Dual Boot Question

I wanted to update and run a dual boot on 2 separate ssd's. The original ssd has 8.1, and I tried to do an install using an ISO file I made of 10 on the other ssd but could not get past the authentication code since it would not accept my code for windows 8.1. After several tries I decided to just clone 8.1 to the new ssd and upgrade over that. Now the only way to switch back and forth is through the bios. Is there any to set the dual boot up without going through the bios?I also don't want to loose the bootable partition in the event of a failure as I've read could happen when using Easy BCD.

What you want to do violates the End Users License Agreement (EULA). We can't help you violate the EULA.

Just curious, how so, if I own a legal copy of 8.1?

Just curious, how so, if I own a legal copy of 8.1?

If you dual boot Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 then you have two operating systems installed. Microsoft never offered to provide you with a second operating system for free. They only offered to upgrade your existing operating system to Windows 10.

From the Windows 10 EULA:

2. Installation and Use Rights.
a. License. The software is licensed, not sold. Under this agreement, we grant you the right to install and run one instance of the software on your device (the licensed device), for use by one person at a time, so long as you comply with all the terms of this agreement. Updating or upgrading from non-genuine software with software from Microsoft or authorized sources does not make your original version or the updated/upgraded version genuine, and in that situation, you do not have a license to use the software.
b. Device. In this agreement, “device” means a hardware system (whether physical or virtual) with an internal storage device capable of running the software. A hardware partitionor blade is considered to be a device.

Two SSD's or two HDD's or even two partitions on one SSD or HDD is considered to be two devices for Windows 10. You only have 1 license for Windows, you can't have it installed and activated on more than one device at the same time.

Is there any to set the dual boot up without going through the bios?

Dual boot Windows 10 32 bit and Windows 10 64 bit

The only restriction that I know of is that you have to boot from the GTP disk. From an elevated command prompt on your GTP disk, type bcdboot D:Windows where D is the drive letter of the HD disk. You will want to use bededit to change the descriptions in the boot menu since both will be windows 10 otherwise. This is from the tutorial forum. Operating System Name at Startup - Change in Windows 10 - Windows 10 blog .

Basically, you can not use one Product Key on two different software. If you want to do that, you will have to purchase another Product Key (US-$100, UK-£80).

FYI...Activation in Windows 10 - Windows Help