Re: Dual Boot for transition to new drive

>> "JohnWRS" <JohnWRS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:6253A237-8397-4719-8023-7EB4366ACAED@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> > I've read through many dual boot posts and still wonder about one
>> > thing.
>> > I have a new HD (WD Raptor 740) and I want to install WinXP Pro on it.
>> > I'd rather not suffer the hours of software reinstallation in one
>> > sitting
>> > and I want to be able to return to my old WinXP Pro installation on the
>> > original drive to continue work as necessary. It makes sense to me to
>> > install the new drive, then install a dual boot version of Windows XP
>> > Pro
>> > on it. In time, as I complete application installations I'll work
>> > exclusively on the new drive/WinXP installation. However, i'll have
>> > the
>> > safety blanket of the old WinXP Pro available. I have multiple legit
>> > copies of WinXP Pro, so licenses are not an issue.
>> >
>> > So, is there something I'm missing here? Is there a downside or risk
>> > to
>> > dual-booting two copies of WinXP Pro on two drives as a transition
>> > method?
>> > Alternatively, I've thought of simply disconnecting the unused WinXP
>> > Pro
>> > drive, but then of course the contents of that drive are not available
>> > to
>> > access when it's off line. Perhaps a way to avoids any
>> > complications/issues with dual boot.
>> >
>> > Appreciate your insights.
>> >
>> > Best regards,
>> >
>> > John


> "Anna" wrote:
>> John:
>> In addition to the recommendations from others who have responded to your
>> query, you may want to consider equipping your desktop computer with two
>> removable mobile racks to house your Raptor and whatever other drive
>> you'll be using as a backup.
>>
>> The beauty of this arrangement is that you can boot to either one of the
>> drives by a simple turn of the keylock switch on the mobile rack. No need
>> to access the BIOS; no need to use a "boot manager" or other software
>> application; no need to make any physical cable changes. And each drive
>> is isolated from each other, except when *you* decide to have both
>> connected during bootup.
>>
>> Using a disk imaging program such as Symantec's Norton Ghost or Acronis
>> True Image, you can clone the contents of one drive to another drive.
>> It's an ideal backup system for many, if not most, users.
>>
>> The hardware arrangement I speak of is designed for desktop computers,
>> not laptop/notebooks. So if you're using the latter, read no further.
>>
>> You will need two available 5 1/4" bays on your computer case to house
>> the mobile racks. (Actually, you can work with only a single mobile rack
>> and use another internal HD, but the flexibility you gain from having two
>> removable drives is most advantageous).
>>
>> If you, or others are interested in this hardware configuration, please
>> so indicate and I'll provide further details re installation, costs
>> involved, etc.
>> Anna


"JohnWRS" <JohnWRS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:C166E2B3-79C3-4D2A-83E8-4CEEDB7E6CEE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Thanks, Anna. I presume you mean that either disk may be engaged as the
> C: drive, but both disks could not be engaged at the same time. If I
> wanted to transfer files, they could be moved to a non-system, data disk
> that is engaged continually. Sort of "dual-booting" by brute force.
>
> Could you supply some details about the hardware and costs? Along with
> Pegasus, I am concerned about data integrity/drive reliability, and I'm a
> little concerned about putting an additional connector in the circuit.
>
> For what it's worth, both the old C: drive and the Raptor are SATA.
>
> Best regards,
>
> John


John:
First of all (and let me first respond to those users with PATA drives),
both hard drives in their mobile racks *can* be connected simultaneously
with no problem whatsoever. In the case of PATA drives, the system will boot
to the drive connected as Primary Master, which of course, will be the usual
position of one's day-to-day working HD. So there's no conflict. The second
HD in its mobile rack will ordinarily be connected as Secondary Master, but
in most cases can also be connected as a Slave on either IDE channel should
the user prefer that alternate configuration for one reason or another.

Assuming the second drive is being used primarily or exclusively as a backup
device, that second drive will be simultaneously connected (remember, just a
simple turn of the rack's keylock) when the user employs a disk imaging
program such as the ones I previously mentioned to clone the contents of
his/her working drive to the second drive. Or, if the user simply wants to
copy/move files from one drive to another, then both drives will be
connected. Again, there's no conflict that arises in this situation. And
again, I want to emphasize that when we speak of a mobile rack's
"connectivity", we're speaking about a simple turn of its keylock.

In the case of the SATA drives, such as the ones you're using, you simply
originally establish the boot order in your BIOS the first time after the
drives and the mobile racks have been installed. A one-shot deal. So your
Raptor will be first in order of boot priority and your other SATA drive
will be second (assuming that's your choice). So when you want to boot to
the second drive, you simply turn off the keylock on the mobile rack
containing your Raptor. If you want to boot to your Raptor and still have
the second drive connected, then both your racks are turned to the "On"
position. It's that simple.

Please don't be concerned about installing an "additional connector in the
circuit". There's absolutely no problem here, regardless of whether you're
working with PATA or SATA drives.

If you (or others) still want me to provide some further details re the
installation, operation, and costs involved in this hardware configuration,
I'll be glad to do so. But before doing so, first tell me if I've answered
your questions to date to your satisfaction and you feel reasonably
comfortable pursuing this subject.
Anna


"JohnWRS" <JohnWRS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
Anna,
Thanks for the added clarification. I am interested in pursuing this
two-rack-soulution. I've looked at the racks on the Kingwin.com site. I
think I'd prefer the alumninun enclosure.
- Do you recommend Kingwin or another supplier?
- The only difference I see (other than the face colors) is the number of
cooling fans. I'm inclined toward one fan... my office alreay has plenty of
fan noises... since I don't think the drives have a very heavy (heat
producing) demand. Does this make sense to you or do you recommend two or
three fans?
- I expect to pay about $20 per drive kit.

As I envision it, the disk that serves as the boot disk is always treated as
the C: drive. So, when both drives are engaged the Raptor is C: (and
designated in the BIOS as the boot drive) and the old OS disk is treated as
a
mere data disk and assigned a different drive letter. When the Raptor is
off-line, the old OS disk resumes it role as C: and the boot disk. Does
that
sound right? I'm attracted to this as a way to revert to my old drive to
install and evaluate software without placing my primary (Raptor) drive and
OS at risk.

I am more comfortable with this hardware solution instead of dual boot
software, though there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Best regards,

John


John:
About a year or so ago, in response to a request I received from a computer
club, I prepared an article for their monthly bulletin outlining the
advantages of equipping one's desktop computer with removable hard drives
and providing some details about their installation & use. Slightly edited,
here it is. I trust you (and others possibly interested in this hardware
configuration) will find it of some value. Note that I referred to the
connection/configuration of PATA drives since that was the primary interest
of my audience. Using SATA drives would even simplify the configuration.
I'll respond to your specific questions following the article.

Assuming your desktop computer has two available 5 1/4" bays, i.e., vacant
bays that you can utilize, you can equip your computer with two removable
hard drives in their mobile racks. By equipping your computer in this
fashion you will, for all practical purposes, be able to simply and easily
maintain a
near fail-safe backup system and at the same time be able to experiment with
different programs and configurations with the full realization that should
anything go awry you will be able to return to your original system and
configuration in a near-instant. And accomplish all this from the comfort of
your computer chair with no need to get inside your computer case to make
cable/power disconnects and connects. It's close to an ideal system for
many, if not most, desktop computer users and I can virtually guarantee that
once you begin working with this arrangement you'll never want to return to
the "old" way. It's that good.

The hard drives are housed in so-called mobile racks that fit in the 5 1/4"
bays of a desktop's computer case. The racks are easily installed in a
computer's case; virtually no different than installing any other 5 1/4"
device such as a CD/DVD device. The racks themselves are two-piece affairs
with the HD residing in a removable tray that slides in and out of the rack.
The beauty of this arrangement is that the drives can easily be accessed
from outside the computer case. Note that these mobile racks are designed
for desktop computers and are not feasible for laptops/notebooks because of
the latter's size/weight considerations.

So by using a disk imaging program such as Symantec's Norton Ghost or
Acronis True Image or other disk imaging program, you can routinely clone
your day-to-day working hard drive to the second drive, thus having a
virtual bit-for-bit copy of that working drive. And through the use of
additional removable trays you're free to create additional clones on hard
drives that you can easily remove from the premises for near-absolute
security. Then again, you can use separate (limitless!) hard drives for
whatever purposes you desire -- different operating systems, photos, one
each for your children and for the visiting grandchild, etc. And you're free
to make clones of *those* drives if you so desire. And when the day comes
that
one or another of your hard drives goes to Hard Drive Heaven (Hell?), it's a
simple matter to replace that drive from the comfort of your computer chair
without having to get inside your computer case.

In my opinion the best arrangement is to have *two* removable hard drives
installed. Assuming you're using PATA drives, one mobile rack containing
your day-to-day working drive would be connected as Primary Master and the
second rack (usually) connected as Secondary Master. With this configuration
you could boot to whichever drive you desired simply by turning the other
rack's keylock to the Off position.



However, if you have only a single 5 1/4" bay available to house one mobile
rack, you can still profitably use a single removable hard drive. In this
instance you would have your day-to-day working hard drive installed as a
fixed internal drive and the second drive would be your removable drive. The
fixed internal drive (i.e., your C: drive) would be configured as Secondary
Master while the removable drive would be your Primary Master. During normal
operation the removable drive would be electrically disconnected from the
machine by a simple turn of the mobile rack's keylock to the Off position.
(For additional safety, you could even physically disconnect the removable
drive from the computer by a simple pull of the rack's handle. No more
difficult then opening a desk drawer). So the system would boot to your
internal hard drive. When a time comes where you want to boot from the
removable drive you would simply connect it by turning the keylock to the On
position. Since it's configured as Primary Master, the computer will boot to
that drive. Using this configuration, the user wouldn?t even have to remove
the removable tray housing the HD.

Do you see the enormous advantages of this hardware configuration? Now you
can safely play around with a wide variety of programs and configurations on
your day-to-day working hard drive, confident that if anything goes awry
(even to the extent that your drive becomes physically or electronically
defective), you have a perfectly good bootable clone that is virtually
instantly at hand. And you can easily clone back to your internal drive
(assuming it's not defective) the contents of the previously cloned
removable drive.

There's a wide variety of mobile racks available ranging in cost from about
$15 (all plastic) to $50 and up for the all-aluminum models. Interestingly
enough, in my experience the cheapest models seem to work just as well as
the more expensive ones. Installing them is no more difficult then
installing a CD-ROM or other 5 1/4" device. You can do a Google search of
"mobile racks" to peruse the many different available models.

I can assure you that once you begin working with removable hard drives
(preferably two), you'll have one and only one regret -- that you didn't
have this hardware configuration on your previous desktop computer(s).



John, in response to your specific questions...

The Kingwin brand is fine. Their KF-91 model (aluminum) sells for about $24
(incl. shipping) at ZipZoomFly.com. Another SATA mobile rack I've been using
is the Athena MR-125 (plastic) which sells for about $25 at newegg. The
advantage (to me) of the Athena is that rather than using a keylock to turn
the device on or off, it uses a simple push button. Seems to work fine.
There are a number of mobile racks that are equipped with two fans (some
with even three fans!). I see no problem with a rack that has a single fan.
I've worked with scores of different mobile racks over the years and except
in a single instance, I can't recall *any* problem of overheating with these
devices. Bear in mind that most of the time you'll be working with only one
drive running except when you're cloning the contents of one drive to
another or copying/moving data from one drive to another.



Your comment re the configuration of your two SATA drives is on-the-mark.
That's exactly how you'll configure them.

Anna


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