Re: OT: Multiple WinXP installs on one box

[Per Boysen <per@boysen.se>]

On 04-01-14 06.30,  "Jesse Ray Lucas" <jlucas@neoprimitive.net> wrote:

> I'm thinking of splitting my system into three OSes.
> 
> 1.  An install of WinXP for internet crap, games, email, etc. etc.
> 
> 2.  An install of WinXP optimized for audio, with nothing but audio apps
> installed.  
> 
> 3.  An install of Linux for backing up SCSI drives from my sampler,
> experimenting, running an FTP server when I need one.
> 
> Can you have multiple WinXP OSes on the same machine?  I know older 
>Windows
> OSes usually didn't like that.

Yes. You can do anything. Just be sure to partition the drive and make the
bootable partitions invisible to each other. Use the software Partition
Magic which comes bundled with Boot Magic. When you boot your pc Boot Magic
will let you pick which partition you want to boot from and the system
installed in that partition will not see the other partitions with other
systems installed. It might be a good idea to keep at least one partition
(or a second hard drive, drive D) that can be reached from within any of 
the
bootable partitions. Just so you can move stuff between your different
operating systems.

On PC I have been using the above set-up for years. Keeping one partition
for office work and internet, a second for pro audio recording (paying
clients), a third that is an exact replica of the second (to be able to
reboot and keep the workflow up instead of trouble shooting Windows), a
fourth that also is a copy of the second but used for beta testing 
software.

For a while I also ran Win98 and WinXP on the same machine, but installed
into hidden bootable partitions. This was to be able to test Logic betas 
and
compare performance under different systems.

 
> Could I so something like this using different users?  I don't think it 
>would
> be quite the same though, because all the bullshit program entries would 
>still
> be in the registry mucking things up...

Yes you are right and no it's not the way to go. I'm definitely 
recommending
Partition Magic and closed, hidden bootable partitions for different OS
installations. It's very easy to set up. You just need to have a lot of 
disc
space. 

There might be some more to discuss about Win XP online authorizing in this
context, but I'll leave that out for now ;-)


-- 
Best wishes

Per Boysen
www.boysen.se
www.looproom.com