Daul Boot of Two WinXP. How to get "C:\WINDOWS" in both cases?

[Guest]

I have: two partitions on the one HD. Each partition has WinXP Pro and I
realy need them identical, but -

When I boot from Part-1 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: )
Local Disk 1 ( F: ) my root directory is F:\

When I boot from Part-2 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: ) my root directory is C:\
Local Disk 1 ( F: )

I’d like to have C:\ as a my root directory in both cases.

P.S.
(Windows in Part-1 was reinstalled after crash. Letters D and E where
assigned to partitions on second HD)

Thank You

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

See the replies to your first post on the same subject.

 

[Jonny]

I have: two partitions on the one HD. Each partition has WinXP Pro and I
realy need them identical, but -

When I boot from Part-1 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: )
Local Disk 1 ( F: ) my root directory is F:\

When I boot from Part-2 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: ) my root directory is C:\
Local Disk 1 ( F: )

I'd like to have C:\ as a my root directory in both cases.

P.S.
(Windows in Part-1 was reinstalled after crash. Letters D and E where
assigned to partitions on second HD)

Thank You

Usual method is a 3rd party boot manager, hiding the alternate OS partition
from the other OS as part of the boot options of the 3rd party boot manager.

Identical OS installations are seldom identical in every detail except for
cloning disk to disk, and image recoveries. If an image recovery does not
modify the mbr, you can have an identical OS in an alternate partition. The
3rd party boot manager will make the choice available.

 

[Timothy Daniels]

I have: two partitions on the one HD. Each partition has
WinXP Pro and I realy need them identical, but -

When I boot from Part-1 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: )
Local Disk 1 ( F: ) my root directory is F:\

When I boot from Part-2 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: ) my root directory is C:\
Local Disk 1 ( F: )

I’d like to have C:\ as a my root directory in both cases.

P.S.
(Windows in Part-1 was reinstalled after crash. Letters D
and E where assigned to partitions on second HD)

You can accomplish what you want (simply) by
temporarily using another HD to do an installation or
a cloning. You can accomplish what you want (dangerously)
by using a 3rd-party utility such as Partition Magic to
"hide" a 1st installation while making a 2nd installation.
Both methods will result in the running OS calling its own
partition "C:".

If you have an installation now that you're happy with,
just clone it to another HD. Then disconnect the 1st HD
and start the clone up in isolation. Then shut down,
re-connect the 1st HD, and clone the clone to the
1st HD's other partition. Then disconnect the 2nd HD,
assure that you have a proper dual-boot entry in your
boot.ini file [i.e. one entry for rdisk(0)partition (1) and
an entry for rdisk(0)partition(2)] and start the clone-
of-a-clone up for the first time by selecting the 2nd
menu entry at boot-up.

You could also make another installation on a 2nd
HD and then clone it to the 2nd partition on the 1st HD,
remembering to disconnect the 2nd HD before starting
the clone for the first time. You will also have to make
the 2nd entry in the boot.ini file of the 1st partition in
order to select the clone at boot time.

The reason for using a 2nd HD is to make hiding the
"parent" OS from its clone easy during the first startup
of the clone. This process requires that your cloning
utility can put a clone onto a HD that already has other
partitions. Casper XP and Ghost can do this, True Image
cannot without an intermediate step consisting of making
an image file and then "restoring" it to the destination HD.
You can get a free 30-day trial copy of Casper XP at
www.FSSdev.com/products/casperxp/ . The trial version's
only restriction is that the cloned partition will be the same
size as the original partition. Capsper XP will automatically
mark the clone's partition as "active", so use Disk Management
to reset the 1st HD's partition 1 back to "active" in order to
access that partition's boot.ini file at boot time.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Donald L McDaniel]

I have: two partitions on the one HD. Each partition has WinXP Pro and I
realy need them identical, but -

When I boot from Part-1 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: )
Local Disk 1 ( F: ) my root directory is F:\

When I boot from Part-2 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: ) my root directory is C:\
Local Disk 1 ( F: )

I’d like to have C:\ as a my root directory in both cases.

P.S.
(Windows in Part-1 was reinstalled after crash. Letters D and E where
assigned to partitions on second HD)

Thank You

It's not possible using the NTFS file system to have two "C:\Windows".
folders.

Think about this for awhile, ok?
There can be only ONE active "C:" partition. PERIOD. It is NOT
possible to have a SECOND one, EVEN ON A DIFFERENT HD. PERIOD.

Logically, if it's not possible to have a second active "C:"
partition, it would also not be possible to have a second active
"C:\Windows" folder, since "\Windows" (and all its files) lives in the
ROOT FOLDER of the ACTIVE PARTITION ("C:").

Personally, I believe you all need a refresher course on the FAT/NTFS
file systems, with specific emphasis on the heirarchal structure of
the two file systems.


God, where do these people get their information, anyway?

==

Donald L McDaniel
Please reply to the original thread,
so that it may not become broken.
===================================================

 

[Timothy Daniels]

It's not possible using the NTFS file system to have two
"C:\Windows".folders.

Think about this for awhile, ok?
There can be only ONE active "C:" partition. PERIOD.
It is NOT possible to have a SECOND one, EVEN ON
A DIFFERENT HD. PERIOD.

Logically, if it's not possible to have a second active "C:"
partition, it would also not be possible to have a second
active "C:\Windows" folder, since "\Windows" (and all its
files) lives in the ROOT FOLDER of the ACTIVE PARTITION
("C:").

Read his post again. He doesn't want two C: roots at
the same time. He wants the running OS to call its partition
"C:", whether it be the OS in partition 1 or the one in
partition 2. This scenario is the usual case when dual-booting
between clones where the original OS had been installed in the
"C:" partition.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Donald L McDaniel]

Read his post again. He doesn't want two C: roots at
the same time. He wants the running OS to call its partition
"C:", whether it be the OS in partition 1 or the one in
partition 2. This scenario is the usual case when dual-booting
between clones where the original OS had been installed in the
"C:" partition.

*TimDaniels*

Tim, it's still not possible (under Windows, at least). And for the
same reasons I gave. There can only be ONE active "C:" partition
containing "%SystemRoot%, under ANY circumstances.

It may or may not be possible using a third-party boot manager. I
don't know, since I've never used one, nor have I ever had a need to
use one. It seems to me that if it were possible under a third-party
boot manager, it would be by creating an ALIAS to the secondary
partition and "naming" it "C:". But it would ACTUALLY be a DIFFERENT
partition, and NOT "ACTUALLY" "C:"

Again, Mr. Daniels, think about it for a while, ok?
While you're thinking about it, get a book on the MFT partitioning
scheme and READ it.


==

Donald L McDaniel
Please reply to the original thread,
so that it may not become broken.
===================================================

 

[John John]

Tim, it's still not possible (under Windows, at least). And for the
same reasons I gave. There can only be ONE active "C:" partition
containing "%SystemRoot%, under ANY circumstances.

It may or may not be possible using a third-party boot manager. I
don't know, since I've never used one, nor have I ever had a need to
use one. It seems to me that if it were possible under a third-party
boot manager, it would be by creating an ALIAS to the secondary
partition and "naming" it "C:". But it would ACTUALLY be a DIFFERENT
partition, and NOT "ACTUALLY" "C:"

Again, Mr. Daniels, think about it for a while, ok?
While you're thinking about it, get a book on the MFT partitioning
scheme and READ it.

MFT Partitioning? What's that? Where do you get a book on "MFT
partitioning"? Please tell us how to partition the Master File Table...

Before any operating system starts there are no C: or D: or whatever
letter partitions. They are all disk and partition numbers. The drive
letter designation is applied (drive enumeration) by the operating
system when installed. A third party boot manager toggles the active
flag on the partitions and thus you can have the operating systems
installed on their own active partitions and thus each have their own
"C:" drives. There is only one active partition per disk but no one
says you can't toggle it back and forth. It is sometimes a bit tricky
when all the partitions are on one drive but with partition cloaking and
active flag toggling you can achieve what Tim says... and it isn't all
that hard.

John

 

[q_q_anonymous]

It's not possible using the NTFS file system to have two "C:\Windows".
folders.

Think about this for awhile, ok?
There can be only ONE active "C:" partition. PERIOD. It is NOT
possible to have a SECOND one, EVEN ON A DIFFERENT HD. PERIOD.

have you ever tried giving each HDD its own Active partition? Then tell
the BIOS to boot from whichever drive(boot squence, or if can't then
disabling a drive in the BIOS), it'll use the 'booting' drive's active
partition.
This is with no boot manager. I think I did it with 9x.
Even though XP has boot.ini, (a boot manager I think), it may still
work.

And what if you Hide an Active Partition? then you can have more than
one.

Logically, if it's not possible to have a second active "C:"
partition, it would also not be possible to have a second active
"C:\Windows" folder, since "\Windows" (and all its files) lives in the
ROOT FOLDER of the ACTIVE PARTITION ("C:").

obvious logic, given your assumption. But your assumption is at issue

on a related note
Win 9X you could do what was called a "parallel install" c:\win1
c:\win2 (different directories of course!). It wasn't recommended. I
don't know if you can in xp.

<snip>

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have: two partitions on the one HD. Each partition has WinXP Pro and I
realy need them identical, but -

When I boot from Part-1 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: )
Local Disk 1 ( F: ) my root directory is F:\

When I boot from Part-2 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: ) my root directory is C:\
Local Disk 1 ( F: )

I’d like to have C:\ as a my root directory in both cases.

P.S.
(Windows in Part-1 was reinstalled after crash. Letters D and E where
assigned to partitions on second HD)

Thank You

You'll need to use a 3rd party partition and boot manager to hide each
partition from one another, so that each installation will "think" it's
on C:.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



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safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Ron Sommer]

: On Wed, 13 Sep 2006 15:04:11 -0700, "Timothy Daniels"
:
: >"Donald L McDaniel" wrote:
: >> Boot_One_Of wrote:
: >>
: >>> I have: two partitions on the one HD. Each partition has
: >>> WinXP Pro and I realy need them identical, but -
: >>>
: >>>When I boot from Part-1 I get
: >>> Local Disk 2 ( C: )
: >>> Local Disk 1 ( F: ) my root directory is F:\
: >>>
: >>>When I boot from Part-2 I get
: >>> Local Disk 2 ( C: ) my root directory is C:\
: >>> Local Disk 1 ( F: )
: >>>
: >>>I'd like to have C:\ as a my root directory in both cases.
: >>>
: >>>P.S.
: >>>(Windows in Part-1 was reinstalled after crash. Letters D
: >>> and E where assigned to partitions on second HD)
: >>>
: >>>Thank You
: >>
: >> It's not possible using the NTFS file system to have two
: >> "C:\Windows".folders.
: >>
: >> Think about this for awhile, ok?
: >> There can be only ONE active "C:" partition. PERIOD.
: >> It is NOT possible to have a SECOND one, EVEN ON
: >> A DIFFERENT HD. PERIOD.
: >>
: >> Logically, if it's not possible to have a second active "C:"
: >> partition, it would also not be possible to have a second
: >> active "C:\Windows" folder, since "\Windows" (and all its
: >> files) lives in the ROOT FOLDER of the ACTIVE PARTITION
: >> ("C:").
: >
: >
: > Read his post again. He doesn't want two C: roots at
: >the same time. He wants the running OS to call its partition
: >"C:", whether it be the OS in partition 1 or the one in
: >partition 2. This scenario is the usual case when dual-booting
: >between clones where the original OS had been installed in the
: >"C:" partition.
: >
: >*TimDaniels*
:
: Tim, it's still not possible (under Windows, at least). And for the
: same reasons I gave. There can only be ONE active "C:" partition
: containing "%SystemRoot%, under ANY circumstances.
:
: It may or may not be possible using a third-party boot manager. I
: don't know, since I've never used one, nor have I ever had a need to
: use one. It seems to me that if it were possible under a third-party
: boot manager, it would be by creating an ALIAS to the secondary
: partition and "naming" it "C:". But it would ACTUALLY be a DIFFERENT
: partition, and NOT "ACTUALLY" "C:"
:
: Again, Mr. Daniels, think about it for a while, ok?
: While you're thinking about it, get a book on the MFT partitioning
: scheme and READ it.
:
:
: ==
:
: Donald L McDaniel
: Please reply to the original thread,
: so that it may not become broken.
:

You are correct that there can't be two C:\Windows.
Here are your errors:
saying that the active partition has to be C.
saying the NTFS file system knows what partition is C.
saying all of Windows files have to be on C.

The first active partition has to have the XP boot files.
XP's boot.ini file list the drive and partition information where the XP
system files are located.
XP letters the partitions.
NTFS file system does not letter partitions.
Take a drive with C:\Windows directory and connect the drive to another XP
computer.
The Windows directory will still be accessible, but it will no longer be
C:\Windows.
The Windows on the moved drive can be booted by adding the correct drive and
partition information in the first active partition boot.ini file.
The moved Windows will be C:\Windows.

 

[Andy]

The following outlines the steps that will result in what you want.

The first thing to know is Windows setup assigns C: to the active
primary partition on the first hard disk it detects.

Assuming you're starting with a new hard disk that has no partitions:

1. Boot from Windows XP CD and run setup
a. Create a partition that uses half of the disk space. C: will be
assigned to this partition.
b. Install Windows (#1) in C:.

2. Boot Windows XP (#1) from the hard disk.
a. Run Disk Management
1. Create a primary partition with the other half of the disk
space. It does not matter what its drive letter is.
2. Format the partition.
3. Make this partition active.

3. Boot from the Windows XP CD again and run setup.
a. Setup will assign C: to the partition created in step 2 since
it's the active primary partition.
b. Install Windows (#2) in C:.

4. Boot Windows XP (#2) from the hard disk.
a. Copy the entry from boot.ini in the Windows XP (#1) partition,
and insert it in boot.ini in the Windows XP (#2) partition to enable
dual booting.

 

[Ron Sommer]

Disk Management will not let you make a second partition active.
Disk Management is running on the active partition.
--
Ron Sommer

: The following outlines the steps that will result in what you want.
:
: The first thing to know is Windows setup assigns C: to the active
: primary partition on the first hard disk it detects.
:
: Assuming you're starting with a new hard disk that has no partitions:
:
: 1. Boot from Windows XP CD and run setup
: a. Create a partition that uses half of the disk space. C: will be
: assigned to this partition.
: b. Install Windows (#1) in C:.
:
: 2. Boot Windows XP (#1) from the hard disk.
: a. Run Disk Management
: 1. Create a primary partition with the other half of the disk
: space. It does not matter what its drive letter is.
: 2. Format the partition.
: 3. Make this partition active.
:
: 3. Boot from the Windows XP CD again and run setup.
: a. Setup will assign C: to the partition created in step 2 since
: it's the active primary partition.
: b. Install Windows (#2) in C:.
:
: 4. Boot Windows XP (#2) from the hard disk.
: a. Copy the entry from boot.ini in the Windows XP (#1) partition,
: and insert it in boot.ini in the Windows XP (#2) partition to enable
: dual booting.
:
: On Tue, 12 Sep 2006 22:07:01 -0700, Boot_One_Of
:
: >I have: two partitions on the one HD. Each partition has WinXP Pro and I
: >realy need them identical, but -
: >
: >When I boot from Part-1 I get
: > Local Disk 2 ( C: )
: > Local Disk 1 ( F: ) my root directory is F:\
: >
: >When I boot from Part-2 I get
: > Local Disk 2 ( C: ) my root directory is C:\
: > Local Disk 1 ( F: )
: >
: >I'd like to have C:\ as a my root directory in both cases.
: >
: >P.S.
: >(Windows in Part-1 was reinstalled after crash. Letters D and E where
: >assigned to partitions on second HD)
: >
: >Thank You
:

 

[Jonny]

I have: two partitions on the one HD. Each partition has
WinXP Pro and I realy need them identical, but -

When I boot from Part-1 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: )
Local Disk 1 ( F: ) my root directory is F:\

When I boot from Part-2 I get
Local Disk 2 ( C: ) my root directory is C:\
Local Disk 1 ( F: )

I'd like to have C:\ as a my root directory in both cases.

P.S.
(Windows in Part-1 was reinstalled after crash. Letters D
and E where assigned to partitions on second HD)

You can accomplish what you want (simply) by
temporarily using another HD to do an installation or
a cloning. You can accomplish what you want (dangerously)
by using a 3rd-party utility such as Partition Magic to
"hide" a 1st installation while making a 2nd installation.
Both methods will result in the running OS calling its own
partition "C:".

If you have an installation now that you're happy with,
just clone it to another HD. Then disconnect the 1st HD
and start the clone up in isolation. Then shut down,
re-connect the 1st HD, and clone the clone to the
1st HD's other partition. Then disconnect the 2nd HD,
assure that you have a proper dual-boot entry in your
boot.ini file [i.e. one entry for rdisk(0)partition (1) and
an entry for rdisk(0)partition(2)] and start the clone-
of-a-clone up for the first time by selecting the 2nd
menu entry at boot-up.

You could also make another installation on a 2nd
HD and then clone it to the 2nd partition on the 1st HD,
remembering to disconnect the 2nd HD before starting
the clone for the first time. You will also have to make
the 2nd entry in the boot.ini file of the 1st partition in
order to select the clone at boot time.

The reason for using a 2nd HD is to make hiding the
"parent" OS from its clone easy during the first startup
of the clone. This process requires that your cloning
utility can put a clone onto a HD that already has other
partitions. Casper XP and Ghost can do this, True Image
cannot without an intermediate step consisting of making
an image file and then "restoring" it to the destination HD.
You can get a free 30-day trial copy of Casper XP at
www.FSSdev.com/products/casperxp/ . The trial version's
only restriction is that the cloned partition will be the same
size as the original partition. Capsper XP will automatically
mark the clone's partition as "active", so use Disk Management
to reset the 1st HD's partition 1 back to "active" in order to
access that partition's boot.ini file at boot time.

*TimDaniels*

There's nothing dangerous about hiding alternate primary partitions that
have an OS each on them that you don't intend to boot from. Many 3rd party
boot managers have hiding partitions as part of the boot selection as an
option. Using partitioning software to aid in hiding these partitions as
part of a boot routine is the slowest and user intensive way of doing this.
Poor comparison, unrealistic analogy.

While I agree cloning is good for nonresiding hard drive backups, its not
recommended for everyday boot usage due to the time involved for cloning and
the backup is onboard if used as an alternate boot device.

Leaving two XP installations visible to each other is a formula for
problems. Avoid it at all costs.

 

[Jonny]

: On Wed, 13 Sep 2006 15:04:11 -0700, "Timothy Daniels"
:
: >"Donald L McDaniel" wrote:
: >> Boot_One_Of wrote:
: >>
: >>> I have: two partitions on the one HD. Each partition has
: >>> WinXP Pro and I realy need them identical, but -
: >>>
: >>>When I boot from Part-1 I get
: >>> Local Disk 2 ( C: )
: >>> Local Disk 1 ( F: ) my root directory is F:\
: >>>
: >>>When I boot from Part-2 I get
: >>> Local Disk 2 ( C: ) my root directory is C:\
: >>> Local Disk 1 ( F: )
: >>>
: >>>I'd like to have C:\ as a my root directory in both cases.
: >>>
: >>>P.S.
: >>>(Windows in Part-1 was reinstalled after crash. Letters D
: >>> and E where assigned to partitions on second HD)
: >>>
: >>>Thank You
: >>
: >> It's not possible using the NTFS file system to have two
: >> "C:\Windows".folders.
: >>
: >> Think about this for awhile, ok?
: >> There can be only ONE active "C:" partition. PERIOD.
: >> It is NOT possible to have a SECOND one, EVEN ON
: >> A DIFFERENT HD. PERIOD.
: >>
: >> Logically, if it's not possible to have a second active "C:"
: >> partition, it would also not be possible to have a second
: >> active "C:\Windows" folder, since "\Windows" (and all its
: >> files) lives in the ROOT FOLDER of the ACTIVE PARTITION
: >> ("C:").
: >
: >
: > Read his post again. He doesn't want two C: roots at
: >the same time. He wants the running OS to call its partition
: >"C:", whether it be the OS in partition 1 or the one in
: >partition 2. This scenario is the usual case when dual-booting
: >between clones where the original OS had been installed in the
: >"C:" partition.
: >
: >*TimDaniels*
:
: Tim, it's still not possible (under Windows, at least). And for the
: same reasons I gave. There can only be ONE active "C:" partition
: containing "%SystemRoot%, under ANY circumstances.
:
: It may or may not be possible using a third-party boot manager. I
: don't know, since I've never used one, nor have I ever had a need to
: use one. It seems to me that if it were possible under a third-party
: boot manager, it would be by creating an ALIAS to the secondary
: partition and "naming" it "C:". But it would ACTUALLY be a DIFFERENT
: partition, and NOT "ACTUALLY" "C:"
:
: Again, Mr. Daniels, think about it for a while, ok?
: While you're thinking about it, get a book on the MFT partitioning
: scheme and READ it.
:
:
: ==
:
: Donald L McDaniel
: Please reply to the original thread,
: so that it may not become broken.
:

You are correct that there can't be two C:\Windows.
Here are your errors:
saying that the active partition has to be C.
saying the NTFS file system knows what partition is C.
saying all of Windows files have to be on C.

The first active partition has to have the XP boot files.
XP's boot.ini file list the drive and partition information where the XP
system files are located.
XP letters the partitions.
NTFS file system does not letter partitions.
Take a drive with C:\Windows directory and connect the drive to another XP
computer.
The Windows directory will still be accessible, but it will no longer be
C:\Windows.
The Windows on the moved drive can be booted by adding the correct drive
and
partition information in the first active partition boot.ini file.
The moved Windows will be C:\Windows.

Believe he means the "system" partition in reference to the drive letter
"C:" and active primary partition. That's a no brainer. This was, and is,
and continues to be the boot partition in reference to the bios handover
time at termination of bootstrap routine. That's ***why*** it was called
the boot partition. Now, in XP, the term "boot partition" is in the case of
windows itself, not the system boot files partition location. This
difference existed in NT and 2K as well, but no one made such a disparity
statement as calling another partition as "boot partition" other than the
one sought by the bios routine for handover. Until the bios hands over to
the partition with the boot files on it, the bios rules the PC, not windows.
The files of such a partition were formerly and generically grouped and
called the boot files. No word of "system" was used to precede that term.
Therefore, in my book, such a partition is and continues to be a boot
partition. Inventing new terms is purely anal and confusing. And the new
terms only seek to glorify windows, and not use wording that describes the
actual mechanisms involved.

 

[Timothy Daniels]

You'll need to use a 3rd party partition and boot manager to hide each
partition from one another, so that each installation will "think" it's
on C:.

Not true, as Pegasus found out. As long as an OS was installed
without another previous installation in view (i.e. not "hidden" or
on a disconnected HD), the new installation forever after will,
when its running, know its own partition as "C:", and it will call the
other partitions - including the partition containing the OS that
calls its partition "C:" - by other letter designatins. This is true
even when using Microsoft's standard ntldr boot manager.

You can check this out easily by simply cloning an OS that calls
its own partition "C:" to another HD. Then boot that clone OS
up in isolation from the original OS's HD (e.g. by first disconnecting
the original HD). The clone will boot up as "C:". Then reconnect
the original HD. The original OS will boot up as "C:" and call the
clone's partition something like "D:" or some other letter. Then,
by adjusting the boot.ini file that the original OS uses or by changing
the BIOS's HD boot order, boot up the clone. Now the clone will
call its partition "C:" and call the original OS's partition "D:" or some
other letter. Each OS - WHEN IT IS RUNNING - will call its own
partition "C:". This NOT to say that there are two partitions called
"C:" simultaneously by either running OS, but that each of the 2 OSes
will call its partition "C:" when it is running.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Disk Management will not let you make a second partition active.
Disk Management is running on the active partition.

Not true on 2 counts:

1) Disk Management runs from the partition from which
the OS got loaded - which is the partition pointed at by
the selected entry (or default entry) in the boot.ini file of
the partition marked "active". Only by default usage
are the boot files (i.e. ntldr, boot.ini, ntdetect.com) put
in the "active" partition. The "active" marking only directs
the MBR to pass control to the boot sector code of that
partition. In turn, the boot.ini file may designate another
partition as the location of the OS.

2) Disk Management will indeed mark a second (or 3rd or
4th) Primary partition "active". In so doing, it will unset the
"active" flag for another (currently "active") partition.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Timothy Daniels]

There's nothing dangerous about hiding alternate primary
partitions that have an OS each on them that you don't intend
to boot from. Many 3rd party boot managers have hiding
partitions as part of the boot selection as an option.

I was talking not about 3rd-perty boot managers, but about
using utilities such as the one I named - Partition Magic - to
hide and unhide an OS while installing another OS or to hide
an OS from a clone during the clone's 1st startup.

The problem arises when the new installation or the clone
doesn't work. How do you summon Partition Magic to
"unhide" the partition in which it resides? There are ways,
using a Partition Magic boot disc or by booting another clone
that you may have in the system, but if you're not prepared,
you screwed. Just as flying an airplane is easy, if you're not
prepared for something going wrong, it's dangerous.

Using partitioning software to aid in hiding these partitions as
part of a boot routine is the slowest and user intensive way of
doing this. Poor comparison, unrealistic analogy.

I used no comparisons nor analogies, so I don't know what
you're talking about. But 3rd-party boot managers generally
require use of a dedicated partition on which to reside and
from which to run. Microsoft's ntldr boot manager does not.
I don't like using up a Primary partition just for the boot manager,
and I don't like booting from a floppy or CD.

While I agree cloning is good for nonresiding hard drive backups,
its not recommended for everyday boot usage due to the time
involved for cloning and the backup is onboard if used as an
alternate boot device.

Leaving two XP installations visible to each other is a formula for
problems. Avoid it at all costs.

Millions of people dual-boot using ntldr - which leaves other
OSes' partitions visible to each other. It is the standard
dual-boot scenario. I agree that viruses could get into not
only the OS's partition but the other partitions as well, but
that is true of all multi-partition systems. For that reason,
archival partitions shouldn't be exposed to a running OS
when not being used. But we're not necessarily discussing
archival safety here - we're discussing dual-booting.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Ron Sommer]

: "Ron Sommer" wrote
: > Disk Management will not let you make a second partition active.
: > Disk Management is running on the active partition.
:
:
: Not true on 2 counts:
:
: 1) Disk Management runs from the partition from which
: the OS got loaded - which is the partition pointed at by
: the selected entry (or default entry) in the boot.ini file of
: the partition marked "active". Only by default usage
: are the boot files (i.e. ntldr, boot.ini, ntdetect.com) put
: in the "active" partition. The "active" marking only directs
: the MBR to pass control to the boot sector code of that
: partition. In turn, the boot.ini file may designate another
: partition as the location of the OS.
:
: 2) Disk Management will indeed mark a second (or 3rd or
: 4th) Primary partition "active". In so doing, it will unset the
: "active" flag for another (currently "active") partition.
:
: *TimDaniels*

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Not true, as Pegasus found out. As long as an OS was installed
without another previous installation in view (i.e. not "hidden" or
on a disconnected HD), the new installation forever after will,
when its running, know its own partition as "C:", and it will call the
other partitions - including the partition containing the OS that
calls its partition "C:" - by other letter designatins. This is true
even when using Microsoft's standard ntldr boot manager.

You can check this out easily by simply cloning an OS that calls
its own partition "C:" to another HD. Then boot that clone OS
up in isolation from the original OS's HD (e.g. by first disconnecting
the original HD). The clone will boot up as "C:". Then reconnect
the original HD. The original OS will boot up as "C:" and call the
clone's partition something like "D:" or some other letter. Then,
by adjusting the boot.ini file that the original OS uses or by changing
the BIOS's HD boot order, boot up the clone. Now the clone will
call its partition "C:" and call the original OS's partition "D:" or
some
other letter. Each OS - WHEN IT IS RUNNING - will call its own
partition "C:". This NOT to say that there are two partitions called
"C:" simultaneously by either running OS, but that each of the 2 OSes
will call its partition "C:" when it is running.

*TimDaniels*

Thanks for the information. Although, to be honest, it seems like more
trouble than it's worth, for what's nothing more than a cosmetic issue.


--

Bruce Chambers

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