Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (
More info?)
>> "spodosaurus" <spodosaurus@_yahoo_.com> wrote in message
>> news:422592d6$1@quokka.wn.com.au...
>>
>>>Hi all,
>>>
>>>I currently have a win98se and winxp home dual boot setup on my computer.
>>>There have been some annoyances with programs defaulting to C: drive
>>>(win98se) and not giving me the option to install to F: drive (WinXP
>>>Home). I'd like to have the entire hard drive devoted to WinXP Home and
>>>have win98se on an external hard drive for infrequent use. However,
>>>before I buy the hardware, I have a couple of questions:
>>>1. Assuming this is possible, is it as easy as setting the BIOS to boot
>>>from the USB device? (The XP installation on the system's internal hard
>>>drive won't be seen because win98se cannot see NTFS).
>>>2. Can I install windows98se directly to the USB2.0 external drive, or
>>>will I have to install it to an internal hard drive, then remove that
>>>drive and place it into a USB2.0 external enclosure?
>>>
>>>Cheers,
>>>
>>>Ari
>>>
>>>--
>>>spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo
>>>
>>>I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
>>>neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in
>>>hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone
>>>marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow
>>>transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor:
>>>
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
>>>
http://www.marrow.org/
> Art wrote:
>> Ari:
>> To the best of my knowledge there is no way to install Win98 directly to
>> a USB external hard drive. At least I've never been able to successfully
>> achieve this, either using the bootable Win98 installation disk or using
>> a Win9x/Me startup disk with CD-ROM support. I have seen a number of
>> postings in various newsgroups that the user was able to make a direct
>> install of Win98 onto a USB EHD, but I've never been able to verify this.
>>
>> You can, as you've suggested, install your Win98 OS on an internal HD and
>> then install it in a USB enclosure. That will work. But let me suggest
>> another, perhaps more practical alternative in your situation. Since you
>> already have Win98 (with all your programs & data) installed as a
>> separate partition on your single internal HD, why not use a disk imaging
>> program, e.g., Ghost, Acronis True Image, etc., to simply clone that
>> partition to the USB EHD? In addition to its simplicity as compared with
>> the previous method, it would have the added advantage of retaining all
>> of your programs & data presently on the Win98 OS's partition.
>>
>> With respect to booting from a USB EHD - I have never been able to
>> achieve this capability, notwithstanding reports I have read that it can
>> be done. I have worked with a number of motherboards whose BIOS
>> presumably provided this capability, i.e., booting from a USB device, but
>> it hasn't worked for me and as well as others who I've consulted. If
>> anyone responding to this posting has successfully booted from a USB EHD
>> (particularly involving the XP OS), I would be anxious to hear the
>> details of this achievement, including the make/model of motherboard and
>> USB device. BTW, you *can* clone the contents of the USB EHD back to an
>> internal HD and it will be bootable under those circumstances.
>> Art
"spodosaurus" <spodosaurus@_yahoo_.com> wrote in message
news:4226ddb3@quokka.wn.com.au...
> Thanks for the reply Art. I wonder if booting from a removeable caddy will
> accomplish what I want? Any ideas on this? I would assume it would not,
> because of jumper settings :-(
>
> --
> spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo
Ari:
When you mention "removeable caddy" I assume you're referring to a hard
drive installed in a mobile rack. I'm a strong proponent of removable hard
drives. As a matter of fact virtually all of the desktop computers we build
are equipped with *two* removable hard drives. The peace of mind and
flexibility you get from this hardware configuration cannot be
overestimated. With this arrangement, you have, at your fingertips, an
inexhaustible number of hard drives that you can install in seconds from the
comfort of your computer chair. And the ability to clone (using a disk
imaging program) your day-to-day working HD to the second HD simply,
relatively quickly, and effectively for a near-failsafe backup system is
another enormous advantage, not to mention the added advantage that you can
easily create multiple (limitless) backups that are portable in that they
can be removed from the premises, if desired, for added safekeeping. With
removable hard drives you can "play around" with programs and configurations
in ways you would never dream of when you worked with fixed internal hard
drives, secure in the knowledge that whenever something goes awry you will
always have at your near-instant disposal a working clone to fall back on.
With two removable HDs in their mobile racks, we usually configure them as
Primary Master (your day-to-day working drive) and Secondary Master. This
allows a boot from the second drive without having to physically move that
drive (after turning the keylock on the PM to the OFF position). Simple and
effective.
In your situation, with two removable drives you can simply clone your Win98
system to the second HD in its removable tray (caddy). So anytime you want
to boot to that OS you simply insert the tray in its mobile rack (if it's
not already inserted in its rack), turn on its keylock and turn off the
first removable drive's keylock.
Assuming you have available two 5 1/4" bays on your case, seriously consider
installing two removable drives. You'll never regret it. I take that back.
Yes, you'll have but one regret - that your current and previous desktop
computers weren't equipped in this fashion! It's that good.
If you're limited to installing a single removable drive because you do not
have two available 5 1/4" bays to house the two mobile racks, consider
configuring the single removable drive as Primary Master and your day-to-day
working HD as Secondary Master. With this configuration you can easily boot
to whatever disk you have in your removable tray. And when you want to boot
to your SM drive, simply turn the rack's keylock to the OFF position.
Art