Windows – install multiple Windows instance on the same computer

multiple instanceswindows 8

I've finished building a new PC which will be used for development. As I have a full-time project for one major client and multiple small (hobby) projects for different small clients I want to separate the development environments.

Can I install 2 instances of Windows 8 Professional on the same computer (different drives or partitions)? (And I'm not talking about the license restrictions.)

Bonus questions:

Can I share a 3th partition with both instances. If so, I suppose it best is a FAT32 partition?
- Pro: No security issues (ownership, read-write permissions, …)
- Con: 4GB file limit
I suppose it is not a problem to install a Linux instance next to those Windows instances, right?

Best Answer

Use the native VDH Boot feature which was added with Windows 7. Convert the WIM to a VHD

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and add it to the Boot Manager.. During boot you can now select the different OS version and they look and feel like real partitions, but the data are stored in a larger VHD, which you can easily backup and move to a different folder.

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Windows – How To run Multiple Versions of the Same Program on Windows 7

For some applications you can copy the entire application to a different location and rename the executable file (App_1stCopy.exe) and then you can run multiple instances of that app.

But notice that this approach may not work, due to devices or log files or settings being used simultaneously by multiple apps.

1st instance -> run original App.exe file.
2nd instance -> run coppied App_1stCopy.exe file.
3rd instance -> run 2nd coppied App_2ndCopy.exe file.
....

Windows – Run Multiple Instances of Any Application

Many applications check the global list of processes (with EnumProcesses, OpenProcess, GetModuleBaseName, and similar functions) or list of windows (with EnumWindows, EnumChildWindows).

You may try to set hook (see samples SetWindowsHookEx, CallNextHookEx, etc) to hook those specific API function calls from that application and replace requested data in response with yours to fool the application.

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Windows – How To run Multiple Versions of the Same Program on Windows 7

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