Best answer: Can I have two hard drives with different operating systems?

Even if you only have a single hard drive, you can have multiple operating systems on that hard drive. By partitioning the drive into several different partitions, you can have one partition for one operating system and another partition for another operating system, splitting the drive between them.

Can you swap hard drives with different operating systems?

No, in most cases it won’t work. Windows has all the device drivers and chipset drivers installed for the current system. When moving it to a different system, the OS will usually fail to boot. In some cases it can be fixed with a repair install.

Can you run two different operating systems?

Yes, most likely. Most computers can be configured to run more than one operating system. Windows, macOS, and Linux (or multiple copies of each) can happily coexist on one physical computer.

What happens if you have 2 drives with OS?

1 HDD, your PC will load with Windows 8.1. If you set BIOS to boot from the Win7 HDD, your PC will load with Windows 7. You can leave the OS on both of the drives, they will not interfere with each other.

Can you have two hard drives installed?

You can install additional hard disks on a desktop computer. This setup requires that you set up each drive as a separate storage device or connect them with a RAID configuration, a special method for using multiple hard drives. Hard drives in a RAID setup require a motherboard that supports RAID.

Does dual boot slow down laptop?

Essentially, dual booting will slow down your computer or laptop. While a Linux OS may use the hardware more efficiently overall, as the secondary OS it is at a disadvantage.

How many operating systems can you have on one computer?

There’s no limit to the number of operating systems you he installed — you’re not just limited to a single one. You could put a second hard drive into your computer and install an operating system to it, choosing which hard drive to boot in your BIOS or boot menu.

Does Linux run faster than Windows?

Linux and Windows Performance Comparison



Linux has a reputation for being fast and smooth while Windows 10 is known to become slow and slow over time. Linux runs faster than Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 along with a modern desktop environment and qualities of the operating system while windows are slow on older hardware.

Is it bad to have multiple hard drives?

Having so many of those in one desktop is uncommon. As a general rule, redundancy is key to data safety. If you have good backups which are maintained, whether local or cloud, the risk of losing data is mitigated even if drives fail.

Can I have 2 drives with Windows 10?

Actually you can easily have separate OS drives on a computer e.g., 7+ 10, 10 + 10. I have three. So they are great for a back up in case an update or upgrade goes astray and you cannot get into windows. Just like Win PE but quicker: just clone and forget.

How do I combine two hard drives without losing data?

How to merge partitions without losing data using Disk Management?

  1. Backup or copy files on the D drive to a safe place.
  2. Press Win + R to start Run. Type diskmgmt. …
  3. Right click D drive and select Delete Volume. All data on the partition will be wiped. …
  4. You’ll get an unallocated space. …
  5. The partition is extended.

Is it better to have multiple hard drives or one big one?

Putting two or more hard drives in a single PC can also give you certain options for data security. With multiple drives in one system, you can quickly and easily back up data from one drive to the other, creating multiple copies of vital files in case of hardware failure or user error.

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