Re: Daul Boot of Two WinXP. How to get "C:\WINDOWS" in both cases?

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Ron Sommer wrote:
<q_q_anonymous@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1158283210.741718.43800@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
:
: Timothy Daniels wrote:
: > "Bruce Chambers" wrote:
: > > You'll need to use a 3rd party partition and boot manager to hide each
: > > partition from one another, so that each installation will "think"
it's
: > > on C:.
: >
: > Not true, as Pegasus found out. As long as an OS was installed
: > without another previous installation in view (i.e. not "hidden" or
: > on a disconnected HD), the new installation forever after will,
: > when its running, know its own partition as "C:", and it will call
the
: > other partitions - including the partition containing the OS that
: > calls its partition "C:" - by other letter designatins. This is
true
: > even when using Microsoft's standard ntldr boot manager.
: >
: > You can check this out easily by simply cloning an OS that calls
: > its own partition "C:" to another HD. Then boot that clone OS
: > up in isolation from the original OS's HD (e.g. by first
disconnecting
: > the original HD). The clone will boot up as "C:". Then reconnect
: > the original HD. The original OS will boot up as "C:" and call the
: > clone's partition something like "D:" or some other letter. Then,
: > by adjusting the boot.ini file that the original OS uses or by
changing
: > the BIOS's HD boot order, boot up the clone. Now the clone will
: > call its partition "C:" and call the original OS's partition "D:" or
some
: > other letter. Each OS - WHEN IT IS RUNNING - will call its own
: > partition "C:". This NOT to say that there are two partitions
called
: > "C:" simultaneously by either running OS, but that each of the 2
OSes
: > will call its partition "C:" when it is running.
: >
: > *TimDaniels*
:
: no doubt that by disconnecting a HDD you don't want to use, one could
: cause the OS on an active partition of the other HDD to be C.
: And yes, by telling the BIOS (boot sequwence or enable/disable a hdd)
: to boot off a particular HDD, one would use the active partition on
: that drive
:
: But what would one change in boot.ini to cause C to apply to whichever
: partition it boots from?
: >From my limited use of boot.ini I have found that the partition
: boot.ini is on which is also the active partition, will be C. And
: whichever other windows is booted through it, will not be C. (and I
: think won't and may as well not have boot.ini either, though irelevant,
: it's not active).
:
: The desktop of the 'other' windows loaded throug boot.ini
: ("d:\documents and settings\...." or e:\doc... ) uses D or E e.t.c.
: I'll bet the windows directory is d:\windows e.t.c.
:
: So I am not clear on what you say about boot.ini
:
:
: Regarding methods-
: The way of "Hiding a partition"/ "making a partition hidden". But
: AFAIK that cannot be done in windows without 3rd party software.
:
: I do of course agree with you that one doesn't need 3rd party software
: ..
:
: I think changing the BIOS boot sequence is reasonable. So i'd agree
: that one can boot from 2 different OSs (if 2 different HDDs). Very
: easily .
:

For simplicity I will only talk about Windows XP Home and Pro.
If Windows XP Home is installed on an active partition, then it will be on
C.
If you change the first active partition either by installing another drive
or making a different partition active, you can install Windows XP Pro. It
will be installed on C.
You will still be able to boot either Home or Pro, by adding the partition
location of XP Home to the XP Pro boot.ini file.
If you boot Home or Pro, they will be on C.

If you don't change the active partition and install XP Pro on a different
partition, it will have a different drive letter and the Home boot.ini file
will be updated to boot Home or Pro.
--
Ron Sommer

I think you're right..
though tim didn't mention about needing to change the active paortition
ALONG with the boot.ini change, I think he meant that.

Even if you tell boot.ini to boot from a partition of another disk
whose partition is active, that partition still won't be C. The
partition boot.ini was run from is C. There is a case where you can
boot from anothe rpartition, and let that partition be C, without
changing the active partition. THat is when you tell the BIOS to boot
from another drive which has an active partition. But of course , I
wasn't referring to that. In relation to just changing boot.ini, what
tim referred to, You have to change the active partition to change
which is C..
Funnily enough, when you do that, changing boot.ini is irrelevant, it's
a different boot.ini that is loaded.
So I don't see what Tim was getting at talking about changing boot.ini
causing a change in C. Without mentioning changing the active
partition.
I think you're right talking about changing the active partition. But
that's not quite what Tim said.

.

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