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Dual Boot Involving Two Hard Drives

  • 18-11-2007 5:24pm
    #1
    alan4cult
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,583 ✭✭✭


    I'm pretty much a newbie when it comes to Linux but I have tried some of the Live Distros.

    I want to install Ubuntu and XP on my Machine. I'd like to have XP on Hard Drive 1 and Ubuntu on Hard Drive 2. I don't want to use partitions.

    Can anybody point me to a good guide for this or could they explain here?

    Another Question. How would I tell the computer which OS to Boot. Is there a built in boot manager or would I need to change the boot order to choose the hard drive?

    I really am a dummy when it comes to Linux and I just don't want to make a mess and get a bad impression of Linux.


Comments

  • #2
    corkie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭corkie


    from your pc bios you can selected which drive to boot from first.

    depending on your choice of linux distro, it will install a boot loader (more than likely grub) which you then select which drive or system to load on booting.

    google search: dual+booting+multiple+hard+drives


  • #3
    alan4cult
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,583 ✭✭✭alan4cult


    So how do I install the linux distro onto my second hard drive. Can I just use the Live CD and Install from within the Live OS? Does the Bootloader appear on every startup or only when you press a key?


  • #4
    Michael Collins
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 1,851 Mod ✭✭✭✭Michael Collins


    Yeh, as Corkie says there's two methods:

    One is to use a bootloader which will ask you at startup which OS you want to boot.

    The other is to install a completely seperate copy of both OS's and let your BIOS take care of it (most BIOS can do this, unless your PC is old or a really cheap one!). Then you can usually just press a key on the keyboard like ESC or something which will present you with a bootlist of which HD to boot to.

    Both have their advantages and disadvantages:

    The bootloader method is easy to set up and you can set your own predefined delay as to how long will the "Which OS do you want to boot" screen appears.

    The BIOS way is cleaner as if one OS gets damaged somehow, the other one will usually be unaffected. But it gets annoying to always remember to press that damn ESC button. If you forget to press it you have to wait till the wrong OS boots up and shut it down and try to remember next time! It might sound a small problem but it can get VERY annoying!


  • #5
    Tobias Greeshman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,082 ✭✭✭Tobias Greeshman


    It's very simple really, I assume you already have the second hard drive installed and XP is probably on the 1st hard drive or something similar. Ubuntu is great it does everything, you won't have to go messing with settings and boot loaders to get both OS's bootable. Just start installing Ubuntu and either start partitioning the second hard drive, or tell the installer to use the second hard drive for ubuntu (just be careful, you choose the write hard drive (probably sda will be your first hardrive and sdb will be your second). The OS will install away, put grub into the MBR (Master Boot Record), and add references to your Windows XP installation.

    When the installation is finished reboot the computer and you now have the choice of which OS to load.


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