Dual boot XP with XP?

[Bob Jones]

Can I create a dual boot situation using two drives and xp on both systems.
I want to be able to boot to my version of xp when the kids mess up their
version with spyware . Seems like a smart thing to do...so you have a
system to get to even if one of them won't boot or has problems.

I understand the user agreement might not allow this but I am willing to buy
another license if need be. So the questions is....can I physically get
this to work...

 

[Dorian Gray]

Yes you can.
http://home.kooee.com.au/kingull/xp.html?
But why not fit a drive caddy.
Plug in your own hard drive.
Fits in cdrom bay.
Each hard drive can have whatever you fancy.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Can I create a dual boot situation using two drives and xp on both systems.
I want to be able to boot to my version of xp when the kids mess up their
version with spyware . Seems like a smart thing to do...so you have a
system to get to even if one of them won't boot or has problems.

I understand the user agreement might not allow this but I am willing to buy
another license if need be. So the questions is....can I physically get
this to work...

I think your licence agreement says that you can run WinXP on exactly
one machine. This is what you intend to do, so I see no problem.

Several of my clients use your approach, for exactly the same reason.
You have two options to implement it:
a) Re-install WinXP on an other drive
b) Use a third-party boot manager

Option a) is a little simpler to configure but it leaves you
vulnerable, because both installations are visible at all times.

Option b) takes a little more time to install but is far more
robust, because the two installations are invisible to each
other.

Post again with your preference.

 

[Bob Jones]

The xp boot loader seems to work pretty well....you can even put a few files
on a floppy (ntldr and boot.ini) in case the drive with the boot files is
dead. As you say, the other drive/system is still visible and suspectible
for viruses.
Would a 3rd party boot loader totally hide the other drive? What about
looking at files on the other drive. The beauty of the multi boot is the
ability to repair one of the systems via the other system. Any suggestions
for 3rd party loaders...especially ones that would work from a floppy in
case the boot drive goes bad.

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Yes if you use your XP installation disk, you can create a second instance of
the operating system.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I have used XOSL extensively. It has a very nice graphical
interface, and it's free.

XOSL works by replacing the MBR with its own code
that points to a small XOSL partition. It does NOT alter
the boot sector of each installation. If the boot loader
goes AWOL then you can easily re-install it, or you can
restore the MBR to its original condition with a single
command from a standard Win98 boot disk.

Your point about being able to repair OS1 from withing
OS2 is well taken. You can do 50% of this with boot
loaders such as XOSL, but not 100%. Here is why:

- Partition 1 contains WinXP-1
- Partition 2 contains WinXP-2

When you boot into WinXP-1 then you can make partition2
visible and repair it.

When you boot in WinXP-2 then you cannot make partition1
visible. If you did then WinXP-2 would appear as drive D:,
and would no longer be bootable.

Here is what I would do:

1. Repartition the disk:
x GBytes for WinXP-1
x GBytes for WinXP-2
y MBytes for shared data
10 MBytes for XOSL

2. Copy WinXP to the second partition.

3. Install XOSL

4. Add the two WinXP installations to the XOSL menu.

That's all!

There is one "gotcha": When installing XOSL, be extremely
careful to install it in the XOSL partition. The interface at this
spot is somewhat less than intuitive. If you install it in some
other partition then you risk overwriting that partition!