multiple operating programs

[Guest]

I have XP pro on one hard drive for my wife and XP home on another hard drive
for myself. I want to use ONE hard drive for both of us( XP Pro) so that we
can use the OTHER hard drive to back up documents etc.. How do I do this so
that I will be certain that the XP Pro will still boot and run normally? We
have TWO hard Drives and TWO operating systems.

 

[Guest]

You mean to say that you no longer want to use Windows XP Home Edition on
your second hard drive and both of you want to use a single operating system
i.e. Windows XP Professional.

First of all, I will suggest you to backup all of your important data to a
removable device like CDs. After that, boot your computer to Windows XP
Professional.

Before you start the process: . For instance, you have 2 hard disks and both
have 2 partitions each.

What you have to know is:

1. The drive letters for each drive.
2. What operating system is installed on what drive?
3. Currently what hard disk is being used for booting process.
4. Which hard disk consist which partitions?

Assume that your Windows XP Professional is on HDD0 (First HDD) and XP Home
is on HDD1 (Second HDD) and HDD0 is being used as a First Boot Device.

What you have to do is, backup all of your data from the second hard disk
drive (XP Home) and then format the drive. After that you have to change the
Boot menu which comes up at the time booting, where you make the choice that
which operating system you want to load.

To do this:

1. Right-click on My Computer and choose Properties
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Click the Settings button under Startup and Recovery.
4. From the Default Operating System list choose "Windows XP Professional"
and uncheck "Time to Display list of Operating Systems".

I give you a scenario. I have two 40GB hdd drives. HDD0 has Windows XP
Professional which is my first boot device and HDD1 has Windows Vista. If I
want to remove Windows Vista from the HDD1 then what I will do is to log on
to Windows XP Professional. Will look for Windows Vista partition. Will
backup all of my data from that drive to another drive or to a removable
device. Then I will format that drive. In last, I will modify the Boot menu.

Hope this information helps you, let us know!

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[Anna]

I have XP pro on one hard drive for my wife and XP home on another hard
drive
for myself. I want to use ONE hard drive for both of us( XP Pro) so that
we
can use the OTHER hard drive to back up documents etc.. How do I do this
so
that I will be certain that the XP Pro will still boot and run normally?
We
have TWO hard Drives and TWO operating systems.

Austin:
The concept you're presently working with is, in my view, a good one in that
each of you has their own personal HDD physically/electronically isolated
from each other thus avoiding the potential problems inherent in a
multi-boot configuration. I assume your PC is a desktop machine and that
both HDDs are internal ones so that you currently use a boot manager to boot
to the OS of choice. Is that right?

Assuming you are working with a desktop machine, and further assuming your
computer case has at least one vacant 5 1/4" bay that you can utilize, let
me offer this alternative for your consideration...

Why not install a mobile rack in that bay which would house a removable HDD.
These mobile racks are two-piece affairs that contain a removable tray or
caddy holding the HDD. The removable tray simply slides in or out of the
rack similar to a miniature desk drawer. A keylock turns the device ON or
OFF. When ON, the contained HDD is treated in exactly the same manner as any
internal HDD.

Do you see the advantages of such a system? Each member of the family who
uses the desktop PC would have his or her's own personal HDD completely
isolated from any other user's HDD. Thus, each would have his or her's own
programs installed and be able to set up their system the way he or she
wants it without affecting any other user. When one user was no longer using
the computer he or she would simply remove his/her removable tray containing
the HDD from the mobile rack leaving the rack vacant for the next user.
Removing (or inserting) the tray is, as indicated above, a very simple and
virtually instantaneous operation.

Even better would be a system that would accommodate two removable HDDs. For
that you would, of course need two available 5 1/4" bays to accommodate two
removable HDDs. The advantage with two mobile racks is that each of the two
HDDs (yours & your wife's) in their removable trays would reside in its own
rack so all that would be necessary would be a simple turn of the key in the
rack's keylock to turn the HDD on or off. There would be no need to remove
the tray containing the HDD from the rack as there would be should you be
working with a single mobile rack. Not that the latter is particularly
difficult or time-consuming, but two mobile racks gives you a bit more
flexibility.

In terms of a backup system you would have a number of choices...
1. Using an internal HDD (a third HDD) as the recipient for the backups.
2. Using another removable HDD that would utilize the existing mobile
rack(s).
3. Using a USB/Firewire/SATA external HDD for the backups.
Presumably you would partition the backup HDD in such a way as to
accommodate you & your wife's separate backups.

I know you mentioned that you want to use the XP Pro OS for both of your
systems rather than the two Pro/Home systems you're currently working with.
Is there any compelling need to make this change or were you just
considering it because you thought it might facilitate your proposed new
multi-boot configuration on a single HDD?

Yes, there would be an obvious additional expense to configure the computer
with removable HDDs - the cost of one or two mobile racks and an additional
HDD (internal or external) for the backups. There's a wide range of prices
for mobile racks but serviceable ones can be purchased for not much more
than $30 or so. And I assume you know the current costs of HDDs. So while
the additional costs in configuring your desktop PC with removable HDDs
would not be a negligible expense, neither would it be prohibitively
expensive.

Anyway, while I don't know how all this may be practical in your particular
situation, I thought I would mention it as another possible option for you
to consider.
Anna

 

[Anna]

I have XP pro on one hard drive for my wife and XP home on another hard
drive
for myself. I want to use ONE hard drive for both of us( XP Pro) so that
we
can use the OTHER hard drive to back up documents etc.. How do I do this
so
that I will be certain that the XP Pro will still boot and run normally?
We
have TWO hard Drives and TWO operating systems.

(Austin: I posted this yesterday but apparently it hasn't shown up in my
news server. Please excuse if this is a duplicate posting that you've
already seen)...

Austin:
The concept you're presently working with is, in my view, a good one in that
each of you has their own personal HDD physically/electronically isolated
from each other thus avoiding the potential problems inherent in a
multi-boot configuration. I assume your PC is a desktop machine and that
both HDDs are internal ones so that you currently use a boot manager to boot
to the OS of choice. Is that right?

Assuming you are working with a desktop machine, and further assuming your
computer case has at least one vacant 5 1/4" bay that you can utilize, let
me offer this alternative for your consideration...

Why not install a mobile rack in that bay which would house a removable HDD.
These mobile racks are two-piece affairs that contain a removable tray or
caddy holding the HDD. The removable tray simply slides in or out of the
rack similar to a miniature desk drawer. A keylock turns the device ON or
OFF. When ON, the contained HDD is treated in exactly the same manner as any
internal HDD.

Do you see the advantages of such a system? Each member of the family who
uses the desktop PC would have his or her's own personal HDD completely
isolated from any other user's HDD. Thus, each would have his or her's own
programs installed and be able to set up their system the way he or she
wants it without affecting any other user. When one user was no longer using
the computer he or she would simply remove his/her removable tray containing
the HDD from the mobile rack leaving the rack vacant for the next user.
Removing (or inserting) the tray is, as indicated above, a very simple and
virtually instantaneous operation.

Even better would be a system that would accommodate two removable HDDs. For
that you would, of course need two available 5 1/4" bays to accommodate two
removable HDDs. The advantage with two mobile racks is that each of the two
HDDs (yours & your wife's) in their removable trays would reside in its own
rack so all that would be necessary would be a simple turn of the key in the
rack's keylock to turn the HDD on or off. There would be no need to remove
the tray containing the HDD from the rack as there would be should you be
working with a single mobile rack. Not that the latter is particularly
difficult or time-consuming, but two mobile racks gives you a bit more
flexibility.

In terms of a backup system you would have a number of choices...
1. Using an internal HDD (a third HDD) as the recipient for the backups.
2. Using another removable HDD that would utilize the existing mobile
rack(s).
3. Using a USB/Firewire/SATA external HDD for the backups.
Presumably you would partition the backup HDD in such a way as to
accommodate you & your wife's separate backups.

I know you mentioned that you want to use the XP Pro OS for both of your
systems rather than the two Pro/Home systems you're currently working with.
Is there any compelling need to make this change or were you just
considering it because you thought it might facilitate your proposed new
multi-boot configuration on a single HDD?

Yes, there would be an obvious additional expense to configure the computer
with removable HDDs - the cost of one or two mobile racks and an additional
HDD (internal or external) for the backups. There's a wide range of prices
for mobile racks but serviceable ones can be purchased for not much more
than $30 or so. And I assume you know the current costs of HDDs. So while
the additional costs in configuring your desktop PC with removable HDDs
would not be a negligible expense, neither would it be prohibitively
expensive.

Anyway, while I don't know how all this may be practical in your particular
situation, I thought I would mention it as another possible option for you
to consider.
Anna

 

[Guest]

Thank you Anna. I am going to keep it as simple as possible.