DUAL boot on Two drives???

[blackhawk714]

I recently purchased a new drive and want to duel boot Windows XP and Linux. Windows on one drive and linux on another. I want to know if I can use a boot loader or do I have to use a boot disk since I cannot install the boot loader on a certain drive in the MBR. Thanks :)

[freakmn]

It should work fine. I have done a dual boot Win98/Mandrake on 2 drives, so I know that's possible. I'm not sure how picky XP is with its bootloader, but if you don't want to screw with that, I'd recommend bootpart (http://www.winimage.com/bootpart.htm).
That uses the WinNT type bootloader to load any OS. It is said to work flawlessly with XP, so that would fit your needs. Good Luck.

Greg

[je_fro]

http://justlinux.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=105609

[Grommer]

make sure you install XP FIRST, and then Mandrake after that. I made that mistake and couldnt get back to *nix. good luck, and it should go smoothly for you

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by Grommer
make sure you install XP FIRST, and then Mandrake after that. I made that mistake and couldnt get back to *nix. good luck, and it should go smoothly for you

If you are not installing the Linux bootloader in the mbr of hda (primary/master - XP), then it really doesn't matter which order you install XP or Linux.

[sajchurchey]

Yeah, install WinXP first and then install Linux. It's possible to do it in reverse, but it's a good idea to install Windows first on the Primary Master HD.

When u install linux, it will attempt to install the bootloader. Some installation programs (like RH) allow you to write directly to the MBR or on the first sector of the /boot partition. When installing Linux w/ any NT-based windoze (like WinXP), it's a good idea to install GRUB to the first sector of the boot partition.