Share this article
Improve this guide
Dual Boot Windows 10 and 11: How to Properly Set it Up
7 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
Share this article
Improve this guide
Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more
Key notes
Windows 11 is here and many are eager to try it out, and if you want to know more about it, be sure of the fact that the new OS has a lot to offer.
In that regard, we prepared an in-depth comparison in ourWindows 11 vs Windows 10 article, so be sure to check it for more information.
If you’re looking to try Windows 11 on your PC, in today’s guide we’re going to show you how to properly dual boot Windows 10 and Windows 11, so let’s get started.
How can I dual boot Windows 10 and Windows 11?
1. Prepare a special partition for Windows 11
Now you should have a new partition available on your system. Up next, we’ll use this partition to installWindows11 on it.
2. Create installation media
Once the process is finished, you can installWindows10 on the partition that you created in the previous section.
3. Boot from the USB flash drive and install Windows on the new partition
Now you should have two versions ofWindows10 installed. The last step is to upgradeWindows10 toWindows11 technical preview.
You should also know that there’s a way tocreate a Windows 11 USB bootable USB drive, but this method might not be the most reliable.
4. Join the Insiders Preview and upgrade to Windows 11
If you need more information, make sure to check ourguide on how to download Windows 11properly.
After that, you’ll have dualbootforWindows10 andWindows11 enabled. Simply select theWindows11 on thebootscreen tobootto it and that’s it. Keep in mind that you’ll have to do this every time your computer starts.
What are the pros and cons of dual booting?
Dual-bootingis great since it uses less hardware power than running a virtual machine. By dualbooting, you can focus all your hardware resources on a singleoperating systemand get better performance.
This is especially important if your PC barely matches the minimumWindows 11 hardware requirements. By using dualboot, you’ll be able to enjoy the otheroperating systemnatively, without relying on the virtual environment.
It’s worth mentioning that it has a few drawbacks, most notably in multitasking and switching betweenoperating systems.
There’s no quick way to do that. You simply need to restart your PC, and then select theoperating systemthat you want to use.
You’ll have to do this every time you want to switch to a differentOS,and if you tend to switch frequently, this process might feel tedious after a while.
Dual-bootingalso requires a lot of storage space, so you’ll have to take away some space from one of your available partitions and assign that space to a new partition.
How can I set the default operating system when dual booting?
After making these changes, your PC willbootautomatically to the selectedoperating system. If you want to learn more about this tool, we suggest that you check out ourSystem Configuration guide.
Which is better, virtual machine or dual boot?
This depends solely on the user’s needs, but in most cases, dualbootingis a better option since it uses fewer hardware resources, so you can dualboottwooperating systemseven on low-end PCs.
Virtual machines require a lot more hardware power since you’ll be running anoperating systeminside of yourcurrent one, so if you don’t have enough hardware power, you might encounter performance issues.
On the other hand, using a virtual machine is more secure, since all malware threats and potential issues are contained within that virtual machine.
Moreover, if you need to quickly switch betweenoperating systems, or you need to work on both of them simultaneously, a virtual machine is a superior choice.
If you want, you can alwaysrun Windows 11 on a virtual machineinside ofWindows10 or any otheroperating system.
As you can see, to dualbootWindows10 andWindows11 you first need to create a separate partition and installWindows11 on it.
Since theWindows11 ISO still isn’t officially available, the only way to do that is to install anotherWindows10 and then upgrade it toWindows11.
We hope that you found this guide informative and that you managed to successfullybootWindows11 alongsideWindows10 on your PC.
More about the topics:dual boot,windows 10,Windows 11
Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He’s a PC enthusiast and he spends most of his time learning about computers and technology.
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s one of the Troubleshooting experts in our worldwide team, specializing in Windows errors & software issues.
User forum
1 messages
Sort by:LatestOldestMost Votes
Comment*
Name*
Email*
Commenting as.Not you?
Save information for future comments
Comment
Δ
Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s specialized in Windows errors & software issues.
