Dual Boot Windows 10/Windows 8.1

Would it be possible to create a dual boot with a Windows 10 RTM upgrade ISO
and Windows 8.1? I would like to try Windows 10 first when it is available
before committing to it.
Back in 2009 I purchased a Dell Vista laptop for my daughter with a free
Windows 7 upgrade to be provided free when released in a couple of months
which I am still using When I proceeded to upgrade Vista I somehow managed
to inadvertently create a dual boot Vista/7 system. I just left Vista on the
laptop just in case I needed to get into the computer if there was an issue.
Since I would never be using both operating systems simultaneously, I didn't
feel as though it violated the EULA particularly since the system allowed
the dual boot to proceed anyway.
Any insights are appreciated.

Thanks,
Rich

Rich wrote:
Would it be possible to create a dual boot with a Windows 10 RTM upgrade
ISO and Windows 8.1? I would like to try Windows 10 first when it is
available before committing to it.
Back in 2009 I purchased a Dell Vista laptop for my daughter with a free
Windows 7 upgrade to be provided free when released in a couple of
months which I am still using When I proceeded to upgrade Vista I
somehow managed to inadvertently create a dual boot Vista/7 system. I
just left Vista on the laptop just in case I needed to get into the
computer if there was an issue. Since I would never be using both
operating systems simultaneously, I didn't feel as though it violated
the EULA particularly since the system allowed the dual boot to proceed
anyway.
Any insights are appreciated.

Thanks,
Rich

With the "free" upgrade, there is an implied
license management system.

And at the current time, I don't know how that
works. Whether you would boot Win8.1 some day and
it would say "Not Genuine", because of your freebie
Win10 usage on the same hard drive.

The whole "Free Upgrade" idea is a mess. Think
of the situation for a laptop you're about to sell.
You do your messing around with licenses - you
had your fun. You do a factory restore. Now, should
the laptop say "Not Genuine", because you took part
in the "free" offer ? How will that work ? Will the
buyer of your laptop have to suffer, because you
had fun ?

They just made the whole launch unbelievably complicated.
Each new rule we learn about, has unintended side effects.
And a book will need to be written to cover all of them!
Normally, upgrading would just be a two dimensional problem,
and all we had to worry about was "from-to" pairs. Whereas
with the Windows 10 launch, a couple of aspects involve
"time" (1 year to upgrade, 30 days to downgrade), so the
upgrade matrix is three dimensional, with transition paths
added in that third dimension.

And to date, Microsoft is doing a remarkably poor job of
documenting this stuff. It ****es me off, when I "discover"
a new rule, while researching some other unrelated issue
on a third-party web site.

*******

If you *buy* a copy of Windows 10 (yes, you can buy copies),
then the licensing issue fades away. Each OS of your dual boot
is independent, from a license key perspective. Do you
want to spend $140 for that level of comfort ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832588491

It's only people partaking of their "free upgrade", where
so many uncertainties are involved. Microsoft seems to be
implying, that one license "is not being amplified to run
two OSes". And the question is, will this be enforced,
at what decision points (you're told you are "Not Genuine" when
you try to update Windows Media Player), and with active or passive
techniques. It's just a recipe for a disaster.

Paul

"Paul" wrote in message
...
Rich wrote:
Would it be possible to create a dual boot with a Windows 10 RTM upgrade
ISO and Windows 8.1? I would like to try Windows 10 first when it is
available before committing to it.
Back in 2009 I purchased a Dell Vista laptop for my daughter with a free
Windows 7 upgrade to be provided free when released in a couple of months
which I am still using When I proceeded to upgrade Vista I somehow
managed to inadvertently create a dual boot Vista/7 system. I just left
Vista on the laptop just in case I needed to get into the computer if
there was an issue. Since I would never be using both operating systems
simultaneously, I didn't feel as though it violated the EULA particularly
since the system allowed the dual boot to proceed anyway.
Any insights are appreciated.

Thanks,
Rich

With the "free" upgrade, there is an implied
license management system.

And at the current time, I don't know how that
works. Whether you would boot Win8.1 some day and
it would say "Not Genuine", because of your freebie
Win10 usage on the same hard drive.

The whole "Free Upgrade" idea is a mess. Think
of the situation for a laptop you're about to sell.
You do your messing around with licenses - you
had your fun. You do a factory restore. Now, should
the laptop say "Not Genuine", because you took part
in the "free" offer ? How will that work ? Will the
buyer of your laptop have to suffer, because you
had fun ?

They just made the whole launch unbelievably complicated.
Each new rule we learn about, has unintended side effects.
And a book will need to be written to cover all of them!
Normally, upgrading would just be a two dimensional problem,
and all we had to worry about was "from-to" pairs. Whereas
with the Windows 10 launch, a couple of aspects involve
"time" (1 year to upgrade, 30 days to downgrade), so the
upgrade matrix is three dimensional, with transition paths
added in that third dimension.

And to date, Microsoft is doing a remarkably poor job of
documenting this stuff. It ****es me off, when I "discover"
a new rule, while researching some other unrelated issue
on a third-party web site.

*******

If you *buy* a copy of Windows 10 (yes, you can buy copies),
then the licensing issue fades away. Each OS of your dual boot
is independent, from a license key perspective. Do you
want to spend $140 for that level of comfort ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832588491

It's only people partaking of their "free upgrade", where
so many uncertainties are involved. Microsoft seems to be
implying, that one license "is not being amplified to run
two OSes". And the question is, will this be enforced,
at what decision points (you're told you are "Not Genuine" when
you try to update Windows Media Player), and with active or passive
techniques. It's just a recipe for a disaster.

Paul


Clearly then this is a vastly different situation than a free Dell upgrade
to Windows 7 in 2009. I have a year to just wait and see how Windows 10 pans
out for other upgraders.
Excellent information. Thanks for the time invested in your explanation.

Rich