If you are planning to dual boot Windows 7 with the Windows Vista, then you have come to the right place. If you are still thinking about Windows 7, I recommend Windows 7, not just because it’s new but also because you will love its performance and stability.
Here, I assume that you have already installed Windows Vista on your machine and now you want to install Windows 7 in dual boot with Vista. You can also use my guide “Install Windows 7 from USB guide” to install Windows 7 in just 15 minutes.
Minimum recommended specs:
* 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
*1 GB of system memory
*16 GB of available disk space
*Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)
*DVD-R/W Drive
*Internet access (to download the Beta and get updates)
Also, read our “10 Things to remember before installing Windows 7” guide.
Dual boot Windows 7 and Vista
Below are the steps you need to perform to install Windows 7 in dual boot with Vista.
1. Download and burn Windows 7 ISO file using any free burning programs. If you don’t have a DVD drive, then you can use either use our Installing Windows 7 without using DVD/USB drive guide or Install Windows 7 Using USB Drive guide to install Windows 7 quickly.
2. Once you have bootable USB/DVD, the next step is to create a partition with minimum 16GB (see hardware requirements) of free space. As Vista has inbuilt partition manager, you can create a new partition easily.
3. Next step is to change your BIOS boot priority to CD/DVD drive from the default HDD (Hard Disk Drive). If you are using a USB drive to install Windows 7, then enable the option Enable USB Boot to make the system boot from the USB drive. I hope you know how to change boot priority as you have installed Windows Vista previously on your machine.
4. Insert your DVD into the optical (DVD drive) drive and follow the simple Windows 7 installation procedure.
5. Once you finish the Windows 7 installation, you will see a new entry in the boot screen and will look similar to the below screenshot.
6. Enjoy! The thing is installing Windows 7 on Vista is very easy and simple.
Also, check out install Windows 7 from USB flash drive and how to create bootable USB guides.
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Brian says
admin,
Thank you for your response. I think I’m going to have a find a tool that does this. I have tried booting with both the Windows 7 CD and the Win 7 Repair CD (that I created) but the CD drive and hard drive just spin forever. It does not actually boot.
admin says
Boot using Windows 7 DVD and use boot repair option.
Brian says
I have been running Win 7 build 7100, 7127 and then 7137. Had problems with “Not Responding” programs.
Installed Vista x64 on a new hard drive. I only have Vista boot. How do I enable dual boot so I can get to my Win 7 boot?
Thanks
Siddanth says
Hey the bootloader is same for windows 7 and vista rit ??? so bootloader conflicts rit ??
Stephen says
How the disk manager works? I like to understand that more.