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Dual boot questions

Post Date: 2008-01-21
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Ratqueen View Drop Down
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  Quote Ratqueen Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Dual boot questions
    Posted: 21 Jan 2008 at 11:34pm
I'm thinking of buying a dual boot system, XP Home + Vista Home Premium. Also, I'll probably get 2 hard disks of 500 GB each.

I understand each OS must be installed on a separate partition or hard disk. Does Digital Storm give us the choice of how we would like this to be configured? For instance, can we choose to have 2 partitions of a desired size on disk 1 (one for each OS), or 1 OS installed on disk 1 and the other on disk 2? Or is there some kind of default configuration DS will automatically go with when we choose a dual boot system? (because I didn't see any options for that in the custom build editor).

Also, I'm not clear about something (and I'm sure this is a very stupid question, but I'm not familiar with dual boot systems at all):

How does each OS see the remaining space? For instance, if I have 2 partitions on disk 1, one for each OS, can they both access programs I would install on disk 2? (providing I would install them under that OS). Or do programs that I install under one particular OS need to be on the same partition as that OS?

What about data? Can things such as text files, images, or proprietary format files be shared between XP and Vista if I have the same program to read them installed under both OS?

Sorry, I'm very confused about all that, so any details would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you :)
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Tyler Lowe View Drop Down
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Tyler Lowe Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 21 Jan 2008 at 11:43pm
I did all of this stuff myself, and learned the hard way (I seem to be good at finding the hardest way to do anything Tongue).
 
The way I have things set up, is an OS drive, which is split into 4 partitions. The first two partitions are about 5GB each. The remaining space is divided between XP and Vista, with Vista recieving a slightly larger chunk. Then I have a data drive which I use for basically everything else.
 
My swap files are set in the first two partitions of my OS drive. One for Vista, and the second partition for XP. The closer to the first portion of the HDD a partition is located, the faster the access time, which is why I set my swap files up this way ( I'm scoring higher than alot of RAID setups for HDD performance in the PCmark comparisons).
 
Now... when it comes to whether or not both OS can use a program, that really depends on the program. This is one reason why I gave each OS alot more space that it requires. Some programs just don't play well with multiple OS, so I install seperate instances of those few apps for each OS right in the logical drive I have the OS on.
 
As far as text files and so on, there should be no problem in accessing them from either OS.
 
edit:
 
The ideal situation would be to have a couple of small HDD's, one for the dual OS, and one for swap files, and then a larger drive for apps and data. So, something like 160 GB HDD, 80 GB HDD, 320 GB HDD (or whatever size you think you might need for storage).


Edited by Tyler Lowe - 21 Jan 2008 at 11:47pm
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Ratqueen View Drop Down
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  Quote Ratqueen Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Jan 2008 at 12:03am
Originally posted by Tyler Lowe

The way I have things set up, is an OS drive, which is split into 4 partitions. The first two partitions are about 5GB each. The remaining space is divided between XP and Vista, with Vista recieving a slightly larger chunk. Then I have a data drive which I use for basically everything else.


That seems like an ideal configuration, with the swap files on the first partitions. I just don't know whether Digital Storm gives us a choice as to how we'd like this setup when selecting a dual boot system (and I'd prefer to avoid messing with that myself). Maybe they only split the first drive into 2 partitions, or automatically install an OS on each hard disk if we have two? That's one of the things I'm wondering about.
 
Now... when it comes to whether or not both OS can use a program, that really depends on the program.


Oh... I wasn't even considering installing a single instance of a program that would run on both OS. Didn't even know that was possible, except if the program doesn't write to the Registry.

So, let's say I have 2 (or more) partitions on disk 1, and I install the same program twice, once under each OS, on disk 2. So far, so good? The programs don't need to be on the same partition as their OS, right?
Now, say I have an email program installed under both OS. Will my email program be able to use the same data files, regardless of which OS I'm using it with at the moment?

This is one reason why I gave each OS alot more space that it requires. Some programs just don't play well with multiple OS, so I install seperate instances of those few apps for each OS right in the logical drive I have the OS on.


But you could also install those programs on disk 2? Or would each instance have to be on the logical drive the OS is installed on? That's one of the things I'm not clear about.
 
As far as text files and so on, there should be no problem in accessing them from either OS.


Regardless of where they are located? Either partition or either hard disk?

Sorry for all the questions, and thank you for your help :)
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Tyler Lowe View Drop Down
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Tyler Lowe Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Jan 2008 at 12:15am
So, let's say I have 2 (or more) partitions on disk 1, and I install the same program twice, once under each OS, on disk 2. So far, so good? The programs don't need to be on the same partition as their OS, right?
 
Yes, this is correct, but I found it extremely confusing to keep things straight when navigating my HDD's. One problem is, the different OS will assign different letters to the same logical drives. So when you're looking around from XP, you may be looking at drive H: for a program, while in Vista, that exact same drive could be drive G:.
 
In the end, I just installed programs that write to the reg twice, and put everything else on the larger disk for common use. I know it isn't *space* efficient, but it's less confusing, so with storage space as cheap as it is, I went for convenience.
 
Now, say I have an email program installed under both OS. Will my email program be able to use the same data files, regardless of which OS I'm using it with at the moment?

Not that I have been able to accomplish Unhappy. What I do is use Vista for my email, and for surfing the web, and then swap back to my squeaky clean XP with about 21 running processes when I want to do some gaming. Once you grab an email from one OS, I have yet to find a way to access it from the other.

But you could also install those programs on disk 2? Or would each instance have to be on the logical drive the OS is installed on? That's one of the things I'm not clear about.

Again, yes, you *could*. Maybe you'll be able to keep everything straight. It drove me nuts.

Regardless of where they are located? Either partition or either hard disk?
 
Yes, regardless of where they are located, but you may find it difficult to track down exactly where everything is stored when looking for it from the other OS (remember the drive letters play musical chairs....)


When it comes to what DSO will do by default, I would just ask them if they would be willing to do the partitions as you would prefer it done. They may want to charge a small fee, but I am sure they can accommodate you with a specific request for partitions and dual boot install.


Edited by Tyler Lowe - 22 Jan 2008 at 12:21am
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Posts: 128 		  Quote Getout Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Jan 2008 at 12:56pm

What do you gain by having a dual boot system?   Why is this needed?  Sorry o take it off topic just really curious to why this is needed. 
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  Quote Ratqueen Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Jan 2008 at 2:37pm
Originally posted by Getout

What do you gain by having a dual boot system?   Why is this needed?  Sorry o take it off topic just really curious to why this is needed. 



Well, it's mostly because I have a few games that I love and know don't work on Vista. I'm also a bit weary of completely letting go of XP, which I've always like very much.

However, I read that XP deletes Vista restore points every time we boot it, and that the solutions to avoid this annoying problem are not necessarily obvious. Maybe too much of a hassle... besides juggling with extra partitions and logical drive letters that don't show up the same in both OS.

Not quite sure what I'm going to do yet. Maybe I'll go with Vista only, and keep my old computer around for as long as it's willing to work (it's almost 6 years old though).
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