Dual Hard Drives - 2 different operating systems

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I want to install a second hard drive into my computer. The C drive is Win
XP. The drive I want to install is using Win ME which I want to keep because
of the data on it. Is it possible to install the second hard drive and when
booting up be given the option of which OS I want to boot to. Or does it
need to be done some other way??

I am looking for the easiest, safest and the potentially least destructive
to either drive.
 
If you only want the data, then install the ME drive as the slave.
XP can get the data off of the ME drive.

You would need to use a boot manager to dual boot XP and ME without having
to reinstall an operating system.
 
Ron, thanks for answering. I already am aware of the slave drive option, but
I am more interested in being able to boot to either drive. You mentioned a
boot manager. Could you be more specific as to how that works and the names
of any products that do that.

Thanks
 
I want to install a second hard drive into my computer. The C drive is Win
XP. The drive I want to install is using Win ME which I want to keep because
of the data on it. Is it possible to install the second hard drive and when
booting up be given the option of which OS I want to boot to. Or does it
need to be done some other way??

I am looking for the easiest, safest and the potentially least destructive
to either drive.
Click to expand...

When the PC boots up, is there an option to change the boot order?
IE: "Press F2 for boot order", "Press Delete to edit BIOS"

If yes, change the boot to the D drive first.
If no, look in the BIOS for the Boot Order menu.

When booting to the D drive first, the BIOS makes it "C" and the C drive becomes "D"
 
This is an excellent option, tedious but very exceptable. I will also look
into boot managers also. Actually I will get a chance tomorrow to check out
your suggestion.

Thanks
 
Roseeone said:
I want to install a second hard drive into my computer. The C drive is Win
XP. The drive I want to install is using Win ME which I want to keep because
of the data on it. Is it possible to install the second hard drive and when
booting up be given the option of which OS I want to boot to. Or does it
need to be done some other way??

I am looking for the easiest, safest and the potentially least destructive
to either drive.
Click to expand...

Here is a recipe to do this. It assumes that WinXP is
installed on an NTFS partition. If it's on a FAT partition
then an additional step would be required.
1. Download the XOSL boot manager. It is free at
http://www.volny.cz/xosl/archcz/xosl115/
2. Install the WinME disk as a slave disk or as the
secondary master.
3. Install XOSL on the slave disk. Make sure
***not*** to select the option that says "Install on
a dedicated partition".
4. Reboot the machine. The XOSL menu will come up.
5. Add WinXP and WinME to the XOSL boot menu.

That's it! You will now have the option of booting into
WinXP or into WinME. In each case the system drive
letter will be C:.
 
Went to the web site you suggested but everything is in Russian (??) so I did
not down load anything. Thanks for the suggestion though.
 
I want to install a second hard drive into my computer. The C drive is Win
XP. The drive I want to install is using Win ME which I want to keep because
of the data on it. Is it possible to install the second hard drive and when
booting up be given the option of which OS I want to boot to. Or does it
need to be done some other way??

I am looking for the easiest, safest and the potentially least destructive
to either drive.
Click to expand...

If you only want the data off the ME drive, install it
jumpered as Slave, with the C drive being jumpered as
"Master with Slave." (You'll likely need to re jumper the C
drive, as if it's been running alone, it is probably
jumpered as "Master" which will not work when you add a 2nd
drive)

You don't need to delete the Me OS to get your data off the
Me drive.

But, if you are ONLY using the Me drive for DATA at this
point, you can safely delete EVERYTHING BUT THE DATA on your
ME drive (once the computer's up and running), to free up
that space for data.

I've done this multiple times.

A SAFER approach would be
1. buy an IDE to usb adapter cable, and use the Me drive as
EXTERnal. In that way, it is easy to detach your backup
data drive (the ME drive) when you want to reformat, without
being afraid of accidents.
2. buy an external hard drive enclosure, so you can simply
turn off the external drive when you're not using it.


Good luck.

Tallahassee
 
Ron, thanks for answering. I already am aware of the slave drive option, but
I am more interested in being able to boot to either drive. You mentioned a
boot manager. Could you be more specific as to how that works and the names
of any products that do that.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Not certain, but I BELIEVE that if you wish to keep ME
active on the D, XP will sense the other OS being there when
you boot, and it will pop a menu, asking you which OS you
wish to use.

I have partitioned my C a few times for 2 partitions,
thereby installing 2 OSs (98 and XP), and in that case--
with 2 OSs on the same drive, XP pops up a menu when you
boot.

Anybody else?

Tallahassee
 
This is an excellent option, tedious but very exceptable. I will also look
into boot managers also. Actually I will get a chance tomorrow to check out
your suggestion.
Click to expand...
The other option, down the road, or immediately, is to
reformat your C drive, and make 2 partitions.

I then install 98 or Me on the D FIRST, and then next time
around, install XP on C.

That way, you have both OSs on C, on two partitions. Where
your data goes is irrelevant, except that you want your main
apps on your main (C ) drive.

Tallahassee
 
Talahasee said:
The other option, down the road, or immediately, is to
reformat your C drive, and make 2 partitions.

I then install 98 or Me on the D FIRST, and then next time
around, install XP on C.

That way, you have both OSs on C, on two partitions. Where
your data goes is irrelevant, except that you want your main
apps on your main (C ) drive.

Tallahassee
Click to expand...

C is an active partition that contains the boot files for an operating
system.
C only describes a whole drive if there is only one partition on the drive.

There is no advantage to reformatting and reinstalling to get both OSes on
one drive.
 
Talahasee said:
Not certain, but I BELIEVE that if you wish to keep ME
active on the D, XP will sense the other OS being there when
you boot, and it will pop a menu, asking you which OS you
wish to use.

I have partitioned my C a few times for 2 partitions,
thereby installing 2 OSs (98 and XP), and in that case--
with 2 OSs on the same drive, XP pops up a menu when you
boot.

Anybody else?

Tallahassee
Click to expand...

WinXP will NOT create a multi-boot menu just because
there is a new WinME disk in the machine.

Furthermore, if the WinXP is installed on an NTFS
partition then WinME will NOT boot from the second
disk, unless the OP uses a proper boot manager.

Since you did this a few times you would remember that
you installed Win9x first, followed by WinXP. The OP's
situation is exactly the opposite.
 
Thanks for the info. I will take a look at that option, but I also found out
that you can use partition magic for this type of idea. But, I am also going
to look downloading the boot manager. So, I basically have 3 or 4 ways to
go. Thanks to all for your help.

Roseeone
 
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