Is simultaneous dual-boot possible?

[RobotAngst]

I'm not sure the correct Tom's forum to ask this under, so I'll try here. I'd like to run Windows from one HD and run Hackintosh or Linux from another HD. And I'd like them both to boot at the same time, so I can freely switch between them without rebooting. My goal is to use Linux or Hackintosh for more secure web surfing and use the Windows HD for most apps. I'm planning on getting a 2600k Sandy Bridge chip this weekend -- not sure whether its hyperthreaded 4 cores might aid in this goal.

So is this possible? If so, would someone please point me in the right direction?

If it's not possible, can anyone suggest a good substitute? I imagine the solution might be to run inside Windows a virtual machine version of Linux or Hackintosh. In such a setup, would it be helpful or problematic to have the other OS on its own hard drive?

 

[hollett]

You can not run two O/S directly on the same hardware at the same time.

However a good alternitive is to use a virtual machine and run your Linux or other O/S in that enviroment.

There are a number of free versions out there including Microsoft Virtual PC, VMWare Player and Oracle VirtualBox. All have there plus and minus points so worth doing a bit of research.

 

[13thmonkey]

if the sole goal is for 'more secure web surfing' i'm sure there are better ways of achieving this, being careful where you visit and keeping security uptodate for instance. (BTW Apple were recently marked down heavily on security because they delay patches for so long, leaving gaps open for longer)

 

[LePhuronn]

"more secure web browsing"?

How about just don't go to porn sites and don't download dubious files?

 

[fowang]

+1 on the last one lol!!!

 

[clarkjd]

I am currently running Win7 Pro and I use VMWare Player to boot to Ubuntu. works seamlessly and was very user friendly to set up. I boot to windows, then start the VMWare Player, whenever I want to use Ubuntu and can swap between the two without having to reboot. Highly recommended! ( and it's FREE!)