how to install a 2nd bootable hard drive?

J

J Crew

New Member
after getting great info from other members in this forum, i've come to realize that i can't install an OS on an external usb drive. so now i've decided that i'd like to use a 2nd internal drive. i'd like to install the same windos xp OS and like to be able to select which drive to boot up at startup. how do i do this?

can i install the drive, boot up to my current C: drive and install windows to the 2nd drive from there?

or will i have to install windows xp to the 2nd hard drive at startup?

and how can i make sure that the drive is selectable at startup after the installation of windows xp?

thanks again for your time and any help.

- Jason
 
This is how I would do it:

Change the boot order to CD being first in line, then install windows xp to the new drive.

Once it's all installed and working, I would then download this:

http://gag.sourceforge.net

The above links to a graphical boot manager that runs on startup, which allows you to select drives/partitions to boot up. When you download it, you need to:

Extract the files to a folder on your PC => Insert a formatted floppy disk => Double click on "install_XP.cmd". It should then transfer the necessary files to the disk.

Now go back to your BIOS and change the boot order to have your floppy drive first in line. Insert the floppy disk and let it load up. You should then come to a screen with 5 or 6 options on it. Select the "Install to disk" or something like that. Then you need to add your drives to the program. You should be able to figure out how to do that yourself (don't know from the top of my head).

Anyway, that's how I would do it, becuase there is a nice, user-friendly boot manager which pops up making it quite easy to use.
 
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