How do I Install a Dual Boot Windows 10 with Windows 10?

dohhboy · December 14, 2019

I have Windows 10 Home installed on a M.2 drive, and I would like a fresh install of Windows 10 Home. I would like to keep the existing install as a dual boot. I have an 232Gig SSD drive that is freshly formatted, that is my target for the fresh install. But after I reboot my computer to the UEFI version of the USB thumbdrive with Windows 10 on it, the Windows 10 install starts with the normal splash screen. I then select advanced to install on the empty SSD drive. Then when it goes to the 0% loaded screen, it sits there for about 8 seconds, and then a popup says it couldn't install windows, restart the installation to continue. At the advance screen I have clicked on next, with the SSD selected and unformatted, and after I have created a new drive, then select the primary partition. Same results.

I have used the latest downloaded version of Windows 10 Home, as well as a purchased USB version of Windows 10 Home (Retail not OEM)

I am sure this is a UEFI issue, of which I admit I know little about. Any help to install the second Windows 10 would be greatly appreciated.

All drives are GPT

Asus X370-F Motherboard

Ryzen 1700X Processor

Bombastinator · December 14, 2019

Weird. I actually did this by accident and it’s annoying. I got an identical windows boot on two different ssds, one is fully updated and the other ive been meaning to delete. I was using the windows usb installer. I didn’t boot the first one until I had the second installed (I was having other hardware problems and I didn’t think I succeeded the first time)

dohhboy · December 18, 2019

Finally figured it out.(Or found instructions online). It wasn't changing any secure boot settings in BIOS, to get it to load, but where I loaded Windows 10 from. Instead of booting into the installation media, I installed my second install of Windows 10, from within my existing install of Windows 10. The instructions said not to run the install, but to explore to the setup.exe file in the sources folder, and run it as admin. This is what I did and it installed normally, with no errors.