Setup Installation :: How To Access Multiboot Menu From Windows 8 Startup
Jan 5, 2013
I have been using Windows 7 Pro (64) for several years, and today installed a newly purchased Windows 8 Pro (64) OS. I looked on-line and found many articles on how to multi-boot back to Windows 7 after installing Windows 8, and believe I have done this correctly (more below), but when booting up I do not ever see a multi-boot menu, my system boots directly into Windows 8.
When installing Win 8, I booted from my CD/DVD drive with the Win 8 OS media in the drive. (I had previously reduced the volume of my Windows 7 drive and created a new partition that I called "Windows8". ). At the appropriate time in the Win 8 install I chose "Custom", then chose the newly created "Windows 8" partition, then proceeded with the Win 8 OS install. As mentioned above, I do not see the multi-boot menu when booting up, however when in Windows 8 I can see the Windows 7 drive in "Computer", so it was not over-written.
Startup Options - Choose a Default OS to Run at Startup in Windows 8
and am wondering if I should try Options 2 through 4 (1 of)? I build my own PCs so know something about PC's, bt not much about booting to an OS.....
Another options might be installing a third party boot manager, which I have not yet done.
my reason for getting back to Win 7 is to be able to use the PC while I learn and setup Win 8 over time. I went into this believing that getting a multi-boot capability would be very easy.
I am trying to Boot to Boot Menu so I can select CD rom so i can Ghost image my wife win 8 laptop, the problem is Win 8 wont let me access the boot menu and i am not sure what to do. The brand new Laptop came with HHD and i want to capture the image via Ghost and then put the Ghost image in SSD ...
I know how to access the boot menu using the advanced troubleshooting option inside the computer. But, what if Windows 8 becomes unbootable and I cannot log into the machine? There is no boot menu option like Windows 7.
I have heard if Windows will not boot, it will display the advanced options automatically. Is this true?
Also, if I power down my system while it is booting up will I be able to access the boot menu on next startup?
I have (perhaps I should say had) a multi-boot system. Originally I installed my 6 Windows OS's and then installed my two favorite Linux distros. I like the ability to customize the Grub menu which Linux gives me. Unfortunately Grub did not detect all 6 of my Windows installations but one of the boot options it did detect took me back into my original Windows menu which showed all 6 of the Windows systems. So that's the setup which I have been using successfully for the past few months. (One boot menu which boots into another). Today my Windows boot menu has become unusable and probably corrupt.
At first I had the problem that I was only able to boot into Windows 8.1 (no windows menu at all). Then I used EasyBCD which I had inside Windows 8.1 At first EasyBCD indicated an inability to load any boot file at all. Subsequently after rebooting into 8.1 a few times more I tried it again. It then showed a boot menu but with only Windows 8.1 listed. I subsequently was able to use the add operating system function to add all the other Windows systems again. I then clicked save to save the new configuration. Now I do see all six Windows systems at boot but neither of them, even Windows 8.1 will boot. Where I should start to get back into one of these six Windows operating systems so that I can possible use the EasyBCD repair function to access the others. I think I had EasyBCD installed inside each Windows OS At the moment I am dependent on Linux alone for Internet access. I trust this is clear.
As nothing in Linux has changed, I assume I need to fix the problem from the Windows side of things. I do have that one option when I get into that blue Windows 8 style boot menu to "change options" I thought EasyBCD would have restored the Windows 7 style text boot menu but it did not. Other than that I have the various Windows installation disks and a Win7 repair disk as well as various full partition backups on an external hard drive. What do do about a corrupt bcd file without being inside Windows, and I don't know much about EasyBCD. Would a refresh/reset of Win 8.1 from the install disk be a good way to start? I did get the message of "files missing" when I tried to do a system recovery drive while inside Windows 8.1 today, so there are issues with that OS.
I have Windows 8,W7,Wxp working well in multiboot. But i have Windows 8 instaled in C:but it is the 2nd partition.How can i move it to first partition ?W7 and wxp are probably on the 1st D: partition.
I had a working multiboot setup on my Acer Aspire One ZG5, running win xp, 7, 8.1, linux. I decided to add an extra partition, and in doing the resizing lost my Grub boot loader so can no longer boot into linux, but that's not important atm. I have also messed up my windows boot loader and at the moment I can only boot into win 8.1.
Win 8.1, 7 and legacy OS (xp) show in the boot menu but when I choose to boot into either xp or 7, I am presented with the message windows failed to start file: /ntldr status 0xc0000225
Previously I had the message filesystem unknown , missing NTLDR, but I ran the recovery console and that message no longer appears.
I have (perhaps I should say had) a multi-boot system. Originally I installed my 6 Windows OS's and then installed my two favorite Linux distros. I like the ability to customize the Grub menu which Linux gives me. Unfortunately Grub did not detect all 6 of my Windows installations but one of the boot options it did detect took me back into my original Windows menu which showed all 6 of the Windows systems. So that's the setup which I have been using successfully for the past few months. (One boot menu which boots into another). Today my Windows boot menu has become unusable and probably corrupt. At first I had the problem that I was only able to boot into Windows 8.1 (no windows menu at all). Then I used EasyBCD which I had inside Windows 8.1 At first EasyBCD indicated an inability to load any boot file at all. Subsequently after rebooting into 8.1 a few times more I tried it again. It then showed a boot menu but with only Windows 8.1 listed. I subsequently was able to use the add operating system function to add all the other Windows systems again. I then clicked save to save the new configuration.
Now I do see all six Windows systems at boot but neither of them, even Windows 8.1 will boot. Where I should start to get back into one of these six Windows operating systems so that I can possible use the EasyBCD repair function to access the others. I think I had EasyBCD installed inside each Windows OS At the moment I am dependent on Linux alone for Internet access. I trust this is clear. As nothing in Linux has changed, I assume I need to fix the problem from the Windows side of things. I do have that one option when I get into that blue Windows 8 style boot menu to "change options" I thought EasyBCD would have restored the Windows 7 style text boot menu but it did not. Other than that I have the various Windows installation disks and a Win7 repair disk as well as various full partition backups on an external hard drive. What do do about a corrupt bcd file without being inside Windows, and I don't know much about EasyBCD. Would a refresh/reset of Win 8.1 from the install disk be a good way to start? I did get the message of "files missing" when I tried to do a system recovery drive while inside Windows 8.1 today, so there are issues with that OS.
I've recently made a Windows 8 and a Windows 8.1 installation disc from the ISO images on MSDN. Each image includes Core/Core VL and Pro/Pro VL, 32 and 64 bit editions of each. I have the installation keys for all of these installations, but I don't want to have to type an installation key every time I go to use this disc. I've tried adding an installation key using WinReducer8 (which I do not recommend), but it only adds one key, which means I cannot choose which edition I want to install.
When I made my AIO Windows 7 ISO, I had no issues, as Windows 7 doesn't force you to add an installation or product key; you select your desired edition and you're good to go. Attached Image 1 shows what I'm referring to.
Now, however, Windows 8 has to choose your edition by the product key you enter (well played, Microsoft), and I want to find a way around this.
So I am here trying to downgrade my Windows 8 laptop to Windows 7. (It is an ASUS X55U by the way)
Every time I go to advanced startup settings it doesn't show the troubleshoot option, only the Continue and Turn Off Your PC options. I've tried everything and the option won't appear.
my OS is Windows 8.1 64-bit. It boots just fine, but I suddenly found out that something wrong happened with my BCD store. Tried more workarounds but none worked. The last I found How To Restore Windows 8 Boot Options Menu ended on bcdedit error mentioned below. The problem indicates with following signs:
- bcdedit /enum prints error "The boot configuration data store could not be opened."
- bcdboot C:windows prints error "BFSVC Error: BcdOpenSystemStore failed with unexpected error code, Status
= [c000015c]"
- msconfig's boot tab shows empty OSes list (nothing on the tab is clickablle)
- the same with System Properties, Advanced tab, Startup and Restore dialog (OS dropdown has no entries)
- Trying to enter diagnostic boot by Shft + Restart doesnot seem to offer full recovery menu. It boots to GUI boot menu offering Continue or Troubleshooting, Troubleshooting submenu offers Manage UEFI options (this brings me to BIOS setup after reboot) and Shut down. No manage boot options, no other choices.
All of this point me to that my booting configuration is somehow ill (I wonder a bit that Windows still can start).
I am trying to install the Windows 8 DVD over the current XP OS, but in MyComputer, the DVD Drive isn't listed in the tree view. Device manager says it's installed properly and functioning well. My Q is this: how do I run the installation DVD from the DVD drive using the Command Prompt. On Windows Start-up I hit F12 to access the boot order, and when I arrowed down to the DVD drive and hit ENTER, Windows would just jump straight to the XP start-up process. It's like something won't let me access the DVD Drive.
My troubles began just after an amicable game of Starcraft with my siblings (Starcraft 1 running through chaoslauncher in window-mode and LogMeIn Hamachi, on Windows 7 at the time). Apparently I closed out of the application too hastily, since my system seized and displayed a lovely and very informative BSOD (STOP: 0x00000116; nvlddmkm.sys).
This BSOD would return every time I would boot Windows 7, sometime during the loading screen. However, I could access safe mode just fine. I did some research and decided to reinstall the graphics driver through safe mode, but it didn't seem to work. Since this PC is primarily for games and all my important documents/media were synced with my laptop, I decided to wipe the HDD (using DBAN) and take this opportunity to upgrade the OS.
I got an .iso of Windows 8.1 from my university and created a bootable DVD using the Windows USB/DVD boot tool. Now when I attempt to boot it in my PC, the blue Windows 8 icon appears for about a minute and then the system restarts. I've put the boot disk into another computer and it won't even display the Windows 8 logo. It simply skips the disk boot even though I select 'boot from disk.' I've tried all of this with about 5 different DVDs using ImgBurn as well as the Windows USB/DVD boot tool.
Strangely, my Windows 7 boot disk loads just fine on the wiped PC, to the point where I can select the language, etc. and control the cursor.
Is it possible that the Windows 8 boot disk loads a display driver that is incompatible with my GPU? Or is it more likely that the disk burner I'm using is garbage? Could any tools on something like the Ultimate Boot CD provide any useful information?
COMPUTER INFO PSU: 600 Watt (OCZ600MXSP) Mobo: MSNV-939 CPU: AMD dual-core, not sure of exact model, couldn't find an invoice for it and my HDD is wiped GPU: Palit 9600GT sonic 1GB DDR3 RAM: 4 sticks of Kingston ValueRAM 1 GB 400MHz PC3200 DDR DIMM (KVR400X64C3A) - might have 2 sets of 2 different 1GB models, but 2 of the sticks have heat-sink covers that I couldn't remove HDD: Maxtor 6G160P0 160GB ATA133 7200rpm 8MB Hard Drive
I had a friend setup win 8 for me on my Lenovo y480 Laptop which has 8 GB RAM. He used 1GB of said RAM to aid in start up and overall performance I think. When I look at my system's info (right click on My Computer and clicking properties) I see 8 GB (6.91 GB RAM usable).
Windows has been crashed and i am not able to access any windows apps as in screenshot,but able to use another softwares. Also, file explorer isn't working properly. I tried repairing but i am getting error. I might need to reboot anytime.
I have a multiple operating system and used to get the blue graphical boot menu with a rectangle with the name of each operating system in it. After a few boots it went back to the text menu, and only returned a couple of times. Is there a way to get the graphical boot menu back permanently? It looks a lot nicer. I have XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 .....
Over the last few days I built a new PC with ASUS A87 Pro MB, no PCIe cards, and Samsung ssd 840 Pro boot drive. Lots of changes on a daily basis. For a while, the FAST STARTUP hybrid boot was working. Then it stopped, and I'm trying to debug it.
When PAST STARTUP is enabled in power options, I get a repeatable Critical Error - Windows did not shut down properly, and the startup time is as long as it would be without FAST STARTUP enabled. There are no BSODS, and no apparent harm from the Critical Shutdown error.
I have installed windows 8 on a windows 7 PC on a separate hard disk. But I am unable to get boot option at startup. Every time I have to select windows 8 boot disk from bios boot menu.
I have an older Dell laptop with no secure boot that has Windows 8.1. I shrank the partition and installed Linux for a dual boot setup. Normally I install the GRUB2 to the root of the Linux partition so I don't "see" the Linux installation at all until I use easybcd to create a boot menu item. Easybcd wipes out the pretty blue GUI boot screen and you end up with the black and white "legacy" menu. This was all expected.
Now the weird part. Sometimes when I boot the computer I get the black and white boot screen and sometimes I get the modern GUI boot screen. I prefer the black and white boot screen because the modern boot screen does a second reboot when you select a linux installation.
I have a desktop PC Acer XC600, the hard disk is formatted in the UEFI-Scheme. Now I want to do a clean install of a fresh Windows 8, but I cannot manage to boot into UEFI-mode, neither from DVD or USB.
I can reach a boot menu by pressing F12, but there is nothing like shown in the article about installing Windows 8 in UEFI mode. Only standard bios devices show up. There are simply no UEFI devices. I tried different usb sticks, dvds, formatted them different ways, but the best I can get is the point where setup says "cannot install because the disk is formatted GPT".
But the acutal system is definitely running in UEFI mode (?)
I partitioned my hard drive and installed a second copy of my Windows 8.1
I like to experiment with registry settings, tweaks, etc so I use the second installation as a guiney pig, leaving my primary copy untouched.
My question is how to I get the second copy listed on the graphical Boot Options Menu? Right now, I have to press [ESC] on reboot to select it in BIOS settings.
Per this article below, I used the advanced startup menu in Win 8.1 to disable signed driver checking.Windows 8 and Intel USB 3.0 Host Controllers | Plugable
After I installed some unsigned Intel Usb 3.0 drivers, every time I shutdown and restart the machine from the old (Win 7) desktop, or the Metro UI, the machine now ALWAYS reboots/restarts with the Advanced startup menu.
I upgraded to Windows 8 yesterday from the Consumer Preview, and while the upgrade seems to have gone along fine, I can no longer access any of my files that were recovered from the windows.old file. Whenever I do, I get a message saying I don't have the right permissions, etc.
I am the sole user on my computer and the security settings in the properties for every file / folder I'm trying to access have my username, and administrators listed as having Full Access.
I've got LATITUDE E7440 laptop with Win 8 Pro preinstalled. I need to disable driver signature enforcement in advanced options. I've read about how to do it in many places, but basically.. when I go to Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Startup Settings
And I push restart, menu for type of booting (below) doesn't appear. It just restarts as usual. Can I get to this menu in another way or why it doesn't appear?
I've got 4 laptops and this menu appeared only on one of them after restart. I've even reset it to its factory settings, but it didn't work out for me.
Am testing out a version of windows 8 in client hyper-v. I want to give it internet access so that I can active it(am actually testing the activation process). I want the virtual machine to use my dial up connection. How do I do this.
I am aware that the start up menu has been moved from msconfig to the task manager in Windows 8. However, I am running into issues because I have other third party software starting up with my computer such as Norton internet security, Dropbox, etc. But those processes do not appear within this tab and never have. I would like to find out, is there an alternate way of accessing these entries in order to either enable or disable them?
First of all the recovery partition is on the drive.. second it is as if not there.. or wont run due to me running a windows 8 disk (made from another pc trying to reset it.. although there was never the option to do so).. I've tried imagex and still no go.. maybe I did it wrong? or am I missing something entirely..
everytime I tried to access the recovery after by using 0 (zero) all I get is the BSOD.. ive been trying to see if there is a way to use cmd to force it to run possibly? or some other way?
btw its windows 8 x64 core
The recovery partition has all the drive files I believe, I can see them in regular windows.. just cant seem to get it to tie with boot.
I am trying to access the boot menu or Setup on a Gateway NE56R31u laptop. Searches have said it could be accessed by pressing Esc or F10 at the Gateway boot screen, but I've been unable to make that happen. I've done this hundreds of times on other computers, so I know the technique and the timing that has worked in the past. I've also tried Del key, Fn + F10, F8. How to make this happen?
Do I need to enable the AMD driver Catalyst on the startup menu and have it running in the background of my machine? IF not necessary, does it benefit in anyway if the software is running?
I have installed Blue 8.1 on a separate drive in my system along side 8.0. When I restart the 8.0 boots unless I manually select the 8.1 drive in bios. How can I alter the Boot menu to add the option to boot from either OS?
