Dual boot questions.

[David M]

I am designing a new computer and want to make it a dual boot XP-Vista machine.

Instead of partitioning the drive, would it make sense to put XP on one drive and Vista on a second drive? My thinking is if one drive fails, I still at least have a computer that works. It would also be easier to reinstall one OS instead of two OS's if I do have a drive failure.

Could this be done? If so, would it make any sense to do this? Would I get a screen that comes up when I turn on the computer that asks which OS do I want to boot into?

Could this be done in a RAID 5 configuration?.. (three drives) ...just curious about that doing that.

Could I simply unplug one SATA connector to a drive and leave the other plugged in as a way of selecting which OS gets booted?

Also, when I make changes to the BIOS, do these changes affect both operating systems? What if they do and one OS does not like the settings but the other OS does like the settings....then what do you do? I ask because I plan on overclocking and I want both OS's to be able to work on an overclocked machine.

Thanks

[EzyStvy]

Two drives would make things a little bit easier...But it's not as easy as unplugging one drive...

In a dual-boot configuration, Windows XP does not start if you subsequently format or delete the partition on which Windows Vista is installed
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922809/en-us

Pretty sure there's another aritcle about zapping XP...

[glc]

Do not use RAID 5 with only 3 drives - you need 4 or more to do it right.

[David M]

Does anyone know of a good reference that describes in detail how to set up a dual boot computer on two separate drives?

How would the computer "know" that Vista exists on a separate drive if that drive is not even plugged in? Would the BIOS somehow know?

Why would it not be as simple as plugging and unplugging the SATA connectors to select between operating systems?

Can the same exact BIOS settings run either Vista or XP?...or is there a BIOS setting where you have to select either one or the other?

[EzyStvy]

Normally, you'd have both drives hooked up when you install Vista After Xp is up n running. Vista is going to place bootup files on the XP drive and create a boot menu so you can select which OS to use....

If you unplug the XP drive when you install Vista, you'd always have to enter the bios and tell it which drive you want to boot off of.

[David M]

EzyStvy, how would you go about doing this? Install XP or Vista first? Do you know of any good online references that describe how to do this?

Thanks!

[glc]

VERY easy if you install XP first.

http://www.tweakvista.com/article39206.aspx

If you want to dual boot XP and Vista and XP is already installed on your computer you will not have to do much work to dual boot vista. Just boot to your Windows Vista install DVD, select a custom install and install Vista on a separate partition or physical drive than where XP is installed. This will leave your XP install intact and automatically install a boot menu with both XP and Vista listed.

This procedure will depend on the primary drive being functional - if it craps, neither OS will boot. If you want to use RAID, this will work fine, just partition the array and install Vista on a separate partition. This works because a multiple drive RAID array appears as a single drive to the OS. If you use RAID 5, any one of the drives can crap and the array will still be functional, replace the failed drive and do a rebuild. As I said, I do NOT recommend only 3 drives in RAID 5, there is no margin for error and from what I understand it will not perform well.

HOWEVER, if you want 2 completely separate installs on 2 separate drives, connect one drive, install XP, disconnect it, connect the second drive, install Vista. Reconnect both drives and control the boot with the bios hard drive boot order. This is NOT feasible if you use RAID unless you set up 2 totally separate arrays. I do not know what controllers would allow this in any kind of setup and boot selection method that would make sense.

I have no idea what bios settings might work with one OS and not the other. You will probably have to find that out for yourself by trial and error.

[gods_son_is_me]

Here's were I was directed when I wanted to do a dual boot of XP Home x86 and XP Pro x64:

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1910

It worked perfectly with pics and everything.

Good luck.

Ps. You have to install the *older* one first, which would be XP. Then once both are loaded, you can set which you want as default, or you can choose at start up, and not in the BIOS.

[glc]

The thread concerns dual booting XP and Vista, not XP 32 and XP 64, and the article I referenced tells you how to do it installing either one first.

[David M]

Thanks GLC....much appreciated. I know how to approach it now. I think I will do a RAID 1 with both OS's on a couple fast drives. If one of these drives in RAID 1 crashes then I should still be okay. I will then do a third and larger drive (750GB) for mass storage for my photos and music and other future stuff.

So one more question... Will XP and Vista be able to share a larger third drive automatically or do I need to partition one part of the third drive for XP and another part for Vista? Or is it better to assign one large drive to Vista and one to XP? Here I go, four drives again, which I was trying to avoid. At least it is more like JBOD than RAID 0+1.

[WJWheels]

David.. you asked about plugging & unplugging. Well, a few years ago my grandson was into playing Roller Coaster Tycoon. It only ran well with windows98. I added an old harddrive to my main computer (running W2k at the time) and installed win98 and also the Roller Coaster Tycoon game. When he wanted to play it, I jus shut down the PC; switched the ribbon to the W98 drive and booted. It worked slick as can be.

I guess you'd call it a "manual" dual boot.

[glc]

David, the third drive will be available to both OS no problem, just use it for data, don't install software to it. XP and Vista both read and write to NTFS.

DEFINITELY partition your RAID, you don't want both OS on the same partition.

[David M]

Originally Posted by WJWheels David.. you asked about plugging & unplugging. Well, a few years ago my grandson was into playing Roller Coaster Tycoon. It only ran well with windows98. I added an old harddrive to my main computer (running W2k at the time) and installed win98 and also the Roller Coaster Tycoon game. When he wanted to play it, I jus shut down the PC; switched the ribbon to the W98 drive and booted. It worked slick as can be. I guess you'd call it a "manual" dual boot.

Thats interesting Wheels. I was curious if that would work. Now I know.

I think though, so I don't have to switch SATA cables to go between operating systems, that I am going to partition a RAID 1 setup using two 1TB drives and leave it at that. This keeps it relatively simple and if one drive crashes I am still okay meaning I wont have to reload two operating systems. Also, with 500MB allotted to each operating system, I will have enough drive space for my games, music, pictures and whatever future stuff there might be.

I have a hypothetical question: What if one drive of my RAID 1 crashes? Do I have to repartition the replacement drive? How does it work? Does it repair itself automatically simply by plugging in the new replacement drive? I know it mirrors the other drive but is it that simple? I have never had a drive failure in my current RAID 0+1, so I don't know.

[glc]

Depends on the controller and its rebuild capability.

I'd go with the 3 drive scenario - it's easier to share data between the 2 OS that way and keep things sorted out. You can point both OS to the same My Docs/My Pics/My Music/etc. structure.

[David M]

Originally Posted by glc Depends on the controller and its rebuild capability. I'd go with the 3 drive scenario - it's easier to share data between the 2 OS that way and keep things sorted out. You can point both OS to the same My Docs/My Pics/My Music/etc. structure.

I had no idea you could access the same files from two different operating systems. I like that a lot!