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Following up with

I'm wondering technically how can we boot another Windows on the same machine.

  • Do the Windows need to be in the primary partitions; can they lives in a extended partitions now?
  • Can I use Syslinux to chain-boot them instead of the default Windows boot? (I have Syslinux in my MBR and my Windows is installed to and boots from a PBR)
xpt
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    Windows should be booted using native Windows bootloaders for the least amount of issues. To dual boot two separate Windows installs, you need to install each to separate partitions, and once BIOS/UEFI hands off to Windows bootloader, you'll get presented with a light blue screen to pick one of the two to boot to. If you want to clone the existing Windows install, use DISM to /capture-image and /apply-image (see Imaging section). If doing the latter, after applying the image you'll need to issue bootrec /fixmbr && bootrec /rebuildbcd – JW0914 Jun 15 '20 at 13:50
  • I followed you link and checked your chat https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/107088/discussion-between-jw0914-and-ieuan @JW0914. I have to say I'm really impressed by your persistent and determination, but at the same time, I'm a little bit deterred by the chat length as well. I think I'd try with 3rd party cloning tools first instead. Thanks you all the same for your reply. – xpt Jun 16 '20 at 01:48
  • Chat length had nothing to do with the info in that answer on using DISM to image Windows - it was due to the user repeatedly mistyping commands, coupled with system file corruption of their OS. Please reference the linked man pages, as using DISM is not complex - simply copy/paste, reference the man pages, or issue DISM /Capture-Image /?. General FYI: there's a reason Microsoft has always used WIMs for imaging and deployment of Windows (DISM >=Win8; ImageX Win<=7) - it's the best format for doing so. WIMs are also impossible to corrupt when captured with /CheckIntegrity /Verify – JW0914 Jun 16 '20 at 10:53
  • Cont'd... There's no right or wrong way to image Windows, however I've always actively advocated to avoid 3rd party cloning tools, as they're wholly inefficient for Windows. 3rd party cloning tools generally rely on non-standard/proprietary formats [not WIMs], use non-standard boot media [not WinPE] for imaging/restoring, which is often Linux-based, and often cause issues upon restoration due to cloning at the disk/partition level (WIMs/ESDs aren't partition backups, they're directory backups, that when imaging a partition are imaging the root of the partition, not the partition itself). – JW0914 Jun 16 '20 at 11:11
  • Hi @JW0914, would you be able to take a look at https://superuser.com/questions/1561711/ and shed some hints for me please? Thx! – xpt Jun 18 '20 at 05:28

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