com to assist in the celebration. Heck there can be music and stuff.
Win7 is freaking Awesome.
Submitted by mpcrsc562 on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 4:17pm
installed the os, antivirus, and catalyst cc in about 17 minutes. win 7 even had drivers for my hauppauge tv tuner so i didn't have to get the disc or download drivers--cool! it's a whole different monster compared to being run virtualized.
had absolutely no trouble with the install... win 7x64, vista home premium x64. and ubuntu x64 (installed inside vista)
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 5:44pm
Sweet isn't it? Best way to do it.
Submitted by mpcrsc562 on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 7:14am
way cool
Submitted by PawBear on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 2:02pm
Paw Bear:
My vista upgrade failed twice. One of the sys files blue screened and the install failed. I suggest anyone upgrading have a functioning disk image backup. The remove upgrade function also was not perfect. Anyone know the hash? number for the iso?
Submitted by Zoomer on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 1:48pm
I'm wary of installing this. I had trouble with the RC. I have 2 150GB velociraptors in a RAID 0 with a 500GB Caviar for backups. I tried installing the Beta on the caviar, but then it didn't recognize my vista partition. Any idea of how to help this?
Submitted by DoubleR on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 7:15pm
Assuming you have the vista partition on the raid, do you need to install the drivers for your controller so windows can see the raid array. Not sure if you have a secondary controller. I had to usb install my raid controler driver at install to see my velocraptors on my highpoint controller. I left my xp partion, wiped out my vista partion and wiped out my beta 7 partition I had on my other 750 gig drive. I went all in with RC as my primary system with XP for just in case. Using library feature I do not have to duplicate the documents and media on the XP partion back into win 7 RC. Win 7 is a sweet OS
Submitted by CTskifreak on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 9:33am
on Microsoft's Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/windows?ref=nf
Submitted by Razor86 on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 9:22am
I have been tri-booting as well, and I love EasyBCD, great program!
Submitted by yardGNOME on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 7:30am
I have been tri-booting with 7 since the beta, and I use EasyBCD. By far the easiest way to dual or tri or even quad-boot your machine. ANd it is open-source!
Submitted by kowal on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 5:46am
I am a huge COD fan.....both cod 4 and cod waw.
the problem is with punkbuster and windows 7 and cod games.
Has anyone figured a way to get punkbuster, windows 7, and COD, to play nice together?
I play COD regular, and this prevents me from booting into seven as my primary OS.
phenom 9500 @ stock 2.2
asus M3A
9800gt
6gb corsair
Please help
Submitted by Skillz_n_Magic on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 1:27pm
I was in the same boat. Here's the fix that worked for me:
Start > Run > type "services.msc" click "OK"
Right click on the first punkbuster service and go to properties.
Check the box that says "allow service to interact with desktop".
Do this for both services and you should be set.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 2:27am
Perhaps MS will now produce an ILife alternitive for Windows. I would love to have a built in CD/DVD burning application that rivals to capabilities and value of the latest Nero Burning Rom package.
A built in Movie Maker and DVD video maker that rivals the functionality and ease of use of Nero Vision.
A built in compression utility that rivals the functionality and ease of use of WinRAR.
A built in virtual DVD Drive utility that rivals the functionality and ease of use of Daemon Tools.
A built in Photo Editor an Enhancer that rivals the funcionality and ease of use of the latest version of Adobe PhotoShop.
A built in Sound Editor and Enhancer that rivals the functionality and ease of use of Sony Vegas and Audacity.
A built in multi-format music ripping utility that will allow the custom ripping of music CD's to all known audio formats with optimized settings for the highest fidelity.
A built in Game Button that sets the OS up for gaming with only the most minimum number of programs and services running to allow your games to run with the most resources available to the game.
I'm not asking for much am I? I'm sure almost every geek here would love a MS ILife suite that can do all of the above.
Submitted by dracx619 on Tue, 05/12/2009 - 9:12am
as great as that would be, some group of jerks would then get on ms case about not letting other companies compete and all that bs that they are going through with ie
why the rap doesn't apple get the same crap if they load all their machines with safari and include all their proprietary software?
Submitted by shdwdragon7 on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 12:54am
Yes you can, I'm set up to triple boot right now. I have two OS's on one HDD and Win7 on another. Win7 renames the drive's but all the data is still there. I was able to easly take my COD4 profile from my "old" C: drive and drop it into my Win7 C: drive/game file.
When you boot to another OS everything is back to "normal".
Submitted by HK on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 5:49pm
I was hoping it would be fairly easy. I intend to have each OS on a separate drive. Thanks again for the assist.
-HK sends
Submitted by HK on Sun, 05/10/2009 - 11:30pm
I already dual boot between XP and Vista. Can I set up to boot between those and Windows 7? I figured I could boot into Vista and do a custom install for Windows 7 into a separate partition. Does anyone know if it will work?
-HK sends
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 05/11/2009 - 2:04am
I was able to quad boot with Win7 Beta. I did a clean install of WinXP first then I installed Windows Vista Second and from within Vista I installed Ubuntu 8.04 and then fourth and last I installed Windows 7Beta. It all worked great. I found I was going directly to Windows Vista during the boot up almost all the time so when I got the RC1 a few days befor it became public I just did a clean install of Win7 RC1 and am going to use it exclusively. I may or may not install Ubuntu but I want to try to forget any other OS for right now and spend all my time with Seven.
But as for Multi boot it's easy. The Windows boot loader is amazingly smart nowadays. MS has really started to take care of us.
Be sure to have fun.
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