Dual boot dual drive...

  • Thread starter Thread starter marzinp
  • Start date Start date
M

marzinp

Hi!

I have an old 40Go HDD1 with jumpers set on Master and win98SE. I'd
like to put a second IDE drive HDD2 (200Go, Slave) and Install XP Home
on it. How should I proceed?
Boot on XP install CD and ask it to install XP on my new HDD2. Shall I
be able to boot on this Slave HDD2???
Change jumpers before installing XP (HDD2 as master, HDD1 as slave), so
XP will create the boot manager on my new HDD. Shall I be able to boot
Win98?
Copy Win98 partition to the new drive, set it as master, and Install XP
on a new partition.
Use a boot manager software (like GAG)?

Sorry I've been setting multiboot OSs many times, but never on
different HDDs!

Thanks for your clever answers!
 
Hi!

I have an old 40Go HDD1 with jumpers set on Master and win98SE. I'd
like to put a second IDE drive HDD2 (200Go, Slave) and Install XP Home
on it. How should I proceed?
Boot on XP install CD and ask it to install XP on my new HDD2. Shall I
be able to boot on this Slave HDD2???
Change jumpers before installing XP (HDD2 as master, HDD1 as slave), so
XP will create the boot manager on my new HDD. Shall I be able to boot
Win98?
Copy Win98 partition to the new drive, set it as master, and Install XP
on a new partition.
Use a boot manager software (like GAG)?

Sorry I've been setting multiboot OSs many times, but never on
different HDDs!

Thanks for your clever answers!
Click to expand...

If you install WinXP on the second disk then it will appear
under drive D:. This will be a drawback later on: You will
never be able to run it under drive C:, e.g. if you decide to
remove Win98.

A far more flexible solution would go like this:
- Download and install XOSL on drive C:. It will co-exist with Win98.
- Test it.
- Remove the Win98 disk and install the new disk.
- Install WinXP on the new disk.
- Make the old disk the master disk and the new disk the
slave disk.
- Add WinXP to the XOSL boot menu.
- Configure XOSL so that it hides the Win98 partition when
booting into WinXP.
- Instruct XOSL to swap disks when booting into WinXP.

You now have two completely independent OSs, each
using drive C: as its system drive.
 
Hi Pegasus,

and thanks for your wise answer. My experience of multibooting is
mainly about Linux, so I didn't consider the letter problem!
What if I don't hide Win98 partition (I'd like to access some
documents)?
Also, Could I Install XP first to the new drive and add XOSL to it, in
case my older HDD dies first !?

thanks
 
Hi Pegasus,

and thanks for your wise answer. My experience of multibooting is
mainly about Linux, so I didn't consider the letter problem!
What if I don't hide Win98 partition (I'd like to access some
documents)?
Also, Could I Install XP first to the new drive and add XOSL to it, in
case my older HDD dies first !?

thanks
 
Pegasus (MVP) said:
If you install WinXP on the second disk then it will appear
under drive D:. This will be a drawback later on: You will
never be able to run it under drive C:, e.g. if you decide to
remove Win98.

A far more flexible solution would go like this:
- Download and install XOSL on drive C:. It will co-exist with Win98.
- Test it.
- Remove the Win98 disk and install the new disk.
- Install WinXP on the new disk.
- Make the old disk the master disk and the new disk the
slave disk.
- Add WinXP to the XOSL boot menu.
- Configure XOSL so that it hides the Win98 partition when
booting into WinXP.
- Instruct XOSL to swap disks when booting into WinXP.

You now have two completely independent OSs, each
using drive C: as its system drive.
Click to expand...


marzinp:
It's been a long time since we had some experience with the XOSL program (I
can't recall working with that program in an XP environment). I know we
weren't exactly thrilled with that program when we tested it out with
multi-booting Win9x/Me operating systems, but I honestly can't recall the
specifics. Perhaps is was an earlier version of the XOSL program we were
working with at the time. But since Pegasus recommends it re a Win98/WinXP
multi-boot configuration, perhaps it's worth a try. I take it the program is
still free.

Let me recommend another course of action for you to consider. Assuming you
have available two 5 1/4" bays on your desktop computer's case, why not use
two "mobile racks" to house your two drives? Using this hardware
configuration, each HD will serve as a removable drive, so you can boot to
whichever OS you desire in an instant. And each can be effectively isolated
from each other by a simple turn of the mobile rack's keylock. And if you
want to boot to one drive while the other is connected, you can do that
also. And with additional removable trays (caddies) that contain the HD that
slide in and out of the mobile rack, you can use an *unlimited* amount of
drives for any purpose, e.g., backups of your working drives, another OS,
additional ones dedicated to photos and/or video files -- the list is
*endless*!

In your present case, one mobile rack would be connected as Primary Master;
the other as Secondary Master. A simple turn of the rack's keylock will
allow you to boot to whichever OS you desire. Simple & effective.

The mobile racks are designed to be installed in a desktop case's 5 1/4"
bay. They're no more difficult to install than an optical drive. As I
mentioned, they're two-piece affairs - the rack itself and its removable
tray that contains the HD. They're available in all-plastic or all-aluminum
or a combination of both. They're relatively inexpensive - from about $15 to
$45 from online vendors. If you're interested do a Google search for "mobile
racks".
Anna
 
Anna,

thanks for your contribution. I'll try Boot managers first, and if it
fails, why not a rack...
Pierre
 
Hi Pegasus,

and thanks for your wise answer. My experience of multibooting is
mainly about Linux, so I didn't consider the letter problem!
What if I don't hide Win98 partition (I'd like to access some
documents)?
Also, Could I Install XP first to the new drive and add XOSL to it, in
case my older HDD dies first !?

thanks
Click to expand...

This would be a better option than the one I previously described.
You can do it like so:
1. Remove the Win98 disk.
2. Install the new disk as the primary master.
3. Create a 10 MByte FAT partition on it, preferably at
the far end. Label it XOSL.
4. Install WinXP on the remainder of the disk.
5. Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk (www.bootdisk.com).
6. Install XOSL in the XOSL partition. Be very careful: If you
install it in the wrong partition then you will wipe your WinXP
installation.
7. Install your Win98 disk as a slave disk.
8. Add both OSs to the XOSL menu. You will probably have
to tell XOSL to swap disks when booting into Win98.

There is no need to hide any partitions. And if you wish to
remove XOSL, simply boot the machine with a Win98 boot
disk and run this command: fdisk /mbr. WinXP will now
boot on its own.
 
Yes, I think it's the way to go! I'm going to use GAG instead of XOSL
because it doesn't need any partition and offers the same features.
Then, I'll make an Fat32 Partition on the new HDD to share Win98 and XP
Documents.

Thanks for your help.
 
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