(2) OS's on 1 HDD - How?

[HAVOC]

OK. I''ve never actually done this and haven't really ever had to. What I want to do is install the Longhorn Beta on my current HDD with my Windows XP SP2 OS. I want to be able to boot to either or at anytime.

Can this be done without formating or reinstalling XP? I know there is a utility called, "system commander" which allows you to boot directly to it's GUI and then you can pick which, up to 10 partitions with OS's installed on them.

So how can I do this with out System Commander?

 

[macdude425]

Ahhh...ze magic of ntldr.

When you install Longhorn (assuming you have blank space on your HD) it will add ntldr and edit boot.ini so that at startup, you will see a menu of XP or Longhorn. You can choose from those two.

However, if your XP partition takes up your entire hard drive, you may have problems.

 

[RicoDirenzo]

http://www.bootstrike.com/WinXP/dualboot.html

Check it out...your answer is in there.

 

[HAVOC]

So basically I need to partition another available space on my HDD. I can either format HDD and install 2 or more partitions. Or use a program like partition magic to avoid formating. Then install "Longhorn beta" on a new partition.

Got it. Thanks

 

[RicoDirenzo]

Bingo!