Newbie help request: I want to Triple boot... how to?
Hi Folks, I have been using my dual boot C: Drive that I managed to accomplish a long while ago with DD10, but I really don't recall how I did it.
I recently "up-Cloned' that 500 GB C: Drive onto a 1.5TB C: Drive. It's now working fine, presenting the choice of my two OS's over a black screen at start-up. i prefer not using the Acronis Boot Selector software-- I just arrow down and choose the x64 boot partition when I need it, and I'm good to go.
I left enough un-allocated space to permit another primary, bootable partition.
My goal is to have a third boot choice at startup. I would like it to be Vista Business x64, which is
already on one of my two boot choices. I would like to use the very same x64 OEM CD software that I used before-- is that permitted my MicroSoft?
This sounds so newbish, but I actually don't know/remember/understand how to use the MicroSoft OEM installation CD so that I am 100% sure I will not delete or otherwise destroy the two working partitions I now have. I cannot mess this up-- as right now I do not have a backup because the
original 500GB C: Drive became un-bootable & un-Repairable (using the original OS installation CD) as a result of doing the Clone. I *think* this is because DD10 does not allow re-sizing & Up-cloning at
the same time. (but I'll soon get another 1.5 TB Drive and Clone that as my back-up).
I guess what I'm asking is this: what exact baby steps must I take to change my dual-boot C: Drive with its unallocated space, into a tri-boot system? Do I boot from the OEM x64 CD? Is it a special or advanced installation and what menu options will I be presented?
Any tricks or cautionary tales?
Many Thanks!
Hi and thanks for your website, MudCrab,
I will try to take your advice to heart, but I was hoping to avoid using this backup/restore feature. My brain is not quite capable of grasping
yet another program. Something in the grey matter shuts off. I am trying to use Acronis in the most simple and direct way possible to ensure backups.
So therefore, the Entire Disk Image backup vs. Cloning choice is something I need to fully understand.
I originally thought that if I am willing to take the time to Clone my multi-boot C: Drive, then *in theory* I have the ability to add a third OS, confident that I will be backed-up if I somehow can't manage the new Custom install to achieve my tri-boot.
The sad reality is that i've learned that Cloning is not necessarily a safe procedure for the Source drive... as I mentioned above, I learned that the hard way.
To recap: after Cloning my dual boot C: Drive (500 GB) and in the process using the GUI tools to do custom re-sizing of the Destination partitions (1.5 TB), my source Drive would no longer boot. I wish I could remember the exact screen text-- it was full black with white letters (similar to boot manager), but it said basically that I needed to insert the original OS dvd and attempt a repair. Well, I tried that, but the windows repair did not
work. My next step was to open my case, install the Clone's Destination drive and hope for the best.
Once I booted that 1.5 TB C: Drive, I was presented with the same scary black & white text screen, again asking to insert my original OS dvd and attempt a repair. This time the repair worked and I had what I expected- my dual boot, disk manager set-up on a larger 1.5 TB C: Drive.
My workstation uses an external 2-bay Sata chassis and with it, I was able to view the contents of my original 500 GB Drive. It looks fine, but I do not have the advanced know-how to repair its boot file, which I assume is missing, damaged or otherwise AWOL.
I wish I knew what caused Cloning to damage booting of my Source drive, and also why I sometimes (but not always) need to use my original OS dvd to do a Repair. And why that OS Repair function is hit or miss. It kind of knocks down my theory that Cloning is simple and direct.
What are Cloning's limitations with respect to multi-boot C: Drives? Should I not Clone from an installed C: Drive? Should I not Clone to a
larger drive? Did I make a fatal mistake when I used the GUI to move the position of the two partitions with respect to the new unallocated space?
Now that I'm gun-shy about Cloning, i may very well have to learn about Entire Disk Backups-- but I would love to get some answers or even experienced speculation on what went wrong for me.
You don't have to use the "backup and restore" method. That is just an option. In your case, I would recommend doing a regular Custom install form the Windows DVD. The point is that a backup of the drive is recommended prior to making these types of changes. If something goes wrong and you don't have a backup....
Whether you clone or image you can still end up with the same types of problems. Working with multi-boot systems is different than single-OS systems. In your case, you're using non-isolated systems so it's even more tangled. I don't usually recommend using the Microsoft method because I prefer isolated systems.
The bottom line is that it's is very common to need to perform some repairs after restoring/copying/etc. OS partitions in a multi-OS system. Some of these repairs may be able to be done automatically using the repair tools, but some must be done manually.
The reason I suggest you do a normal Custom installation from the Windows DVD is because you're already configured with the Microsoft method. After installing, you may need to do a boot repair with the latest Windows version that's install (Windows 7, for example). If the installed operating systems are both Vista or Vista is already the latest, you shouldn't need to do any repairs.
Hi MudCrab, Thanks very much for your bottom line opinions and clarifications. I appreciate your helping out.