"Sher" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote...
>
> Assuming I get my second hard drive setup properly in Windows XP Pro, and
> can see it in disk managment;
> what is best a second hard drive setup as a new drive letter or
> is there a way to make the second hard drive appear as one drive (in other
> words combine second with first as one drive.)
Assign a new drive letter. It doesn't really matter which letter you use
(except, don't use A: or B:, usually reserved for floppies), but the next
available letter (E: if your CD-ROM is D

is commonly used.
> I am wanting to be able install programs on the second hard drive without
> any problems in the program finding the windows system folders or temp
> directory or cache or virtural memory.
No problem; the apps will find them, because the Registry broadcasts all that
info to the apps.
When you install the apps, you may have to do a Custom install to load it on the
new HD.
However, a more common practice is to use C: for the operating system and apps,
and the second HD for data. You can re-assign your "My Documents" folder and
other data folders to a folder on the new HD.
Finally, if the new HD is bigger/better/faster than the old one, you may want to
use it as the boot drive, and copy/transfer your data to the old one. That
takes a lot more work, though...