dual boot option

[06Skywalker]

sorry many questions but any answers are much appreciated, thank you

i have read the stickies on 64 bit and 32 bit but i still cant decide!, im going to buy vista shortly and cant decide if i want home 32 or 64 bit! what im thinking, is buy 64 bit (so im future proof) and for now dual boot so i will have my current windows xp prof + vista 64 bit home (as so many people say 64 bit is a nightmare)

i would use 64 bit to play my games and take full advantage of extra ram (which i also need to buy, i have 2 gig at mo)

does this sound sensible or just plain greedy and/or stupid??

my current HD is only 140gb (WD Raptor) so i was thinking about buying another HD for one of the OS, i have a feeling this wont be possible because OS require C:, am i correct or could i have C: = xp and D: = vista (for instance)

im going to upgrade my proccor from AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ AM2 to AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ AM2, this proc can run 32 and 64 bit correct?

last question:

if i install on xp and want to use it when i use vista do i need to install that game/prog twice?

thanks guys

EDIT- With my upgrades my pc will be as folllows

HD 4850
AMD 64 6000+ (6400+ if i can get good price)
ASUS M2n32 WS Prof
2GB (2x1GB) Corsair XMS2 PC2-6400 DIMM (will get 2gb more, or consider new ram altogether)
WD 140 GB Raptor 10,000rpm (maybe another HD not sure what yet)
V7 20" monitor 1400x1059 / 60hz
Hiper 580W Type-R Modular PSU

 

[carnageX]

If you install an OS onto a different hard drive, it'll work just like you would normally. I have Vista and Ubuntu dual booting on a separate hard drive than my XP drive, and when I boot into XP, XP is C: and Vista is another letter, and if I boot into Vista, Vista is C: and XP is another letter.

 

[06Skywalker]

arh thats good news then, what about programs? must they be installed twice or once? ie firefox/avast/spyware blaster ect ect, o.k i found an answer and its yes BUT registry on some programs is a pain and can cause problems ect ect,

what do you guys do use a program to try and overcome the problems or just install everything twice?

 

[carnageX]

If you have multiple OS's, you have to install everything twice, even if the programs are on an external drive. There are registry issues, as well as hidden files in the AppData folder that are important to the programs. Unless the program doesn't require installation, and is just a stand-alone EXE (which you could run from multiple OS's from the same source)...you would have to install things twice.

 

[06Skywalker]

i see, thanks for your advise i much appreciate it.

 

[carnageX]

No problem.