Dual Boot

[wynnstate]

I have windows x64 installed on my pc, but it does not work right for all 32 bit applications. I want to install winxp 32 bit on my external hard drive so that I can run both. Is there any way to fool the bios into thinking that the external hard drive is internal (winxp cannot be installed on externals)? Taking the HDD out of the external case is not an option as I have to return it to its owner sometime in the future. It is a 100gb QueM3 firewire drive

[Windows98]

Are you trying to install windows on an External hard drive because you are going to connect it to another computer.... That wont work on the newer version of windows cause, I trued it before. It will give you an error message cause the devices ex. video card, sound card. Will be diffrent then what it has stored. Id you just want to install 2 diffrent OS, I recomend you have an Old OS install first then install the new OS as new clean install instead of update. That really would work better. I Don't think Windows will work on external hard drives because 1. You always have to transfer infomation back and forth and a USB firewire can only go so fast. 2nd. If your wire becomes loose or falls off for some reason it will hurt the computer

[wynnstate]

no, I just wanted to use the two different operating systems on my one computer so that I could run all my old 32 bit apps.  I dont believe that there is any way to repartition my existing hard drtie without losing everything so I want to install the second os on my external.

[Mac]

How is your drive partitioned and how much free-space does each partition have?

I have XP on drives C: and D: as you can see at left. I have also had Windows Server 2003 running in its own Folder on the F: drive.

[pcbuilder]

hello mac,

xp allows you to use multiple o/s on your pc.
what you need to do is create as many partitions on your disk as o/s you wish to install.

i.e  3 o/s = 3 partitions.

then install each o/s to a partition.

when you "boot up", xp will ask you which o/s you want to run.

give it a try,

regards pcbuilder

[Mac]

That is what I am doing now...

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professionnel" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons