Why Not Both? How to Dual Boot Windows 10 and Windows 11 (2024)

If you want to take Windows 11 for a spin, you can start fresh and upgrade for free from Windows 10. However, if you don't yet want to give up on Windows 10 completely, you can install the new OS on the same machine and switch between the two.

One option is to set up a virtual machine using VM software, but it can run slowly if you don’t have sufficient resources. The better choice is to dual boot both versions of Windows. In this case, you would use a computer that already has Windows 10, then install Windows 11 on its own volume. Each time you boot up your PC, you could then choose which OS to run.

The major requirement with a dual boot scenario is enough free disk space to house the new operating system. You need at least 25GB of storage, but the more you can spare for Windows 11 the better—up to 50GB or 60GB. Setting up your dual boot system requires some time and effort. Here’s how to do it.

Prepare Your PC for Windows 11

Security chip settings as seen on a Lenovo ThinkPad

Before you get started, you need to confirm that your PC meets the necessary system requirements for Windows 11, which are more onerous than the ones for Windows 10. You need a TPM 2.0 chip installed in your computer to run the new operating system.You also may need to enable the Secure Boot option.

To do this, boot up into your BIOS to make sure the TPM setting is present, and that it’s set to 2.0. Look for a Secure Boot setting and enable it if it’s turned off. BIOS menus are unique to your computer’s manufacturer, so don’t be alarmed if your BIOS looks vastly different from what’s shown here.

Secure Boot settings as seen on a Lenovo ThinkPad

Microsoft also has a PC Health Check tool that can be used to tell you if your computer qualifies for Windows 11. It was once a downloadable app, but now comes pre-installed in Windows 10.

Download Windows 11

Next, you need to download Microsoft’s ISO file for Windows 11 from the Download Windows 11 webpage. Scroll down to the section that says Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices. Click the dropdown menu for Select Download and click the option for Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for x64 devices).

Click the Download Now button, select the product language, and then click Confirm. Finally, click the 64-bit Download button and choose where to save the ISO file on your computer.

Copy or Burn the Windows 11 ISO File

(Credit: LSK Media)

You then need to burn the ISO file to a DVD or copy it to a USB drive that you can boot from to install Windows 11. However, Microsoft turns this into a challenging process. Since the Windows 11 ISO file is larger than 5GB, it can’t fit on a standard DVD. You’d have to use an 8.5GB dual-layer or double-layer (DL) DVD or a Blu-ray disc to hold the entire file.

Assuming your PC doesn't have a disk drive, setting up a USB drive would to be the easier option here. Your best bet is to use a third-party utility for this; we recommend Rufus, which is free and easy to use. Insert a USB stick with enough space in your computer, then download and install the program from the Rufus website.

At the Rufus window, make sure the Device field is pointing to your USB stick. The Boot selection field should say Disk or ISO Image. Click the Select button and pick the Windows 11 ISO file you downloaded from Microsoft. The Image option field should say Standard Windows installation.

Leave all the other settings at their default values. When ready, click the Start button. A popup window appears. Review the options here to see if you want to check or uncheck any of them. You can leave the existing values unchanged if you prefer. Click OK.

When the process is complete, Rufus will indicate a status of Ready. Click the Close button to shut down Rufus.

Set Up Partition for Windows 11

Your next step is to free up disk space so you can create a dedicated partition for Windows 11. From your Windows 10 PC, open the Start button, choose Windows Administrative Tools, and then click the Computer Management shortcut. From this new window, select Disk Management.

Right-click on the primary C partition for your drive and select Shrink Volume. At the next window, enter the amount of space you wish to shrink. For example, if you want to reserve 60GB of space to Windows 11, type 60000. Click the Shrink button and the partition is shrunk.

The amount you just entered will now show up as unallocated space. Right-click on that unallocated space and select New Simple Volume from the pop-up menu and follow the steps in the New Simple Volume wizard. Accept the default in the Volume Size window.

At the Assign Drive Letter or Path window, choose the Do not assign a drive letter or path option and click Next. At the Format Partition window, keep the settings for NTFS and Default. In the Volume Label field, type Windows 11 or a similar name to label the partition. Click Next and then click Finish.

When the process is done, you can close the Computer Management window. Now, insert the USB stick with your Windows 11 installation. Reboot your PC and press the necessary key to access your boot menu. From your computer's internal Boot Manager menu, choose the USB drive that has the Windows 11 installation to boot from that drive.

The first Windows 11 setup window appears. Confirm your language and other settings and click Next. Click Install at the next window and enter a product key if you have one. If you don’t, click I don’t have a product key to enter it later.

You can then select the version of Windows 11 operating system that you wish to install. Select an option like Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro, then click Next and accept the license terms.

You are then asked what type of installation you want. At this window, choose the Custom: Install Windows only (advanced) option. The next step will be to decide where the operating system should be installed.

Select the Windows 11 partition you previously created using the Disk Management tool. Click Next and Windows 11 will be installed in the new partition on your drive.

Once installation is complete, you will be prompted to set up and customize Windows 11 according to your own preferences. Once this setup is done, you are deposited on to your new Windows 11 desktop.

Set Default Operating System

Now, each time you reboot your computer, you should see a boot menu giving you a choice between Windows 10 and Windows 11. You will then need to click the OS you want to load. Otherwise, the last OS you set up will automatically load if you don’t make a selection in time—that would be Windows 11 in this instance.

If you don't like this, you can easily change your default OS and other boot options. From the boot menu, click the Change defaults or choose other options link to change a few things about the boot menu.

If you click the Change the timer option, you can set the countdown before the default operating system is loaded. Choose between 5 minutes, 30 seconds, or 5 seconds.

Click the Choose a default operating system option and select either Windows 10 or Windows 11, depending on which one you want to automatically load each time you restart Windows.

Remove an Operating System

Should you ever wish to remove the dual boot environment and get rid of one of the versions of Windows, you can do this by booting into the version that you want to keep and deleting the partition for the other OS from the Disk Management tool.

Search "Disk Management" in Windows and select the Create and format hard disk partitions that appears. Right-click the partition for the version you want to remove and select Delete Volume. Next, right-click on the partition for the version you wish to keep and select Extend Volume.

Make sure the maximum amount of space is selected and then click Next, then Finish. The remaining partition will then reclaim the full amount of disk space and will now be the only version of Windows available.