Is it possible to have 2 win xp's on separate hard drives?

[xyZed]

I'm having to reformat and start again as my system has got into a
mess after over a year installing and un installing software. Apart
from the back up advantages, I would like to have 2 hard drives in the
same PC, one with my proper XP installation and another I could boot
up from to try out game demos, magazine dvd cover disk stuff etc. That
way I would only install stuff I want to keep on my "proper" system
instead of leaving loads of junk behind un installing.

Is it possible? If not, would restoring to previous state be just as
good in the sense that all traces of software would be removed if I un
installed then reverted back using restore?

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[Glen]

Yes its called duel boot. You dont even need two hard drives. You can just
create two partitions and install xp onto both. After you install it on the
first when you go to install it on the second make sure you choose to
install it in the correct partition and you should have no problems.

The other way would be to install xp once and create a backup image (Norton
Ghost, Acronis TrueIamge) . Then when you install something that you dont
like the look of, you restore from the image. System restore is not a backup
tool. It only protects system files. Dont use it as a replacemet for a
proper backup strategy it will let you down one day.

Its up to you which method you choose. There are pros and cons to both.
Whichever method you choose a proper backup image will always get you out of
trouble.

Glen P

 

[Anna]

Yes its called duel boot. You
dont even need two hard drives. You can just

create two partitions and install xp onto both. After you install it on
the first when you go to install it on the second make sure you choose to
install it in the correct partition and you should have no problems.

The other way would be to install xp once and create a backup image
(Norton Ghost, Acronis TrueIamge) . Then when you install something that
you dont > like the look of, you restore from the image. System restore is
not a backup > tool. It only protects system files. Dont use it as a
replacemet for a proper backup strategy it will let you down one day.

Its up to you which method you choose. There are pros and cons to both.
Whichever method you choose a proper backup image will always get you out
of trouble.

Glen P

xyZed:
In addition to Glen's suggestion, consider equipping your desktop computer
with a removable HD as your second HD. (Two removable hard drives would be
even better, but we'll limit our suggestion at this point to one removable
HD.

The beauty of having a removable HD is that the drive is both physically &
electronically separate from the system when it's not in use. You can boot
to the removable HD in an instant and when you're finished using it you
simply turn its keylock to the OFF position and that's that. You can then
directly boot to your internal HD in the usual way.

Using a removable HD would *not* necessitate purchasing another copy of the
operating system. Through the use of a disk imaging program such as the ones
mentioned by Glen, i.e., Symantec's Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image, or
some such, you simply clone the contents of your internal HD directly to the
removable one. The process is relatively simple and effective. Thus, you're
using the same OS on both drives. You can then obviously modify that second
drive as you wish and use it as you see fit.

Installing the "mobile rack" to house your removable HD is no more difficult
than installing an optical drive. The device is a two-piece affair; the rack
itself which is affixed to your computer's 5 1/4" drive bay and the
removable tray which contains the drive and slides in & out of the rack. You
will, of course, need an available 5 1/4" drive bay on your computer case.
The cost of these mobile racks range from about (U.S.) $15 (all-plastic
models) to about $50 (all-aluminum models). The plastic models work just
fine in our experience.

Once you begin working with removable hard drives I can virtually guarantee
that your only regret is that your current & previous computer(s) weren't so
equipped. It's that good.
Anna

 

[xyZed]

There is circumstantial evidence that on Mon, 23 Jan 2006 18:08:44
_______________________________________________________

Thanks Anna and Glen P

I've already bought an internal hard drive so I will put an external
one on my wish list as I like the idea. I wasn't sure whether there
would be any copyright issues with installing 2 versions of same
software on one PC although to my logic, this would not be a problem
as you can only run one copy at a time and it is exactly the same PC.

I think I will install on the same hard drive but different partition
as having them on separate hard drives would involve changing the BIOS
each time to boot from the second drive.

›
› xyZed:
› In addition to Glen's suggestion, consider equipping your desktop computer
› with a removable HD as your second HD. (Two removable hard drives would be
› even better, but we'll limit our suggestion at this point to one removable
› HD.
›
› The beauty of having a removable HD is that the drive is both physically &
› electronically separate from the system when it's not in use. You can boot
› to the removable HD in an instant and when you're finished using it you
› simply turn its keylock to the OFF position and that's that. You can then
› directly boot to your internal HD in the usual way.
›
› Using a removable HD would *not* necessitate purchasing another copy of the
› operating system. Through the use of a disk imaging program such as the ones
› mentioned by Glen, i.e., Symantec's Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image, or
› some such, you simply clone the contents of your internal HD directly to the
› removable one. The process is relatively simple and effective. Thus, you're
› using the same OS on both drives. You can then obviously modify that second
› drive as you wish and use it as you see fit.
›
› Installing the "mobile rack" to house your removable HD is no more difficult
› than installing an optical drive. The device is a two-piece affair; the rack
› itself which is affixed to your computer's 5 1/4" drive bay and the
› removable tray which contains the drive and slides in & out of the rack. You
› will, of course, need an available 5 1/4" drive bay on your computer case.
› The cost of these mobile racks range from about (U.S.) $15 (all-plastic
› models) to about $50 (all-aluminum models). The plastic models work just
› fine in our experience.
›
› Once you begin working with removable hard drives I can virtually guarantee
› that your only regret is that your current & previous computer(s) weren't so
› equipped. It's that good.
› Anna
›

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[Anna]

Thanks Anna and Glen P

I've already bought an internal hard drive so I will put an external
one on my wish list as I like the idea. I wasn't sure whether there
would be any copyright issues with installing 2 versions of same
software on one PC although to my logic, this would not be a problem
as you can only run one copy at a time and it is exactly the same PC.

I think I will install on the same hard drive but different partition
as having them on separate hard drives would involve changing the BIOS
each time to boot from the second drive.

xyZed:
You can, of course, install the OS on separate partitions of your hard drive
but for a variety of reasons I do not recommend that approach.

Your final comment needs some clarification. Please understand that if you
would employ a removable HD along the lines I described earlier, there would
be *no* need to enter the BIOS to change the boot order priority. With
removable hard drives in their mobile racks you simply boot to that drive.
Do you fully understand that?
Anna

 

[xyZed]

There is circumstantial evidence that on Tue, 24 Jan 2006 11:16:59

› Your final comment needs some clarification. Please understand that if you
› would employ a removable HD along the lines I described earlier, there would
› be *no* need to enter the BIOS to change the boot order priority. With
› removable hard drives in their mobile racks you simply boot to that drive.
› Do you fully understand that?

Indeed I was meaning that because I've already purchased a second
hard drive, my current options are to install Win XP on my new drive
and make it the boot drive, leaving Win XP on my original drive. This
would mean changing the BIOS each time I wanted to use the back up /
test operating system - or to install two XP's on different
partitions on my new drive, and keep my original drive for back up
purposes only.

What negative issues are associated with installing the OS on separate
partitions of a hard drive?


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[Anna]

_______________________________________________________

Indeed I was meaning that because I've already purchased a second
hard drive, my current options are to install Win XP on my new drive
and make it the boot drive, leaving Win XP on my original drive. This
would mean changing the BIOS each time I wanted to use the back up /
test operating system - or to install two XP's on different
partitions on my new drive, and keep my original drive for back up
purposes only.

What negative issues are associated with installing the OS on separate
partitions of a hard drive?

As you say, if you install another copy of the XP OS on a second HD, it will
necessitate entering the BIOS to change the boot order should you want to
boot to that drive from time to time. And as I previously explained that
process would be *unnecessary* should you be working with a removable HD in
that you could boot directly to the OS in the removable HD without the
necessity of entering the BIOS to change the boot order.

The major negative (in our view) re installing multiple operating systems on
a single hard drive is the lack of security. Should the drive become
mechanically/electronically defective, all the operating systems are
affected. Then too, we have seen time & time again over the years how
various software problems (viruses, data corruption, and various other
malware) tend to adversely affect the data on different partitions on the
same drive.

So we generally advise against installing multiple operating systems on a
single hard drive and much prefer their installation on separate drives. To
this end we strongly prefer a hardware configuration of installing removable
hard drives as I've previously described - preferably equipping one's
desktop computer with two of these removable hard drives should that be
physically practicable. Through this hardware arrangement the user can
install multiple operating systems on separate drives with the added
advantage of having at hand a *limitless* number of hard drives that can be
used for any purpose whatsoever.
Anna

 

[xyZed]

There is circumstantial evidence that on Tue, 24 Jan 2006 14:57:08
_______________________________________________________

I've installed my new 300gig hard drive but my Windows 98 CD has gone
missing. The XP I have is the upgrade version so will I need to use
Win 98 Cd to validate a fresh installation? I still have my original
Win 95 CD and even my Win 3.1 floppies lol but I think they are too
old.

Will I be able to point the fresh installation validate request to my
legitimate installation of Win XP on my old drive which will be a
slave in the same computer?

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[xyZed]

There is circumstantial evidence that on Wed, 25 Jan 2006 20:08:33
_______________________________________________________

› I've installed my new 300gig hard drive but my Windows 98 CD has gone
› missing. The XP I have is the upgrade version so will I need to use
› Win 98 Cd to validate a fresh installation? I still have my original
› Win 95 CD and even my Win 3.1 floppies lol but I think they are too
› old.
›
› Will I be able to point the fresh installation validate request to my
› legitimate installation of Win XP on my old drive which will be a
› slave in the same computer?

I'd be interested in the answer to this but it's now academic as I
found my Win 98 CD in the CD drive of my old computer

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