move documents and settings folder

[Snorklis]

Hi!

Is there a possibility to move the documents and settings folder under winnt for example, without any lost functionality? Can it be done using search and replace in registry, replacing the searchway?
Or do I have to modify the setupfiles and make a re-installation?

The reason is that I would like to have W2k and WinXP on the same partition, and by default, you can have different systemfolders but not documents and settings folders... (and thats really lame.. really...)

 

[Smilin]

the OS will just rename the folders to let them coexist:

C:\documents and settings
+-----User one
|
+-----Administrator
|
+-----Administrator.nt

or something like that. might be a .000 extesion it adds or the name of the computer, can't remember.

 

[Snorklis]

okey, thats good! I also did find a key in the inf files to modify that path.

Do you know how it works with the program folder 'folder? Do the XP installation overwrite the w2k installation when the filenames are the same?

 

[Smilin]

*usually* it's not the "program files" that are the problem but the registry entries. Since w2k works out of the "winnt" folder and xp runs out of the "windows" folder, your registry hives should be safe. You'll still have to install the app twice, once for each os. Some of the simpler applications (quake III) for instance won't give you any problems. More complicated installs like internet explorer or ms office might go badly.

You do realize of course this is all a really bad idea?

I would ask myself two questions: Why *must* I have two very similar OS's installed at once? Is there any way possible I can put em on different partitions.

Just load the one new OS and make it work

 

[Snorklis]

hi!

Yes, its a bad idea..
But I'd like to have it on the same partition for a while. I want to slowly migrate (if I like it so much), and in a few month dont have to reinstall the OS again just because I'd like to have the system on disk c:

Also.. its quite fun to experiment with this. But what I cant figure out is why MS has done it so hard to change it like you want it to be when you first install it. Keep this standard pathes for the normal users, and put an advanced button for us who dont like it standard ways...