How to Dual Boot Windows 10 and Windows 11 Successfully

User case: Is it possible to dual boot Windows 10 and 11?

“Hello, I have a PC that I would like to have both Windows 10 and Windows 11 on it. Is it possible to do this? How to dual boot Windows 11 on a Windows 10 machine? It would be really great if someone could provide me a clear guide on this.”

Dual-booting Windows is a tradition that goes back a long way. It allows you to experience both new and old Windows versions on the same hard drive of your PC or laptop. With the advent of Windows 11, there are some users who want to perform Windows 11 dual boot. You can dual-boot Windows 11 on a computer with Windows 10 installed if your computer meets the minimum Windows 11 system requirements.

Full guide: Windows 10 and Windows 11 dual boot

Dual booting is a fun way to try Windows 11 without removing Windows 10. You do need separate licenses and accounts to legally dual boot both Windows operating systems without violating Microsoft's Terms of Service.

To dual boot Windows 10 and Windows 11 at the same time, you need to do some preparations:

• A valid Windows 10 license and a valid Windows 11 license.
• A separate Microsoft account for both operating systems.
• A USB drive of at least 8 GB in size.
• Stable internet connection for downloading Windows 11.

You can follow the guide below to learn how to dual boot Windows 10 and 11 on your computer, let's get started.

Part 1. Set up partition for Windows 11

If you have an empty second hard drive, just set it up for Windows 11. However, if you need to install the new Windows 11 operating system on a hard drive that has the Windows 10 operating system, follow the steps below to prepare a special partition for Windows 11.

1. Press Windows + X and select Disk Management.
2. Find the hard drive containing your Windows 10 system and right-click on it to select Shrink Volume.
3. In the Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB field enter 50000 or more. Now click the Shrink button.

4. Now you should see Unallocated space in Disk Management. Right-click the Unallocated space and choose New Simple Volume.

5. When the wizard opens, click on Next. Then set Simple volume size in MB to the equal to the Maximum disk space in MB and click Next.

6. Select the drive letter that you want to use for this drive and press Next to proceed.

7. Set the label for the new partition and click on Next.

8. Then click Finish button to close the wizard.

Part 2. Clean install Windows 11 on your Windows 10 computer

1. Connect a USB flash drive to your PC.
2. Go to the Windows 11 download page. In the Create Windows 11 Installation Media section, click Download now.

3. Once the software is downloaded, launch it. Accept the terms of service.
4. Make sure you have the correct edition selected. Click Next to proceed.

5. Then select the USB flash drive and click Next. Pick your USB drive in the next window and click Next to continue.

6. Then wait the process to complete.
7. Insert the Windows 11 installation USB drive to your PC, reboot and press the required key to access your boot menu. Choose the USB drive as the boot priority and save changes.

8. When your computer starts booting, you’ll be asked to press any key to boot from the USB flash drive, so be sure to do that.
9. Follow the installation wizard to install Windows 11 step by step. Make sure that you choose the correct disk volume as the installation drive.

10. Wait for the installing process to complete, the computer will restart automatically.

Part 3. Set default operating system for startup

When your computer has two operating systems installed, you need to choose an option between Windows 10 and Windows 11 every time you turn it on. If this is inconvenient for you, follow the steps to set the default OS startup.

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings. Go to System -> About and then click Advanced system settings.

2. Click the Settings button under the Startup and Recovery section.

3. Then, you can select the default operating system you wish to directly boot from. The choice of Time to display list of operating systems is useful so you can choose your preferred OS in that time limit. Click OK to save the changes.

4. Now start your computer and you will see Windows 10 and Windows 11 access. If you don't do anything there, after xx seconds the computer will start the default operating system you have set.

Possible risks of dual booting operating systems

Dual-booting your computer can positively improve productivity, but can lead to risks and issues that affect your computer's performance. Here, we've rounded up two possible risks of dual-booting.

• Dual-booting your machine is safe, but drastically reduces disk space. Running Windows 10 alone on a 64-bit system requires about 11 GB of SSD or HDD space, let alone running two systems.
• Accidental overwriting of data/OS. Installing a second OS will most likely affect the data integrity of the main OS or the main system itself. The most critical measure to avoid such problems or failures with the primary OS and associated data is to know which disk partition you will use to install the secondary system.

Backup important data and system to ensure data/computer security

As mentioned above, dual-booting a machine can result in data loss or corruption and, in severe cases, a system crash. As we all know, there are some tools you can choose to help you recover your files or corrupted operating system; however, the chances of successful recovery are not 100%.

So, I highly recommend you to back up your important data and current system before deciding to dual boot Windows 10 and Windows 11. You can restore your files or system from the file backup or system backup if any unexpected problems occur during the process of creating a dual-boot machine.

AOMEI Backupper Standard is free and easy data backup, disk clone and file sync software for personal PCs. It is simple and streamlined. All users can operate it smoothly, regardless of computer know-how. Its interface is extremely simple, you can clearly see all the functions as soon as you open it.

Summary

After reading this article, you may know how to dual boot Windows 10 and Windows 11 on your computer. You need to create a new partition for Windows 11, create a Windows 11 installation media, install Windows 11 and set the default operating system for startup.

To ensure data integrity and computer security, it is recommended to use AOMEI Backupper to back up your data and system in advance. All operations can be completed in just a few steps. You can also use AOMEI Backupper to create bootable media in case your computer doesn't boot properly.