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Hi to the tech Gurus,
I would lke to install Windows 7 on a second Harddrive. I have Xp already. Here`s the question:
I want to do this without bootmanager stuff. This is what I`d like to do. Is this possible?
* Detach the current C Drive
* Put the Sata cable from the previous C-Drive into a new HD.
* Install Windows 7 to the new Harddrive (should now have the letter C, shouldn`t it?
* Switch between the old XP drive and the new 7 drive by simply switching the SATA cable (when the Computer is off, of course)
Is that just a little "milkmaid-kinda-phantasy" or is that possible - or will there still be conflicts?
Sandra
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BIOS might complain about the boot drives being changed, but should be doable..
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Hi Sandra,
To give you a bit of background before I answer your question ...
I run Ubuntu (Linux) on one hard drive and Vista on a second hard drive. When I installed Ubuntu, it loaded a boot manager which allows me to choose between Windows and Linux.
The reason I'm telling you this ...
... is because I accidentally discovered that if I want to boot directly into Windows, all I need to do is to change the hard drive boot order in my BIOS. That is, when my Ubuntu hard drive boots first, I get the boot manager. When my Windows hard drive boots first, it goes straight into Windows.
I suspect that if you change the boot order of your BIOS to boot first from CD/DVD (for installation purposes) and to boot second from the drive that you want to install Windows 7 on, you'll be able to install Windows 7 as an operating system on your new hard drive.
Then, when you want to boot from the old hard drive with XP, it should be a simple matter of changing the boot order in the BIOS so that the XP drive is first to boot. Given my experience, that's what I'd be trying. It's certainly far easier than unplugging/plugging cables.
All the best,
Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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I guess I can`t have to C drives on simultaniously. That`s why I had the idea of switching the cables. My computer is open always anyway, so that won`t be aproblem.
rharv: Why would the bios complain? Is there somthing I forgot?
Sandra
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Does installing a second OS to another HD affect the first HD somehow? I mean, does it write something into the boot.ini of C or whatever funny files are there?
I DO NOT want my C drive to be affected by this at all, otherwise I could do the thing with the bootmanager. But if I do so and later on want to get rid of the second OS, the MBR will be damaged, right, so I would have to repair it.
Sandra
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Hi, Sandra - You might want to read this post about using two drives. I used to do it Noel's way (going into BIOS and selecting which disk I wanted to boot from). I didn't have any problems with this. When you do that, your boot drive will (by default) be the C: drive and the other drive will show up as the D: drive. This assumes there are no other partitions on either disk. So, if you boot to the Win7 drive, Win7 will be C: and you'll see the XP drive as D:. Conversely, if you select the XP drive to boot from, XP will be C: and Win7 will be D:. However, what I do once I get everything set up is to go into "Manage Disks" and change the drive letter of the non-booted OS to the Z: drive. That puts it in the bottom of the list and prevents me from accidentally selecting it and maybe deleting something important. This method (as Noel said) avoids having a boot manager, which can work, but sometimes gets screwed up when Windows does updates. That's why I preferred Noel's method.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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I have also done it the way Noel and John describe, although not in several years, and not since I switched all my machines to Windows 7.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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The thing to be careful about with dual booting Win7 and XP is that you can end up wiping out restore points (I can't remember which way it goes). There are some workarounds to that, and I don't think it does it if the OS's are on completely separate drives (not the same as separate drive letters, since you can partition the drive into multiple drive letters). I would just make sure I take a disk image every now and then to make sure all works smoothly.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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As for the BIOS, it is a security feature on some. The BIOS on my XP machine lets me know whenever a hardware change is discovered and asks if I'm sure I want to boot from that drive. This can be nice in an office where security may be an issue; wouldn't want to boot a machine onto my network if I knew someone had changed the hard drive and it wasn't me.  Kind of like those cases that alert if you they have been opened the next time it boots. Problem with both is that whoever tampered with the machine simply has to boot it once, delete the message and shut it back down. It can be annoying when I am the one changing thee drives around though.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Hey guys,
I think I`ll go Noel`s way. Sounds good. I wasn`t aware, that the Bios changes the drive letter anyway, that`s cool. I think, that`s just what I need.
I doubt there will be problems with the restore points. I`ve heard that too, but only on mashines with the OS`s on one disk/ 2 partitions. But I never use partitions. I like seperate Harddrives for each thing.
ONE LAST QUESTION:
What would you consider a "normal" temperature for a HD. Are constant 40°C too much?
Thanks a lot, Sandra
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Sandra,
If you have windows 7 on drive number 2 and Windows XP on driver number 1, drive 1 will be the C drive when you boot up XP and drive number 2 will be the C drive when you boot up Win 7. Windows 7 essentially has a boot manager built in. You don’t have to do a lot of changing boot orders or cables or anything like that, especially with the newer SATA drives. If you have the older IDE drives it might be more complicated, I can’t recall.
Setting up a dual boot system on two drives with Win 7 is relatively easy. Just do it this way:
First to be absolutely sure that I didn’t regret that I was born, I would CLONE the current XP drive and set it aside as a backup against disaster. You probably won’t need it, but if something blows up in your face, you can always take the clone and just plug it into the computer and you are at least right back where you started before you changed anything. I’ve learned at least this valuable lesson. Nothing bad happens when I back up. It only goes haywire when I don’t and then with absolute certainty.
Next, of course you want that second drive installed in your machine to accept the Win 7 installation. Once you have it in and functioning, shut down your computer.
Next you are going to BOOT from the Win 7 Installation disk, tell it to INSTALL NOW and when it asks you where you want to install the OS choose the new drive NOT the one that currently has your XP installed. If you have more than one partition on the new drive choose the primary.
When the computer is restarted you should get a monochrome screen with two boot choices, EARLIER VERSION OF WINDOWS and WINDOWS 7. You will get this screen each time you boot up. You choose which OS that is going to boot here. Usually the default is the OS that you last booted I think. I think you have about 30 seconds to make the decision but if you want to change that default time you can do it in the BIOS.
Keith
2026 Audiophile Windows 11 RYZEN THREADRIPPER 3960X 4.5GHZ 128 GB RAM 2 Nvidia RTX 3090s, Vegas,Acid,SoundForge,Izotope Production,Melodyne Studio,SONAR,3 Raven Mtis
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I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Quote:
Sandra,
If you have windows 7 on drive number 2 and Windows XP on driver number 1, drive 1 will be the C drive when you boot up XP and drive number 2 will be the C drive when you boot up Win 7. Windows 7 essentially has a boot manager built in. You don’t have to do a lot of changing boot orders or cables or anything like that, especially with the newer SATA drives. If you have the older IDE drives it might be more complicated, I can’t recall.
Setting up a dual boot system on two drives with Win 7 is relatively easy. Just do it this way:
First to be absolutely sure that I didn’t regret that I was born, I would CLONE the current XP drive and set it aside as a backup against disaster. You probably won’t need it, but if something blows up in your face, you can always take the clone and just plug it into the computer and you are at least right back where you started before you changed anything. I’ve learned at least this valuable lesson. Nothing bad happens when I back up. It only goes haywire when I don’t and then with absolute certainty.
Next, of course you want that second drive installed in your machine to accept the Win 7 installation. Once you have it in and functioning, shut down your computer.
Next you are going to BOOT from the Win 7 Installation disk, tell it to INSTALL NOW and when it asks you where you want to install the OS choose the new drive NOT the one that currently has your XP installed. If you have more than one partition on the new drive choose the primary.
When the computer is restarted you should get a monochrome screen with two boot choices, EARLIER VERSION OF WINDOWS and WINDOWS 7. You will get this screen each time you boot up. You choose which OS that is going to boot here. Usually the default is the OS that you last booted I think. I think you have about 30 seconds to make the decision but if you want to change that default time you can do it in the BIOS.
This is the right way. Don't know why you'd want to consider anything else.
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I grabbed 2 HDD tray units Like This and have never looked back. I got them for $22 shipped when on sale. So I now have 1 installed, 2 drive trays for my OS drives (Win7/Mepis Linux) and a back up internal unit. When I want to switch I just swap out the trays. 
i5 3.20GHz, 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD OS, 12tb HDD, 4gb gForce vid card, 32" monitor, Audient id44, Win10 x64, BiaB/RB 2023, Reaper 6,IK Multimedia Total Studio 3.5 MAX, Waves 10
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Quote:
ONE LAST QUESTION:
What would you consider a "normal" temperature for a HD. Are constant 40°C too much?
Thanks a lot, Sandra
Sandra,
you mentioned previously that your computer case is always open... is this the reason? To keep the computer cool? If so, you should be aware that leaving a computer case open has the opposite effect.
When there is one small opening for air to enter the case, the computer designer can direct it to the hottest part of the motherboard. Restricted airflow forces more cooling air to the same place, and the enclosure also keeps the air inside the case, forcing it across the entire motherboard before it exits the case at the vent.
Conversely, when the case is open, the suction created by the fan dissipates too quickly and the air from the fan just blows out the sides before it cools anything. Therefore, a computer with an open case generally runs hotter
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