A multi-boot system is a computer that has more than one operating system installed and which allows the user to choose which operating system to boot into when the computer starts. A system with two operating systems installed is often referred to as dual-boot system. If you have installed more than one version of Windows on your computer and you see a boot menu to choose the operating system, then you have a multi-boot system.
Windows 7 allows you to change various settings for multi-boot systems. For example, you can choose how long the boot menu is displayed; which operating system to boot into by default etc. Here is how you can modify these boot menu settings in Windows 7 :
- Press the key combination Windows Logo Key + R to open the Run dialog.
- Type systempropertiesadvanced.exe in the Run dialog and press Enter. This would open the System Properties window.
- Make sure that the Advanced tab is selected. Click on the Settings button under Startup and Recovery section as shown.
- This would open another window titled Startup and Recovery. In this window, you can select the default operating system from the drop down list under the System Startup section on top.
- You can also set the time to display the list of operating system at the boot time. This time is to be filled in seconds.
- Click OK when you are done to save the settings.