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Getting Started
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Articles & Guides
Recent Additions
Edit MountedDevices in an Offline Windows Registry.
April 2nd 2014
April 2nd 2014
Recover from a Changed Windows Drive Letter.
March 26th 2014
March 26th 2014
An Introduction to Virtual Operating Systems.
March 20th 2014
March 20th 2014
Dealing With a Disk Signature Collision Warning.
March 10th 2014
March 10th 2014
Some Safe Ways to Get Started with Multibooting.
Feb 15th 2014
Feb 15th 2014
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Microsoft's newest generation of operating systems have transformed many of the accepted ways for successful multibooting, cloning, imaging or deploying Windows. If you have yet to get to grips with all the new rules then this 
website should be a good place for you to start. Our articles and guides are as clear and concise as we could make them and most are written in plain language that will allow almost any able computer user to follow along.
website should be a good place for you to start. Our articles and guides are as clear and concise as we could make them and most are written in plain language that will allow almost any able computer user to follow along.Being able to boot two or more operating systems from a single computer can allow you to have different systems for different tasks. Or give you time to learn a new 
operating system while still being able to use the old familiar one. But the best use of a multiboot setup is to have identical clones of your all important and hard working main system so you can banish software problems with just a reboot.
operating system while still being able to use the old familiar one. But the best use of a multiboot setup is to have identical clones of your all important and hard working main system so you can banish software problems with just a reboot.
If we have a few bootable clones of our operating system which are all fully up-to-date and that use the same data storage areas, then we can switch to using any one of 
them without hardly noticing the difference. With all of our up to the minute data immediately accessible to every clone, we can banish annoying problems or recover from infections and major disasters in literally the time it takes to reboot the computer.
them without hardly noticing the difference. With all of our up to the minute data immediately accessible to every clone, we can banish annoying problems or recover from infections and major disasters in literally the time it takes to reboot the computer.
Advanced Format hard drives became available at the start of 2010 and the first new PCs began to ship with
them in early 2011. Recent operating systems that are Advanced Format aware will configure the drives correctly for optimum use, but older operating systems and many current software tools for partitioning, cloning and imaging are unlikely to get it right.
them in early 2011. Recent operating systems that are Advanced Format aware will configure the drives correctly for optimum use, but older operating systems and many current software tools for partitioning, cloning and imaging are unlikely to get it right.
There are now many different ways to incorrectly configure partitions on both of the currently available formats of
mechanical hard drive. Getting it wrong at best will result in a performance loss, at worst a corrupted or lost partition. Getting it right can require knowing which format a hard drive is; which partition alignments should be.........
mechanical hard drive. Getting it wrong at best will result in a performance loss, at worst a corrupted or lost partition. Getting it right can require knowing which format a hard drive is; which partition alignments should be.........
We don't need to understand any of the really complicated stuff about partitions and their files systems to be a multibooter, but it certainly helps to know the types of partitions we can use and the restrictions and conventions that will dictated how we can and should place our partitions on a drive. It also helps to be clear on how partitions are numbered and labeled so that we don't make mistakes in identifying and selecting a partition we are about to modify or delete.
This website is about introducing people to the benefits of having more that one operating system and to the backup and recovery advantages of multibooting with identical clones. Achieving these goals need not be difficult or require you to have extreme technical abilities, but we do implore you to take your time and understand what you are doing. Be under no illusion that modifying or creating partitions.........
The Disk Management tool (diskmgmt.msc) has been around for a while and it gives us a nice graphical view of the partition structure of hard drives and devices. It has of course evolved over time and in the latest generation of Windows it has been updated to fully support the new Advanced Format architecture and the upcoming GUID partitioning scheme.
When configuring a multiboot machine it can be useful to have at least a basic grasp of how the boot sequence progresses. We don’t have to learn anything 
particularly difficult or technical to understand enough of what is going on to help us in making informed decisions. The general flow of the boot sequence is what concerns us the most and that is not a difficult thing to understand if we don’t........
particularly difficult or technical to understand enough of what is going on to help us in making informed decisions. The general flow of the boot sequence is what concerns us the most and that is not a difficult thing to understand if we don’t........
As with any job or skill that we want to master and do well we should acquire some decent tools of the trade and the knowledge to use them. Our recommended tools will not only be used to create our multiboot computer, but will also give us the means if need be to repair minor problems or recover an unbootable machine.
There are several ways to achieve a multiboot system and some of them are safer and easier to get running than those that require the configuring of partitions and the installing of bootmanagers. The cleanest and safest is an operating system that can be booted and run from removable media like a CD/DVD or a USB/SD flash stick or card. While they have some limitations they are an excellent and quick way to get your first taste of other operating systems.
On-board recovery systems as well as backup and data partitions and even some lightweight and quick-booting operating system can all have their own separate partitions on a hard drive. This can mean that creating space to install another operating system may be difficult or just not possible.
Do You Know Your Format, Style and Type?
The underlying Format of a hard drive and how it has been configured for Style and Type are just a few of the things we need to consider before carrying out any partitioning, imaging and cloning, or before installing an operating system or bootmanager. 
An Introduction to Format, Style and Type.
Are you Configured for MBR or GUID Partitions?
The new GUID Partition Table (GPT) that is set to take over from the classic MBR partition table will literally re-write the rule book on how to configure and manage a dual or multiboot computer. Many current utilities will be unsafe to use so it really is quite important to know how a hard drive has been styled before embarking on any major work or modifications. MBR or GPT Styled Hard Drive?
Saving and Sharing Windows Operating System Updates.
On a computer that is multibooting various copies of Windows we may want to take a slightly different approach to how we keep on top of Windows updates. Allowing various installs to download the same update could be considered wasteful so where possible we could grab such updates only once and then pass them along. Reuse updates in clones and other Windows installs.
How Windows uses the Disk Signature in the Boot Process.
Windows will stamp a unique ID number into the first sector of every hard drive it uses. This need not be a concern if you intend using only Microsoft’s own bootmanager and you follow the recommended procedures for installing Windows. If however you stray from the Microsoft path there are a few ways that this disk ID number could catch you out. The Windows Hard Drive Disk Signature.
The Hard Drive Disk Signature and Windows Drive Letters.
The way Windows assigns and maintains drive letters to partitions and drives is intimately connected to the hard drive disk signature and so a changed signature can cause a few issues for Windows. If you have ever wondered how it all works then our Tech Insight article on the subject is for you. Drive Letters and Signatures.
Fixing a Windows Disk Signature Problem.
Since Windows Vista the list of issues caused by a changed or lost Disk Signature has grown to include the sometimes annoying problem of not being able to boot Windows. If you want to understand the signature dependency and be able to manually deal with any problems you may encounter then this tutorial should lead you in the right direction. Dealing with Disk Signature Issues.
Finding the New Windows Bootloader - Winload.exe.
The boot files of New-Generation Windows work in a different way to the files they replaced in legacy operating systems like XP. This has necessitated a change in procedures for successfully moving or cloning Windows and so anyone who wishes to perform such operations would do well to understand how the new files operate. The Windows Boot Files - bootmgr and BCD
multibooters.com:- 2012 - 2014
Windows from a Flash Device: Install and run any version of Windows 8/8.1 from a USB flash stick or SD card.
WinDroid Dual-Boot Phones:
Tablets that dual-boot have been withdrawn, will smartphones fare any better?
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