Hi folks,
I want a laptop with 2 entirely separate Windows XP Pro installs on it: one dedicated entirely for 'Work', the other one dedicated entirely for 'Music'. The set-up of each Windows XP Pro implementation (system set-up, config, drivers, connected hardware, installed applications, file/folder structure, layout, themes, etc.) will be VERY different from one another.
So far, so simple ...
My specific question - which should help me sort out a lot of other related issues - concerns the letters allocated to physical hard-drives (or, in my specific case, 2 Primary partitions on a single hard-drive) and how these affect subsequent Windows implementations on dual-boot PCs.
When creating a dual-boot PC (or multi-boot, for that matter) then, regardless of which Windows implementation the user actually boots up into after turning the PC on, should the Windows installation always be shown as residing on the C:\ partition and the \Windows folder combination
or
Is one dual-boot Windows implementation reflected as C:\Windows whilst the other resides on D:\Windows?
To put this another way, on a multi-boot (or dual-boot) Windows XP machine, does the second Windows XP installation have to reside on (or be installed to) a Primary partition (or physical hard-drive for that matter) with a drive letter assigned as something entirely different to the first installation (that is, something other than the typical "C" partition/drive letter the Windows install defaults to)?
As far as my particular implementation is concerned, can my laptop not be booted up - with the Windows XP 'version' choice being made at boot-up time (via either the Windows Boot Manager or the Acronis boot utility) - into either of the 'Work' or 'Music' Windows XP installations ... but effectively with two "C" partitions which are 'hidden' from each other so that BOTH XP implementations indicate to the user that they have actually been installed on the drive's "C"-labelled partition (regardless of whether this is ACTUALLY the case)?
I suppose what I'm after implies some kind of 'dynamic allocation' of the Windows-recognised drive letters against the physical disk naming convention present in the Boot.ini file (e.g. "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(x)pa
rtition(y)
") during the boot sequence ... which sounds like fantasy as I write this, but who knows!
Whilst the above may sound somewhat 'daft' , I genuinely thought that this was what was meant to occur when I purchased the Acronis partitioning and imaging tools (and, more specifically, by employing their bundled boot manager utility) after I'd installed a second version of Windows XP - Heaven knows how ... but I did!
If this were feasible, it's ideal for me as I will never require access to the 'Work' partition from the 'Music' one or vice-versa.
Thanks in advance ...
If you're bored, you can see my full post here:
http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=PCMus&Number=433197&fpart= which explains more fully what I've done thus far and what I'm striving to achieve. Have a laugh at my expense!
PS I used Acronis Disk Director Suite and True Image for much of the hard work, such as creating a C- and a D-partition (both Primary partitions) and backing up the laptop's original hard-drive (an image I'd still like to use) ... but I'll try anything sensible that works and/or gives me what I want / need. These tools are great (I think) but I just want a solution now!
