Interesting read - "running dual OS for multi-purpose PCs"

I found this post at a home-recording forum that I read. It sounds like a good set-up for my own personal needs, but I thought I'd post it here and get a few opinions about it...

########################################################

If you have the space for it on your software harddrive, make an extra partition (a physical harddrive can be divided into several logical drives, behaving as different harddrives) for only music work and a partition for all the other stuff. You can have 2 different installs of windows (doesen't even have to be the same version) on the two partitions, so you can uptimize the one for music and keep it free of all the ekstra software that you want to have on your everyday office/gaming computer. I've done that since I started using my computers as DAWs 4 years ago, and it works very well.

How to setup a multipartition system:

*If installing all over, and able to format the whole harddrive (By far the best solution!!)*

1a. Backup anything on the harddrive that you might need again to another physical drive or another computer.

2a. Boot from the Windows installation disk and use the menus in the beginning to delete any existing partitions on the harddrive (will delete EVERYTHING on the disk, so backup FIRST if reusing a harddrive).

3a. Create a partition for normal use, by creating a partition and selecting a size between 10 and 25 GB (I use 20 GB and thats more than enough for me for Windows + Office + Firefox + a cpl of games and so on).

4a. Install Windows on the newly created partition.

5a. Boot on the Windows install CD again.

6a. Create a music partition (about 10 GB + space for any large software synths that you might have)

7a. Create a partition in the rest of the space for data, music files, documents and other stuff (this way you won't have to backup when reinstalling windows, cos that will only affect the Windows partition that you are reinstalling to, which needs formating).

8a. Install Windows again on the second partition. Next time you boot you will get a menu, asking you to choose. The one on the top of the list will be the last one you installed.


*If you have already got a Windows installation that you want to keep, and want to partition the drive without loosing the existing partition *

1b. Get a program like Partition Magic. I don't know how many other programs are able to divide an existing partition without deleting data, but Windows partition manager and the one in the Windows install CAN'T! Partition Magic sometimes comes for free with your harddisk, and theres also a demo version, but Im not sure if the demo will do.

2b. Backup any important documents you might have to another computer or another physical harddrive.

3b. Use Partition Magic (or similar) to shrink your C drive to about 10-20 GB.

4b. Create a partition for your music (about 10 GB + space for any large software synths that you might have)

5b. Create a partition in the rest of the space for data, music files, documents and other stuff (this way you won't have to backup if reinstalling windows later on, cos that will only affect the Windows partition that you are reinstalling to, which will need formating).

6b. Install Windows again on the second partition. Next time you boot you will get a menu, asking you to choose. The one on the top of the list will be the last one you installed.


*Generel setup of multipartition systems*

Im kinda guessing the names in the next part, becourse I use a Danish version of Windows XP, but try to figure out what I mean if it's not the correct names.

Drive names and letters
If you open the Control Panel -> (Switch to advances view in the upper left corner) -> Administration -> Computer Administration -> Disk Managment. In here you can rename drives, change letters on drives (I like to have my logical drives named in order, starting from C: ) and change partitions. You can not resize existing partitions, so you will have to delete them and create new ones to change them in here.


Changing the boot menu and renaming the items
Open START -> Right click My computer -> Choose properties->Select the Advanced tab -> Click the settings button in the lower square ("start and something") -> Click the edit button.

In here you edit the boot menu. Take a little time to look at the lines, and you will figure it out! Mine looks like this after a little edit:

Code:
[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="Normal" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Musik" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect


The one in the default line will be chosen automaticly after <timeout> time. Change the little numbers to those of the other partition if you want the other one to be primary. I have named my partitions "Normal and "Musik" as you see, and you can cut and paste if you like them to come in a different order in the menu. The top one in the file will be the top one in the menu, but NOT necesarely the default one.

Save and close when done, click ok in the window and close the rest of the windows that opened on the way in.

(It IS posible to change default partition and timeout in the screen before you clicked the edit button, but if you edit it will override the other values, even though they don't change when you save and close. You can't edit partition names out here though, and they will be named the same if it's the same version of the operating system)


In generel
Keep ALL you documents, data, music, holyday pictures and other important stuff on a seperat partition or physical drive than the one Windows is installed at! Do not just put them in the "Documents" folder! By keeping it apart, you can always format the Windows partition and start over again without loosing anything. This advice goes no matter how many or few Windows partitions you might have. It is also easier and a LOT faster to defrag the Windows partition this way.

###################################################

The original thread can be found at this addy...
http://studio-central.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1086&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

So if I were to install a second instance of XP and tweak it for recording and music (and not using it for internet applications, etc), would it be safe (or at least safer) from being affected by viruses that the other OS might pick up from the net?

I'm very curious about this. Thanx a bunch!

~Maxx