If you want to test Windows 8, but don’t want to lose your current OS installation, why not install Windows 8 together with your current OS?
This guide will show you how to dual boot Windows 7 and Windows 8, but it also works with Windows Vista, on a single hard drive.
The first step is to shrink your disk to free up some space to install Windows 8 on.
To do this, start by opening up the “Computer Manager” by right clicking on “Computer” and choose “Manage”
In the “Computer Manager”, choose “Disk Management”.
Right click on the disk you want to install Windows 8 on to, and choose “Shrink Volume”.
In the new window, enter the amount you want to shrink the disk with. The amount you enter will be the size of the new disk where Windows 8 will be installed. (Minimum for Windows 8 is about 20Gb depending on the version used)
As you can see, the new partition is shown in black, just next to the original one.
The next step is to install Windows 8 to the new partition. Insert your DVD/USB with Windows 8 and start the computer. (Depending on the current settings, you might need to change the boot order. Please refer to you motherboards manual on how to change this)
On the first screen, shoose your language, time and currency and the keyboard settings to be used. The press “Next”
On the next screen, press “Install Now” and accept the license terms before clicking on “Next”.
On the “Windows Setup” screen, choose “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)”
On the next screen, you will see the available harddrives/partitions where you can install Windows 8. Choose the partition we created in the beggining of this guide and press “Next”
This will start the installation of Windows 8, and once completed start the guide to customize your installation.
When this has been done, you will be running Windows 8 and the next time you restart your computer, you will be presented with the following screen. This will let you choose which OS to start. (In this case Windows 7 or Windows 8)
Worth noting, is that this will only show if you allready have Windows 7 or Windows Vista installed. If you allready have Windows 8 installed, and want to install Windows 7 to dual boot, the proceduer is the same, but instead, you will be presented with the following screen when you start your computer: