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want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer (Read 7928 times)

phenix

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want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer
Jan 9^th, 2009 at 2:10pm

Purpose: to move an internal sata XP PRO version to an external eide drive, so that I can install a fresh XP PRO on the internal SATA drive and then move data to that fresh OS from the external drive.

I used System Commander by Avanquest to copy the XP PRO from the SATA to the external EIDE (connected with USB). This worked.
(my knowledge of SC is not at the expert level). SC handles the MBR, partitions, deletes partitions, creates partitions etc.
From this point on I had nothing but problems. Such as: couldn't boot into the external drive, shut down problems, modifications on one drive modified the other etc.
With SC I deleted the external drive and restored the XP PRO on the SATA drive with Acronis True Image to get the computer back to a state that would run.
The project at this point is at a standstill. My assumptions are that there is some quirk in SC that evades my knowledge.
Thanks for any suggestions

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Brian

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	Re: want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer Reply #1 - Jan 9^th, 2009 at 2:41pm phenix, I'm trying to understand what you want to accomplish. Do you want two WinXPs on the same internal SATA HD, completely independent of each other? Do you want a common data partition that either OS can access? How large are your HDs? How much data on each? Partitioned? One or two internal HDs?
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phenix

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Re: want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer
Reply #2 - Jan 9^th, 2009 at 3:20pm

Thanks for responding Brian. I'll try to answer each question.
1. 1 WinXP on the Eide Drive.
1 WinXP on the Sata drive.
2. yes, completely independent of each other
3. No I do NOT want a common data partition.
4. the eide drive is 120G
the sata drive is 40G
5. both drives will end up with about 16g each
6. both drives have only one partition (the entire drive)
7. one internal drive, one external drive

If you need any more info I will be most happy to respond

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Brian

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	Re: want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer Reply #3 - Jan 9^th, 2009 at 7:38pm phenix, OK. I'm catching on. How will the external HD be connected? If it's USB I'd say forget it. It's extremely difficult to get a USB external HD to boot WinXP. If the external HD is eSATA, that will work or if both HDs are internal, that's OK.
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phenix

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	Re: want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer Reply #4 - Jan 9^th, 2009 at 8:23pm The external drive is connected with USB. Thanks for your help.
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Brian

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	Re: want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer Reply #5 - Jan 9^th, 2009 at 10:17pm Do you really need two OS or do you just want to use the data files from the current OS in a new OS?
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phenix

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Re: want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer
Reply #6 - Jan 10^th, 2009 at 7:17am

I could use 2 OS. It's my wifes puter but I would like to test progamming in the other drive from a Vista Puter. She doesn't like my stuff showing on her desktop.
However, it looks like I'll have to do without and export her IE email and FireFox bookmarks to the external drive and do a fresh OS in the
main drive and import the stuff back on the main drive.
Nothing is ever easy....drat it.

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phenix

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	Re: want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer Reply #7 - Jan 10^th, 2009 at 7:39am I hate to admit this but I went into the BIOS on the XP Puter and checked to see if the EIDE drive was turned ON. It WASN'T. I know you said that XP wasn't bootable from an external drive connected with a USB cable. I'm tempted to try again with the BIOS turned. What do you think?
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Brian

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Re: want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer
Reply #8 - Jan 10^th, 2009 at 1:13pm

phenix,

Quote:

Microsoft denies that booting Windows off a USB drive works

...but this page tells you how to do it. Good luck.

http://www.ngine.de/index.jsp?pageid=4176

You have other alternatives which are easier. Have both WinXPs or two WinXPs and Vista on an internal HD. They would work on your IDE HD or from a larger SATA HD. I suggest a common data partition but this is not compulsory. You could have your and you wife's email stored in the common data partition and not in the relevant OS. This makes backup easier.

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TheShadow

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Re: want 2 XP Pro OSs on same computer
Reply #9 - Jan 11^th, 2009 at 8:00am

After running the defrag program called the "Defraggler" my XP drive would not boot. It was for all purposes un-repairable. But the data was intact.

So I installed a second HD INSIDE my PC and installed XP on it, doing a clean install. Since then I've been copying files from the old drive to the new one as I need them. Eventually when I have everything off of the old drive that I want, I'll wipe it and then just make a clone of the new drive to the old one, making it usable again.

In the mean time, I'm testing Windows 7 on a third hard drive.
I find it's easy and best to keep each OS on its own hard drive.
Then if there's a problem with any OS or drive, you can just remove that drive or work on it without effecting the other OS's.

I wouldn't dream of trying to use a USB hard drive for anything but Ghost backups and maybe some data backups.
BUT, USB is just too slow for real-world computing. Wink

Even if you DO get it to work, you won't like it!
Unless of course you're into inflicting pain on yourself. Angry

Good luck and a Happy 2009!

Shadow Cool

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