Running three operating systems on one PC?

My computer came pre-installed with Linux, but I went ahead and installed Windows 7 separately right away instead of doing it through the existing OS. Even so, when I boot up, I’m not seeing a menu to choose between the two; it just forces me straight into Windows every single time.

Now I'm thinking about trying out Windows 8.1, but honestly, I don't want to deal with the headache if the drivers turn out to be a mess, so maybe I'll just partition my C drive and tuck Windows 8 away in its own space. That said, I really need a way to get a boot menu that lets me pick between Windows 7 or Windows 8 at startup—and wouldn't it be great if it also gave me the option to jump into Linux so I could finally poke around in there?

You can use EasyBCD to pick which partition holds which OS and set up a boot menu that asks you which one you want to run.

Thanks, Gregory Green62. It’s working perfectly fine.

Unfortunately, I hit a wall trying to install Windows 8 on a new partition. It gave me an error saying I've reached the maximum number of partitions allowed—I assume it's talking about primary ones? Now it won't even let me format the unallocated space because it claims I won't be able to boot the computer if I go through with it.

Betty Hayes10 said:My computer arrived pre-installed with Linux. I went ahead and installed Windows 7 separately right away, rather than through the Linux environment. However, when I boot up, I don't see a menu to choose between the two operating systems; it just boots straight into Windows every single time.

I am thinking about testing out Windows 8.1. I really don't want to deal with the headache of missing drivers, so my plan is to simply partition my C drive and install Windows 8 there. I just need a way to choose between Windows 7 and Windows 8 at startup. It would also be great if the boot menu included Linux, as I haven't had enough time to explore it yet.

Set up a virtual machine, install Windows 8 on it, and feel free to tinker around.
Check out VirtualBox if you need to run different operating systems on a single machine. It’s a solid tool for virtualization.

I’ve already moved up to Windows 8. Honestly, I don't really care about missing out on those three extra partitions because, at the end of the day, Windows 8 feels just like Windows 7, aside from that redesigned Start menu (which isn't exactly a game changer). My only real gripe is this massive amount of unallocated space that I can't seem to format or actually use for anything. 😠

Try to "merge" that unallocated space with your other partition using EaseUS Partition master Free.