2nd SSD to dual boot Windows 10 and 7?

[gonefishing]

I'm running Windows 7 on my desktop PC. I know at sometime I'm going to have to make the switch to 10 due to Microsoft not releasing security updates for 7 starting next year. I really don't want to do this last minute and I also don't want to do full on conversion. I also don't feel it's necessary to replace this PC as it's still pretty quick for my needs. My desktop is pretty reliable and I don't want to affect that if possible. What I'm leaning toward doing is buying another HD strictly for Windows 10. I currently have two HD's in my desktop. The primary drive Windows 7 resides on is a 256gb Samsung 850 EVO. The other drive is a mechanical 500 GB for storage. There really isn't enough available space on the SSD to create a second partition for another OS. As cheap as SSD's have gotten, I would rather purchase another drive and keep things separate. It's been a LONG time since I have dual booted an OS. Anyone see any issues with installing a 2nd SSD with Windows 10 and dual booting? That way I can get comfortable with 10 before committing to it 100%.

Thank you

 

[MrMoody]

Should work fine. Most motherboards only have one M.2 slot, so you'd have to use a SATA drive or add an adapter card. One gotcha: Both drives have to be present and working to boot to the 2nd operating system.

You might want to consider the unfairly maligned 8.1 instead of 10. Good until 2023, very similar to 7 if you add a third-party start menu (I like Classic Shell), and provably more stable than either 7 or 10.

 

[beanoil]

Nothing wrong with 10, and no reason to be scared of it. Upgrade your 7 and be done.
If you don't like the Metro desktop, the classic look is there and can be selected as default.
Yes, you could move to 8.1 and classic shell, but why? That ridiculous pile of garbage isn't worth it. 10 is what 8.1 wants to be.
Unless you are married to windows (and afraid of divorce) you could try any of the numerous Linux loads and dual boot into one of those really easy. You can run it from a USB to try it out before install. They all look and act like Windows now. Peppermint, or Mint with Cinnamon would be a good start.
PS, if you research the process, and do a bit of fat fingering, an upgrade to 10 from 7, using that COA, is still possible. Takes a few steps, but I just did it about 3 months ago. Once done, the MS server will know the combo of identifiers for that hardware and authorize it seamlessly in the event of drive failure and reload.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by beanoil
Nothing wrong with 10, and no reason to be scared of it. Upgrade your 7 and be done.
If you don't like the Metro desktop, the classic look is there and can be selected as default.
Yes, you could move to 8.1 and classic shell, but why? That ridiculous pile of garbage isn't worth it. 10 is what 8.1 wants to be.
Unless you are married to windows (and afraid of divorce) you could try any of the numerous Linux loads and dual boot into one of those really easy. You can run it from a USB to try it out before install. They all look and act like Windows now. Peppermint, or Mint with Cinnamon would be a good start.
PS, if you research the process, and do a bit of fat fingering, an upgrade to 10 from 7, using that COA, is still possible. Takes a few steps, but I just did it about 3 months ago. Once done, the MS server will know the combo of identifiers for that hardware and authorize it seamlessly in the event of drive failure and reload.


Yes, 8.x is to 10 what Vista was to 7.

While 10 has presented some hurdles, and is a bit of a moving target, with the EOL of 7 coming, it's the most logical move.

 

[javacontour]

No need to be afraid of Win10. I do like the idea of a clean OS install so the new drive installation is a capital idea. And it gives you time to use both and to have a backup plan if something goes wrong with Win10.

 

[PandaBear]

10 is stable, but if you want to migrate you can always partition your HD and use a boot manager to dual boot. No need for another drive.

 

[gonefishing]

Decided to go with a 2nd SSD. Picked up a Samsung 860 EVO 250GB for $58. Crazy how cheap SSD's have become. Plan to install Win10 sometime soon.

 

[JustinH]

Build out a server and move everything to VM's.

You can do it with vmware workstation, set it up for daily snapshots, and use chrome RDP on a chromebook to get to any vm.

That's how I do it.