Multi boot question

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Steve JORDI

Hi,
I have installed 2 versions of XP on my laptop.
My disk has one partition with 58Gb with my main
configuration and I have another 2Gb partition with
the second XP install.

I use this one to have just XP and run all other
specific applications from an external USB disk.


My problem is that I would like to be able to boot
on each with each copy not being able to see the other
one. And I need the hiding of the other partition to
be AUTOMATIC.

When I boot from the main one, I see an E: disk.
When I boot from the second one, I still see C:

What I'd like is to be able to select from which one
I boot and this one doesn't see the other C: or E:
partition.
Is there any tool able to do this?

Also, most multiboot tools I have tried can hide
the other OS only if it is on a 2nd disk.
I have only one disk with 2 partitions.

Thanks for any help.



Sincerely,
Steve JORDI

(Remove the K_I_L_LSPAM from my email address)
 
Steve JORDI said:
I have installed 2 versions of XP on my laptop.
My disk has one partition with 58Gb with my main
configuration and I have another 2Gb partition with
the second XP install.

I use this one to have just XP and run all other
specific applications from an external USB disk.

My problem is that I would like to be able to boot
on each with each copy not being able to see the
other one. And I need the hiding of the other
partition to be AUTOMATIC.

When I boot from the main one, I see an E: disk.
When I boot from the second one, I still see C:

What I'd like is to be able to select from which
one I boot and this one doesn't see the other C:
or E: partition. Is there any tool able to do this?

Also, most multiboot tools I have tried can hide
the other OS only if it is on a 2nd disk.
I have only one disk with 2 partitions.
Click to expand...

Competent boot managers can easily hide partitions from each other, whether
those partitions are on one disk or two. What you need, though, is to
reinstall your second (E:) installation. It sounds like you installed the
Microsoft way (hence, the C: and E: boot partitions), which thereafter
requires you to use the Microsoft boot loader, which cannot hide partitions
from each other. You cannot, after the fact, switch to using a third-party
boot manager to try and gain its partition-hiding features.

Background:

Multiboot methods fall into two general categories: the Microsoft way and
everyone else's way. The two methods use incompatible concepts and cannot
simply be substituted for one another. The MS way intertwines the OS's and
uses boot.ini to define the available OS's in the boot menu. The
third-party way does not intertwine OS's and uses a separate boot manager,
not the boot.ini file. You can't mix the methods by installing your OS's
without intertwining and trying to control the multiboot through boot.ini,
or vice-versa, installing the Microsoft way and then trying to use a
third-party boot manager.

In a nutshell, the Microsoft way intertwines the OS's by always booting
through the same partition and then forking to one or another operating
system on different drive letters (C: and E:, in your case). Third-party
boot managers keep OS's totally independent and truly boot separate
partitions as alternate "C:" partitions. The Microsoft boot loader cannot
hide partitions from each other. Third-party boot managers can keep OS's
hidden from each other, so when you boot XP #1 it will be designated C: and
the #2 partition will be hidden, and when you boot XP #2 it will be C: and
the #1 partition is hidden. OS's that are hidden from each other reduce the
risk of one messing up the other. OS's that are independent installations
are much easier to upgrade or eliminate later. Further details are
available at my website, www.goodells.net/multiboot -- see the sections on
the boot process and multiboot methods.

Since your second installation is already installed as E: and is using C: as
its startup drive (what MS calls the "system" drive), you'll need to wipe it
out and reinstall it so it doesn't boot through the other partition.
 
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your clear explanantions.

Now one more question...
If I Norton Ghost the E: partition, then wipe
it totally, install a boot manager, can I
"unGhost" it back to that partition in order
not to have to reinstall it?
Reinstalling the second Windows would be too
time consuming now.

But you're right, I installed them the Windows
way, C: then E: and windows prompts me at startup
which one I wan and then works to the appropriate
one.

Thanks for your help.


Sincerely,
Steve JORDI

(Remove the K_I_L_LSPAM from my email address)
 
Steve JORDI said:
If I Norton Ghost the E: partition, then wipe
it totally, install a boot manager, can I
"unGhost" it back to that partition in order
not to have to reinstall it?
Reinstalling the second Windows would be too
time consuming now.

But you're right, I installed them the Windows
way, C: then E: and windows prompts me at startup
which one I wan and then works to the appropriate
one.
Click to expand...

No, that won't work. Ghost (and any other imaging/cloning program) will
merely put back exactly what is there now -- a partition that sees itself as
E: and expects to boot through another partition first. Of course, that's
exactly what you want from a cloning program <g>. They won't fix problems,
they simply return you to a known good state, but the system has to have
been in that known good state first in order for you to save an image of it.
 
No, that won't work. Ghost (and any other imaging/cloning program) will
merely put back exactly what is there now -- a partition that sees itself as
E: and expects to boot through another partition first. Of course, that's
exactly what you want from a cloning program <g>. They won't fix problems,
they simply return you to a known good state, but the system has to have
been in that known good state first in order for you to save an image of it.
Click to expand...


Humpf! That's too bad :-(

I think that for now, I'll go on like this. If I need to
reformat/reinstall, then I will use a boot utility first.

As a developper, I reformat my machine at least twice a
year since Windows is a self-degrading application. Sometimes,
cleaning up things with a fresh install is better.

Thanks anyway.

Steve


Sincerely,
Steve JORDI

(Remove the K_I_L_LSPAM from my email address)
 
By the way, which tool would you recommend if I reinstall
the second partition?

A tool that would be installed first with the existing
main C: partition, then that would allow me to hide that
partition and install a second copy that would also appear
as C:
The tool I'm looking for would auto-hide the other OS depending
on which I decide to boot (what I call "exclusive sight").

Thanks again for your help.


Sincerely,
Steve JORDI

(Remove the K_I_L_LSPAM from my email address)
 
Steve JORDI said:
By the way, which tool would you recommend if I
reinstall the second partition?

A tool that would be installed first with the existing
main C: partition, then that would allow me to hide that
partition and install a second copy that would also
appear as C:
The tool I'm looking for would auto-hide the other OS
depending on which I decide to boot (what I call
"exclusive sight").
Click to expand...

I use XOSL (http://www.ranish.com/part/xosl.htm). It's freeware, can hide
any partition (in the extended partition it can even hide one volume while
leaving another visible), and can boot operating systems from both primary
and logical partitions. I'm multibooting 6 OS's, including 3 that boot
straight from logicals without having to go through a primary partition
first.

Another excellent option is BootIt NG (www.bootitng.com). It's more than
just a boot manager, it's also a partitioning tool (like Partition Magic)
and a partition imager (like Ghost or DriveImage) -- 3 tools wrapped in one
for a bargain price of $35 (shareware, 30-day free, fully-functional trial).
 
Hi Dan,

I bought and installed BooIt NG finally. Excellent application.
It allowed me to start from a fresh copy of my XP and then
repartition it the way you described. That let me install another
XP on the other partition and I have exclusive visibility between
the two of them.

Each one has its main disk as C: what is definitely what I wanted.
And you can't see the other partition from the one I boot from.

Thanks again for your support. I'm up and running exactly the
way I wanted.




Sincerely,
Steve JORDI

(Remove the K_I_L_LSPAM from my email address)
 
Steve JORDI said:
I bought and installed BooIt NG finally. Excellent application.
It allowed me to start from a fresh copy of my XP and then
repartition it the way you described. That let me install another
XP on the other partition and I have exclusive visibility between
the two of them.

Each one has its main disk as C: what is definitely what I wanted.
And you can't see the other partition from the one I boot from.

Thanks again for your support. I'm up and running exactly the
way I wanted.
Click to expand...

Great, glad to hear it! Multibooting with BING is definitely a cleaner
method than the MS method, and the partitioning and imaging functions of
BING are a great bonus. I'm sure you'll be much happier this way.
 
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