Windows 10 on a partitioned SSD, dual booting with W7, good or bad idea?

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timmmay

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#161754 18-Jan-2015 21:38

I'm wanting to try out W10 once the Jan update comes out, mostly to see how ReFS and Storage Spaces work. I'm not quite ready to throw away my W7 install, so I'm considering dual booting.

My computer has 4 or 5 spinning disks and two 120GB SSDs - one OWC and one new Samsung 840 pro. My main OS SSD is reasonably full, but my other SSD has 80GB free - the data on it is reasonably critical, though backed up. Is it sensible to partition that SSD and install W10 on it?

Any tips on the best way to partition the SSD and how to dual boot are welcome. I can Google the "how" once I hear if people think it's a good or bad idea, though tips on that are of course welcome too.

Edit/NB: I don't want to virtualise as I want to test performance and reliability of ReFS and storage spaces. I don't want to lose my W7 install either, though I can take an image with Macrium restoring is a bit of a pain.

nathan

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#1217183 18-Jan-2015 22:21

personally I would just in-place upgrade onto the build coming out shortly

I've been running that for a while and its running better than Windows 7 was on the same hardware for me

toyonut

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#1217186 18-Jan-2015 22:23

Get the free VMware player or virtualbox. Don't make life hard. If it is just to play around, virtualize. When you delete it you will have to fix bootloaders etc and if you are not careful, you could end up deleting data either in partitioning or removal.
Not to say you can't. It does work and the installer will set up the bootloader for you with both OS's, but it is just easier to virtualize and cleaner when it comes time to remove the Win 10 install.

Try Vultr using this link and get us both some credit:

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Amosnz

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#1217204 18-Jan-2015 22:57

I run mine win 10 in virtualbox. Just delete the vmdk when its no longer required and store it where you have the most free space.

Speedtest

nathan

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#1217222 18-Jan-2015 23:30

VMs suck, dual booting sucks. Just saying.

toyonut

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#1217272 19-Jan-2015 07:53

nathan: VMs suck, dual booting sucks. Just saying.

So what is your magic solution? Of the two though, I think VM's are easier to stand up and have a play with.

Try Vultr using this link and get us both some credit:

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nathan

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#1217273 19-Jan-2015 07:58

if you don't want to install natively, then dual booting sucks less

Go all in on the new Preview coming out shortly :) As mentioned I've been running it for a month plus and everything works, and perf is better than Win7

timmmay

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#1217274 19-Jan-2015 08:02

I don't want to convert my W7 box to W10, it's still in beta and I may find it's not suitable. But I do want the ability to use W10 natively, not virtualised, as I want to test the performance and reliablity of ReFS and Storage Spaces.

So... anyone have any opinions or help on my original questions?

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tdgeek

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#1217280 19-Jan-2015 08:22

nathan: if you don't want to install natively, then dual booting sucks less

Go all in on the new Preview coming out shortly :) As mentioned I've been running it for a month plus and everything works, and perf is better than Win7

1. Can W10 upgrade from W8?
2. How are driver issues with brands such as Acer, if the Acer laptop (daughters) runs W8 currently?
3. Sorry to hijack!

nathan

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#1217282 19-Jan-2015 08:24

timmmay: I don't want to convert my W7 box to W10, it's still in beta and I may find it's not suitable. But I do want the ability to use W10 natively, not virtualised, as I want to test the performance and reliablity of ReFS and Storage Spaces.

So... anyone have any opinions or help on my original questions?

shrink your existing partition, dual boot as you first mentioned
or get a Windows To Go USB stick and run off USB flash drive

nathan

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#1217283 19-Jan-2015 08:25

tdgeek:
nathan: if you don't want to install natively, then dual booting sucks less

Go all in on the new Preview coming out shortly :) As mentioned I've been running it for a month plus and everything works, and perf is better than Win7

1. Can W10 upgrade from W8?
2. How are driver issues with brands such as Acer, if the Acer laptop (daughters) runs W8 currently?
3. Sorry to hijack!

1. yes
2. should be fine, I've installed it on heaps of different hardware, HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Toshiba and Surface

tdgeek

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#1217284 19-Jan-2015 08:26

nathan:
tdgeek:
nathan: if you don't want to install natively, then dual booting sucks less

Go all in on the new Preview coming out shortly :) As mentioned I've been running it for a month plus and everything works, and perf is better than Win7

1. Can W10 upgrade from W8?
2. How are driver issues with brands such as Acer, if the Acer laptop (daughters) runs W8 currently?
3. Sorry to hijack!

1. yes
2. should be fine, I've installed it on heaps of different hardware, HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Toshiba and Surface

Tks Nathan, appreciated, will upgrade daughters lappie

Hijack concluded.

nathan

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#1217288 19-Jan-2015 08:32

do realise its a beta, you may want to wait if you don't have a reason for testing it etc

tdgeek

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#1217301 19-Jan-2015 08:39

nathan: do realise its a beta, you may want to wait if you don't have a reason for testing it etc

Understood. She is 16, the laptop is non critical, so I'd probbaly backup her stuff, note down what she has installed, get the Win 8 rego and make a backup disk if thats an option, and do a clean install of W10. If need be, I can clean install 8.1 back

Edit: Typos

timmmay

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#1217315 19-Jan-2015 09:27

nathan: shrink your existing partition, dual boot as you first mentioned
or get a Windows To Go USB stick and run off USB flash drive

Guess I'll do that in the W7 disk manager. I can dual boot from the BIOS, just selecting the boot disk... more hassle but not so bad. I may Google for a better way.

nathan: do realise its a beta, you may want to wait if you don't have a reason for testing it etc

I also know it's a beta, but I figure after the Jan release it's probably pretty stable, and it has 20 years or whatever behind it. I don't much mind if the UI is a bit buggy, I just want to test ReFS and Storage Spaces. Once the full release comes along I'll probably make that my main install, unless the beta is pretty solid.