Booting another Windows install from the same drive

[mikesil71]

Hi, I'm a novice to EasyUEFI, but used multiboot before with older BIOS systems.

I have an ASUS laptop with an updated UEFI BIOS and Windows 11 installed. The OS drive is large enough, so I want to copy to it another Windows 11 install from a different PC that has a different set of apps installed, and plan to add its boot entry to EasyUEFI.

Before doing that I wanted to clarify the following:

- if the 2nd Windows install currently runs from another UEFI PC, what partitions should I clone to the ASUS laptop drive in addition to the 2nd Windows System partition? Should I also copy UEFI and Recovery partitions from the 2nd PC? Will the 2nd UEFI partition be used at 2nd Windows startup on ASUS laptop, and will the 2nd OS Recovery work as expected if needed?

- if the 2nd Windows install is MBR disk based from a non-UEFI older BIOS PC, what partitions should I copy to the ASUS laptop drive in addition to the 2nd Windows partition? Should I also copy the MBR sector and Windows Recovery partition, and will it work if needed or be used at all?

Thanks a lot guys

[admin]

- if the 2nd Windows install currently runs from another UEFI PC, what partitions should I clone to the ASUS laptop drive in addition to the 2nd Windows System partition? Should I also copy UEFI and Recovery partitions from the 2nd PC? Will the 2nd UEFI partition be used at 2nd Windows startup on ASUS laptop, and will the 2nd OS Recovery work as expected if needed?

My recommendation is to simply clone the C: drive from the 2nd Windows installation to the ASUS laptop. Then you can use EasyUEFI to add the new Windows boot entry to the Windows boot menu (BCD).

- if the 2nd Windows install is MBR disk based from a non-UEFI older BIOS PC, what partitions should I copy to the ASUS laptop drive in addition to the 2nd Windows partition? Should I also copy the MBR sector and Windows Recovery partition, and will it work if needed or be used at all?

If you only clone the C: drive, you don't need to consider the MBR vs. GPT issue.

[mikesil71]

So after cloning only the 2nd Windows C: drive, should I add Recovery partition for it, so it can be launched from Windows Advanced Boot Menu when the 2nd Windows starts?

If correct, what method would you suggest to create the Recovery Partition for the 2nd Windows install on the same drive? Will it use the disk common UEFI partition to boot the 2nd Windows Recovery Environment upon selecting it in Windows Advanced Boot Menu?

[admin]

So after cloning only the 2nd Windows C: drive, should I add Recovery partition for it, so it can be launched from Windows Advanced Boot Menu when the 2nd Windows starts?

If correct, what method would you suggest to create the Recovery Partition for the 2nd Windows install on the same drive? Will it use the disk common UEFI partition to boot the 2nd Windows Recovery Environment upon selecting it in Windows Advanced Boot Menu?

You can certainly clone the recovery partition to your ASUS laptop, but you'll need to manually add the recovery partition to the BCD. Honestly, I don't think the recovery partition is particularly useful, since in most cases it won't help us repair the system.