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Installing two operating systems on one system is not new, it has been possible for years. So why this blog post? With the introduction of Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 it’s possible to boot from VHD. The VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) file format is know from virtualization products like Virtual PC, Virtual Server and Hyper-V. The file format a container with can contain a operating system but can also contains documents and applications. Within Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 a VHD container can be attached like a normal physical disk. In this post I will guide you through the steps to make Windows 2008 R2 boot from VHD. The OS will boot entirely from a VHD and is running on physical hardware instead of running virtual. This guide assumes you are already running Windows 7 which is installed on a physical HDD.

Step 1.

Insert and boot your system from the Windows 2008 R2 DVD.

Choose the right regional settings and press next.

Step 2.

On the installation screen don’t choose “Install Now” but press SHIFT+F10. A command console will open.

 Step 3.

Enter diskpart to start the partitioning utility.

Step 4.

Create a new VHD file by entering.

create vdisk file=”D:\pathToVhd.vhd” type=expandable maximum=maxsizeInMegabyte

Step 5.

Now select the new VHD and attach it as a physical disk.

select vdisk file=”D:\pathToVhd.vhd”
attach vdisk

Step 6.

Close the command console and continue the installation as normal. You will notice a extra destination volume you can choose from. Select the VHD volume and finish the installation.

Step 7.

After the installation you can choose which OS you want to boot from. Too change the default OS in the bootmanager use BCDEDIT.

Open a command console and start bcdedit /v

There will be a list of all the different Windows Boot Loaders. Each of the Boot Loader has a unique ID. Only one of the Boot Loaders has been set as default, see first red box which indicates that Windows 7 is the default loader right now. To set Windows 2008 R2 as default loader type bcdedit /default {indentifier}

Microsoft Press just release another free e-book. This time it’s all about Windows 2008 R2.

The book contains the following chapters:

• Introduction xvii
• Chapter 1 What’s New in Windows Server R2
• Chapter 2 Installation and Configuration: Adding R2 to Your World
• Chapter 3 Hyper-V: Scaling and Migrating Virtual Machines
• Chapter 4 Remote Desktop Services and VDI: Centralizing Desktop and Application Management
• Chapter 5 Active Directory: Improving and Automating Identity and Access
• Chapter 6 The File Services Role
• Chapter 7 IIS 7.5: Improving the Web Application Platform
• Chapter 8 DirectAccess and Network Policy Server
• Chapter 9 Other Features and Enhancements

Download the e-book here (XPS file, 28 MB) and here (PDF file, 11 MB).

Last week Windows 7 RTM came availible for MSDN and Technet Plus subscribers. Today also Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM is availible on MSDN and Technet Plus. Some of the new features like Direct Access require both new operating systems. Go get both new Windows versions!

Th Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 RTM have been released. These tools enable IT administrators to manage there servers remotely. RSAT can be compared with the old adminpak.msi which was needed the manage your Windows 2003 servers. RSAT contains all the needed tools to manage your Windows 2003, 2008 and 2008 R2 servers remotely from a Windows 7 client.

Download the tools here

It’s official, Microsoft have reached the RTM mileston with Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2.

Windows Team Blog:

As I mentioned previously, RTM officially happens only after sign-off occurs. What happens is a build gets designated as a RTM contender after going through significant testing and meeting our quality bar for RTM. Then, it goes though all the validation checks required for RTM including having all languages of that build completed. If all the validation checks have passed – sign-off for RTM can occur. Today after all the validation checks were met, we signed off and declared build 7600 as RTM.

Windows Server Division WebLog:

The acronym stands for Release to Manufacturing, and it means this latest release of Windows Server 2008 R2 is now blessed by engineering as ready for the manufacturing process. We’re talking final code. Sun shining, birds singing, children dancing in the streets.

With evaluation software available for download in the first half of August and the full product available to customers with Software Assurance in the second half of August, RTM is more than just an engineering milestone. Occurring in lock-step with the release of the Windows 7 RTM, these two platforms are now ready for our partners to start testing and installing on their hardware. And that lock-step isn’t a coincidence, it’s a design goal.