Re: Dual boot system
- From: "Timothy Daniels" <NoSpam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2007 11:18:02 -0800
If you don't want to download, install, and learn how
to work a 3rd-party's boot manager (and perhaps keep
it updated), you can use your BIOS to switch between
the two HDs - and thus between the two OSes.
The BIOS keeps a list of connected HDs (which some
BIOSes call the "Hard Drive Boot Order"), and the BIOS
will pass control to the MBR of the HD that is at the head
of that list. The HD's MBR will look in the HD's partition
table for a primary partition that is marked "active", and
then it will pass control to the Boot Sector of that partition.
The Boot Sector will then pass control to ntldr (the standard
boot manager for the NT/2K/XP family of OSes).
At the time of installing XP, the XP installer will see and
recognize other MS OSes, and it can be requested to kludge
boot procedures for them, but once XP is installed, it's ntldr
cannot boot ME. Thus the requirement for either a 3rd-party
boot manager or use of the BIOS to switch between OSes.
To use the BIOS to do the switching, just take control of the
BIOS at startup (check your user's guide). For Dell machines,
entry is gained by pressing Del. Then navigate through the
BIOS setup pages until you get to something that either lists
the connected HDs or "enables" a particular HD. Either put
the desired HD at the head of the list or "enable" it. Then
exit the BIOS and let the machine continue its startup. The
OS on the selected HD will be booted as if it were the only
OS in the system.
You can also accomplish the equivalent by use of a removable
HD tray called a "drive caddy" or "mobile rack". Just slide in
the tray containing the desired HD, and that HD becomes the
connected HD. Here is just one producer of mobile racks:
http://kingwin.com/mobileracks.asp
The kind with a single ventillation fan in the bottom of the tray
cools really well I've found. Prices are about $22-$25 for the
rack and tray, and around $15-$20 for extra trays. Check
Nextag.com and PriceGrabber.com using the model nos. for
latest "street" prices.
*TimDaniels*
"Ed Mc" wrote:
I have XP with one active, primary, ntfs partition. Can I put a 2nd hard drive
in, then install WindowsME, for a dual boot system? Would ME have its own fat32
boot partition? Or, would I have to somehow change the ntfs partition on my #1
hard drive? Thanks for help.
--
Semper Fi
.
- References:
- Dual boot system
- From: Ed Mc
- Dual boot system
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