Multiboot scenario

[faxfan]

Hi All,

Struggling a bit with a multiboot scenario and looking for some advice

I have a MSI GT72 with Windows 10 on a m2 SSD, I've cloned a windows 7 installation from a laptop onto a second m2 SSD done the BCDboot thing and I can select either OS. However the Windows 7 doesn't boot because it has drive encryption (Mcafee) where when you boot from the device you have to authenticate.

If I put the windows 7 SSD in a USB m2 SSD holder I can boot from it (usb boot device), Mcafee authenticates but windows crashes with stop 7b (looks like Windows 7 is a nightmare to get to work from USB and it's not the scenario I'm looking for).

So back to the MSI GT72 bios - the only boot device I can see (when the Windows 7 m2 ssd is installed in the laptop) is the Windows 10 one, I can't select Window 7 m2 ssd as it doesn't appear. I know I can boot from it because I can when it's in the USB holder.

Toggling UEFI / Legacy doesn't seem to have any impact.

Any clues, if there a boot manager that can select a physical device to boot from (even on a USB stick)?

 

[Rroff]

Windows 7 by default isn't setup to boot from either M.2 or USB AFAIK - at the very least you have to mess about modifying the boot chain by hand. Installing it onto an M.2 drive rather than cloning an existing installation onto one can make things a bit easier but isn't always straightforward even then.