I recently Installed the Windows 8 Developer preview. I installed it as a Dual boot with Windows 7. After installation Windows 8 takes over the boot process and if you wish to get access to 7 it increases your startup time annoyingly.

By default the installation is configured to boot windows 8 then you choose Windows 7 and the computer restarts into Windows 7. It's really easy to fix and give yourself the "old" dual boot menu. Saving precious seconds during boot up.

 Windows 8 Boot Manager

To change this run the System Configuration utility (msconfig) from within Windows itself. You can launch msconfig from the run box. Press the Windows key and R then type msconfig and press return.

msconfig in Run Dialog Box.

When the System Configuration box opens select the boot tab. You can see in the next image that Windows Developer Preview is the Default OS.

Simply select Windows 7 or XP or Vista depending on your preference and click "Set as default." The press Apply and OK.

System Configuration window open on Boot tab.

After pressing OK you will be presented with the option of restarting. While it is not strictly necessary to restart there is no harm in doing so to see your new configuration change.

After rebooting you will get the default Windows Boot Manger and you can go straight to Windows 7.

Windows Boot Manger

You can still speed up this whole process futher. Do you see in the msconfig picture above an option called boot time? Set this low so that you can turn on your computer and if auto choose Windows 7 for you in 5 seconds if you so wish.

I do not have screen shots of it but you can do the same from the Windows 8 boot menu. I in fact have made the boot time 0 so that if I choose Windows Developer Preview in the old Windows Boot Manger it will go straight to Windows 8 without asking me a second time if I want to boot Windows 8 or 7.

Hope this helps someone.

Thanks,

Ciarán