dual boot setup question (drive letters)

[chavey]

I'd like to install Vista and XP dual boot on a new system. I need to install Vista first, because it's the OEM version. I'll leave room on the disk for XP when I install Vista, so I won't have to shrink the Vista partition. Otherwise, I'll follow one of the many guides out there for installing XP second (recovering the Vista boot sector and all that.).

I have a question about drive letters. When I install Vista, it will be on the C: drive, and the partition that will eventually hold XP will be D:. When I install XP, and when I'm running XP, I would like XP to map the second physical partition that I reserved for it as C:, and the Vista partition as D:. I don't want XP to think it's on D: when it boots, just to avoid the hassle of things like driver installation programs that shouldn't be, but are sensitive to stuff like that. (Plus you just get used to having Windows on the C: drive).

If I follow the usual procedures to install XP dual boot, will this happen automatically, or is there some magic I can do (Disk Management in control panel or whatever) that will achieve this effect?

 

[pat mcgroin]

You're pretty well stuck on the drive letter assignments. Back in DOS days I know that you could remap drive letters, but with windows It could be very confusing. (at least to me) And Im not sure how windows would accept it internally. As for the drivers they will map to the correct locations in whatever op sys you are currently installing from.
Since you are doing a new build there are things that you can do to ease some of the confusion and save some disk space.
Create 3 partitions with the third for data and programs. Once the 2 op systems are installed you can change the location of all of the common folders such as my docs,music,shared, mail etc to be shared on the data drive. That way no matter which system you are on all of those things will be in common locations eliminating many causes for reboots and endless searching.
Another bit of house keeping involves any programs that you wish to run on both operating systems. If using office for example install it into a folder on the data drive for the first op system. Then reboot and install the program for the other op system in the same folder as the first op system. Most of the files will be the same and will just add the special ones for each system. Trust me neither op system will get confused as the registry keeps things in order but it does solve the trouble of haveing to have 2 complete copies of the same program on 2 different partitions, thus saving many Gigs of space.

Ps one other thought I just had and have never tried concerns the pagefile for each system. I have heard that you can combine those also. I have always left them alone as I firgured they contained unique info for each system and may actually slow the system, but I have never tried it. Maybe someone else has a little more insight on that.