Re: A Dual-boot question; I thought C was always the partition with the running OS

"Pegasus (MVP)" wrote:

"Timothy Daniels" wrote: 
"Al Dykes" wrote:
>
> I've never screwed with booting Windows from more
> than one disk or partition, before, but I was under the
> impression that C: would be pointed to whatever
> partition had the running system.
>
> Now I'm playing with a system that has two disks.
> They show up as C and E.  C has XP, E has server 2003.
> Boot.ini has entries for both but when I puck the second,
> HOMEDRIVE is E.  Which is right, but breaking lots of
> setup scripts. Grrr.
>
> Am I immagining the boot-partition-is-always-called-C thing?


    Have you tried this:  Install the Server 2003 on a separate
hard drive withOUT the WinXP hard drive connected.  The
Server 2003 will then call its partion "C:" Local Disk.  Then
modify the WinXP single-boot boot.ini file so that it will
dual-boot.  (Since it's already dual-booting, you can leave
boot.ini as it is now.)  When WinXP starts up, it will see the
Server 2003 partition as "E:", but who cares?  When
Server 2003 starts up, it will call itself "C:" and it will call the
WinXP partition "E:", but again, who cares?  This will be
a situation analogous to dual-booting between different
clones of the same OS.  Each will call itself "C:" and the
other clone some other letter, but who cares?

*TimDaniels* 

Could you explain why the server installation would appear
as drive C: while both disks are connected? Have you tried
this for yourself? Just because Windows Server was installed
on drive C: does NOT mean that it will stick to this letter
with both disks connected!



   I have not tried this myself.  But why would it not work?
If an OS is installed on an isolated hard drive, it will call its
partition the "C:" Local Disk, just as the OP's WinXP OS
has done.  If the Server 2003 is installed on an isolated hard
drive, I have assumed that it will call its partition the "C:"
Local Disk as well.  Then the situation will be analogous
to having an OS running with its clone visible - the running
OS calls its partition "C:" and it refers to the partition
containing the other OS by some other name, such as "E:".
And when the 2nd OS is running, it also calls its partition
the "C:" Local Disk, and it calls the 1st OS's partition
some other name, such as "E:".  This is what clones do,
so why wouldn't two OSes which have been installed in
isolation from each other do the same?  Please realize
that I'm saying that the RUNNING operating system will call
its partition "C:", while the other OS is merely seen as a
file hierarchy in another partition.  I am NOT saying that
an OS that is NOT running will have its partition known as
"C:" by the running OS.

*TimDaniels*
.

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