Dual Boot - Two Physical Drives

[Mac McMicmac]

I have two physical hard drives (IDE) - each running a single copy of XP
Pro/SP2. How can I have the computer somehow prompt me for which HD I want
to use when the computer starts up? I have been physically switching the
power cable and IDE ribbon cable to the drive I want to use, while leaving
the other drive completely disconnected (both power and IDE).

My understanding of "standard" dual boot techniques (which I could easily
google for) is that those techniques assume two OS installations on a single
hard drive... which is NOT my situation... thus the question here.

Thanks!

 

[Gordon]

I have two physical hard drives (IDE) - each running a single copy of XP

May I ask why?

 

[John John]

You can change the boot order in the BIOS but even easier would be to
add an entry (ARC path) to the boot.ini file. Try using the msconfig
utility and see if it can add the second installation to boot.ini. If
it cannot add the entry post the contents of the boot.ini file here and
someone will suggest additional entries. The boot.ini is a hidden
system file, you have to use the folder options to unhide it. You will
have one on each of your drives, decide from which drive you want to
boot most often and use the boot.ini file on that drive.

John

 

[Guest]

Do you think that it is very frustrating switching hard disk like this to
dual boot? I think that you had first installed the Windows XP on HDD1 and
then unpluged it and then installed on the HDD2. That is why you need to
switch between hdd like this. The easiest way could be plug in the both hard
disk and whenever you want to boot from another hard disk just change the
Boot Sequence or Hard Disk Periority from CMOS Setup.

As you already installed Windows XP on both hard disk you can also try XOSL
or any other Operating System Loader to create a menu for all the available
operating system on different drives.

http://www.freedownloads.be/downloaddetail/308-XOSL

If you are planning to reinstall then plug-in both hard disk then install
Windows on the first HDD and then on the another one. Windows will
automatically generate the boot menu for both OS either they are on different
partitions of the same hard disk or on different hard disk.

Hope this help, let us know!

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I have two physical hard drives (IDE) - each running a single copy of XP
Pro/SP2. How can I have the computer somehow prompt me for which HD I want
to use when the computer starts up? I have been physically switching the
power cable and IDE ribbon cable to the drive I want to use, while leaving
the other drive completely disconnected (both power and IDE).

My understanding of "standard" dual boot techniques (which I could easily
google for) is that those techniques assume two OS installations on a
single hard drive... which is NOT my situation... thus the question here.

Thanks!

AFAIK you cannot do this with the basic Windows boot loader.
I assume that each disk has Windows installed on drive C:. While
both are installed then one would appear as drive D: or E:, which
will cause havoc.

If your BIOS permits it then you could swap the disks during
the early boot phase, as John suggested. If it does not have this
facility then you need to install a third-party boot loader that
allows you to selectively hide partitions. Check Google for
"Boot Managers". Some are free (e.g. XOSL) but they are less
easy to install.

 

[jorgen]

AFAIK you cannot do this with the basic Windows boot loader.
I assume that each disk has Windows installed on drive C:. While
both are installed then one would appear as drive D: or E:, which
will cause havoc.

If your BIOS permits it then you could swap the disks during
the early boot phase, as John suggested.

It does support it, no problem.

If you switch boot order in bios, the drive letter of the other windows
installation will still be changed to something else, which is not a problem

 

[Timothy Daniels]

AFAIK you cannot do this with the basic Windows boot loader.
I assume that each disk has Windows installed on drive C:. While
both are installed then one would appear as drive D: or E:, which
will cause havoc.

Ntldr (the standard NT/2K/XP boot loader) can boot multiple
OSes from the same HD and from multiple HDs. The entries
in the boot.ini file which designate the OS locations (called
"ARC paths") have a parameter called "rdisk()" which
designates the physical HD. The argument "x" in "rdisk(x)"
stands for the position (beginning with 0) of the HD in the
BIOS'es Hard Drive Boot Order (i.e. HD boot priority).
The HD at the top of the list is "rdisk(0)", and the files in the
Primary partition that is marked "active" on the HD will
control booting. Other HDs in the Hard Drive Boot Order
will be designated as "rdisk(1)", "rdisk(2)", and "rdisk(3)",
depending on the number of HDs in the system. The
*default* Hard Drive Boot Order is a subset of:
Master on IDE ch. 0, Slave on IDE ch. 0,
Master on IDE ch. 1, Slave on IDE ch. 1.
If there is not a HD at one of the above positions, that position
is merely skipped when the BIOS builds its Hard Drive Boot
Order list. And of interest to the Original Poster, that order
can be manually adjusted in the BIOS by the User at startup
time. That setting will persist in ROM from startup to startup.
Thus, with a separate OS on each HD, each with its own
boot files, one can accomplish multi-booting via the BIOS.

Since the OP's two copies of XP were apparently installed
independently (i.e. one being out of view of the other OS's
installer), each will call its own partition "C:" WHILE IT IS
RUNNING, and it will call the other partitions by other single-
letter names. This is NOT a problem as long as the partitions
do not have shortcuts that refer to OTHER partitions.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Mac McMicmac]

May I ask why?

Does it matter?

 

[Mac McMicmac]

Ntldr (the standard NT/2K/XP boot loader) can boot multiple
OSes from the same HD and from multiple HDs. The entries
in the boot.ini file which designate the OS locations (called
"ARC paths") have a parameter called "rdisk()" which
designates the physical HD. The argument "x" in "rdisk(x)"
stands for the position (beginning with 0) of the HD in the
BIOS'es Hard Drive Boot Order (i.e. HD boot priority).
The HD at the top of the list is "rdisk(0)", and the files in the
Primary partition that is marked "active" on the HD will
control booting. Other HDs in the Hard Drive Boot Order
will be designated as "rdisk(1)", "rdisk(2)", and "rdisk(3)",
depending on the number of HDs in the system. The
*default* Hard Drive Boot Order is a subset of:
Master on IDE ch. 0, Slave on IDE ch. 0,
Master on IDE ch. 1, Slave on IDE ch. 1.
If there is not a HD at one of the above positions, that position
is merely skipped when the BIOS builds its Hard Drive Boot
Order list. And of interest to the Original Poster, that order
can be manually adjusted in the BIOS by the User at startup
time. That setting will persist in ROM from startup to startup.
Thus, with a separate OS on each HD, each with its own
boot files, one can accomplish multi-booting via the BIOS.

Since the OP's two copies of XP were apparently installed
independently (i.e. one being out of view of the other OS's
installer), each will call its own partition "C:" WHILE IT IS
RUNNING, and it will call the other partitions by other single-
letter names. This is NOT a problem as long as the partitions
do not have shortcuts that refer to OTHER partitions.

*TimDaniels*

Thank you for the informative and helpful answer. FWIW, I'm a developer and
support a production system based on .NET 1.1 and SQL Server 2000. We are
migrating the whole thing to .NET 3.5 and SQL Server 2008 (both of which are
not yet RTM). So I have two development environments which should have
nothing to do with each other - thus the separate physical disks. When the
2008 products are finally RTM I'm going to reimage the disk that currently
has the beta versions. When I'm working in one environment there is
absolutely no need to see the other - so no shortcuts between the two disks.
I do not want to have two completely separate development workstations - so
two physical disks gets me what I need and want. I rarely switch between the
two environments - but I do it enough that it's a hassle and I'd prefer a
way to chose from a menu when I power up.

Thanks again!

 

[Gordon]

Does it matter?

No but I would like to know why on earth you have two disks with the SAME OS
on each.....seems a complete waste of time and energy unless you have a very
obscure reason for doing it...

 

[Timothy Daniels]

...I have two development environments which should have nothing to do with
each other - thus the separate physical disks....
I do not want to have two completely separate development
workstations - so two physical disks gets me what I need and
want....

I think using the BIOS to switch OSes is ideal for your needs.
BUT... with each OS's partition visible to the other OS, if
a virus or wild app gets loose in the system, it *could* affect
the non-running OS's partition. If such a scenario is possible
and would be catastrphic for you, it might be prudent to use
a 3rd-party utility such as BootItNG or maybe Partition Magic
to "hide" the non-running OS's partition. What *I* did was
install DPST micro-toggle switches in each HD's power cable,
and I only supply power to the HD that has the desired OS.
The switches are in convenient 1/4" circular holes in the PC's
front chassis face, under the plastic facia, where they can't be
bumped, and I use an unfolded paperclip to reach in and flip
the toggle "bats". That works reliably as long as the "OFF"
HD isn't at the end of an IDE cable that has another HD. For
that reason, I put my 2 switchable HDs on separate channels
of an IDE PCI expansion card. For SATA drives, that problem
doesn't exist.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Mac McMicmac]

No but I would like to know why on earth you have two disks with the SAME
OS on each.....seems a complete waste of time and energy unless you have a
very obscure reason for doing it...

Read my response to the helpful Timothy Daniels (elsewhere in this thread)
for my motivation; then tell me how much time and energy I am wasting and
how I might do better.

 

[Mac McMicmac]

I think using the BIOS to switch OSes is ideal for your needs.
BUT... with each OS's partition visible to the other OS, if
a virus or wild app gets loose in the system, it *could* affect
the non-running OS's partition. If such a scenario is possible
and would be catastrphic for you, it might be prudent to use
a 3rd-party utility such as BootItNG or maybe Partition Magic
to "hide" the non-running OS's partition. What *I* did was
install DPST micro-toggle switches in each HD's power cable,
and I only supply power to the HD that has the desired OS.
The switches are in convenient 1/4" circular holes in the PC's
front chassis face, under the plastic facia, where they can't be
bumped, and I use an unfolded paperclip to reach in and flip
the toggle "bats". That works reliably as long as the "OFF"
HD isn't at the end of an IDE cable that has another HD. For
that reason, I put my 2 switchable HDs on separate channels
of an IDE PCI expansion card. For SATA drives, that problem
doesn't exist.

*TimDaniels*

Great - thanks for the additional tip... I always love such "low-tech" yet
totally effective solutions. It's hard for malware to infect a drive that is
powered off.

-Mac

 

[Timothy Daniels]

What *I* did was
install DPST micro-toggle switches in each HD's power cable,
and I only supply power to the HD that has the desired OS.
The switches are in convenient 1/4" circular holes in the PC's
front chassis face, under the plastic facia, where they can't be
bumped, and I use an unfolded paperclip to reach in and flip
the toggle "bats". That works reliably as long as the "OFF"
HD isn't at the end of an IDE cable that has another HD. For
that reason, I put my 2 switchable HDs on separate channels
of an IDE PCI expansion card. For SATA drives, that problem
doesn't exist.

BTW, when a HD doesn't receive power, the BIOS doesn't
"see" it, so it isn't included in the Hard Drive Boot Order. In
the case of just 2 HDs, that means that the powered HD will
automatically be at the head of the priority list for booting,
and you don't have to go into the BIOS to switch the Hard
Drive Boot Order and to control which OS boots.

*TimDaniels*

 

[alanglloyd]

Why not get a plug-in HD mount in your PC and two HD carriers so that
you can plug in whichever HD you want. 5.25 inch mount and carriers
can hold 3.5 inch hard disks.

Alan Lloyd

 

[Gordon]

Read my response to the helpful Timothy Daniels (elsewhere in this thread)
for my motivation; then tell me how much time and energy I am wasting and
how I might do better.

That's not a waste - but many people who post here DO put two versions of
the same OS on two disks or partitions for no good reason at all. Your's is
valid - many people's is not.

 

[Edward W. Thompson]

I have two physical hard drives (IDE) - each running a single copy of XP
Pro/SP2. How can I have the computer somehow prompt me for which HD I want
to use when the computer starts up? I have been physically switching the
power cable and IDE ribbon cable to the drive I want to use, while leaving
the other drive completely disconnected (both power and IDE).

My understanding of "standard" dual boot techniques (which I could easily
google for) is that those techniques assume two OS installations on a
single hard drive... which is NOT my situation... thus the question here.

Thanks!

I am pretty sure you can do what you want using BING (Bootit NG)
(www.terabyteunlimited.com)