Dual boot windows 10 and 8.1

[chriscbd_19]

I previously upgraded from 8.1 to Windows 10 home and im curious if i dual boot windows 8.1 and windows 10 could i use the same product key for both os's?

[Compton]

no windows 10 has its own product key windows 8/1 has its own

this will also work with 8.1

[chriscbd_19]

Windows 10 has its own product key?? So my windows 8.1 product key is gone since i didn't think id need it and that somehow my product key would be the one windows 10 would use? Forgive me if i seem rude im not trying to be and sorry if i come off that way

[GuiltySpark]

If you had Win8.1 pre-installed (OEM) then it is possible to keep the same key and dual boot however, it is a very fiddly affair.

Was it an OEM version?

[chriscbd_19]

I bought a laptop that had windows 8.1 preinstalled on to it so i want to say its retail? Im still learning these things lol

[GuiltySpark]

Pre-install is OEM (Original Equipment Manafacture). So it should be possible to do using existing key but is a little confusing at times to understand, I will post steps to take when I get some more free time.

[chriscbd_19]

Alright sounds good thank you

[GuiltySpark]

Dual Boot Win8.1 and Win10

Firstly create a full backup image to an external HDD (this includes reserved partitions etc, you may need these to revert the changes if things go tits up).

Next thing we're going to need is our embedded PK, if you don't know what it is then I would suggest downloading the portable version of RWEverything.

Quote:RWEverything:

Open up the program and select the ASCII tab, then select the MSDN tab, your PK will be shown at the bottom in full.

Once we have our PK (written down) we can begin the "procedure".

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Step1 -:

Upgrade Procedure; please read instructions carefully to understand before proceeding.

Upgrade your Win8.1 to Win10 (this will assign your PK to Win10 via your machine ID)
Make sure you use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool for this as it will give us the necessary ISO for the clean install.

When you have the ISO:

Select the ISO and select Mount (this will allow the files to be read).

Navigate to the Setup.exe and select upgrade.

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Step 2 -:

Clean Install of Win10; please read instructions carefully to understand before proceeding.

When Win8.1 has been fully upgraded to Win10, check to make sure it has been activated (the reason for this is because MS have a lot of problems with their servers and confirmation may not be automatically guaranteed).

When all is good create a bootable (DVD) for later use.(Any burner that works for you and can be read by your system will be fine, if not sure I recommend ImgBurn however, as always watch for hidden nasties).

Alternatively you can create a bootable flash drive (USB). Rufus is pretty good at this but whichever one you're most comfortable with will do.

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Step 3 -:

Restoring Previous Version; pleae read instructions carefully to understand before proceeding.

You should now have two Win10 OS' on your computer, one which was upgraded and the other a clean install.

Boot into the Win10 that was upgraded from Win8.1 and open the Settings Menu.
Select Recovery from the list.
You should also see at this stage an option to Go Back To Win8.1 select this and it should be automated.

When finished you should be left with a Win 8.1 OS and a Win10 OS both of which will remain activated.

[chriscbd_19]

I was trying to split my partition to begin the dual boot process using disk management that is already installed with everything from xp to windows 10 at least. Well i have files that are at the end of the partition so it wont let me split the hard drive so is there a disk maybe hirens i can use to recover my windows 8.1 product key or what can i do?

[Compton]

so what you are saying you can't boot into windows too get the product key?