I have these hard drives, 2x160GB set as RAID 0, an 80GB that so far has been used only for a scratch disc, and an external 60GB used to automatically back up documents and pictures. I am running XP Media Edition and want to install both Vista and a Linux OS with the OS I now have. Could I, for example, partition the 80GB drive so as to have a 40GB (for scratch drive) and 2x20GB (one for each additional OS) partitions? Would I be able to run the programs on my main (the Raid drive) using either or both of the newly installed OS? Thanks in advance for any advice.
I want 3 OS, maybe
- Thread starter jjonsalt
- Start date
tlarkin
VIP Member
Each OS will only be able to operate on its own partition. You may not share applications across paritions either. This is because windows apps require access to the current booted system registry.
Also I do not recommend running a RAID 0 and sharing OSes on the partitions. It will be more effective for you to run them in standard mode. Unless you actually need the benefit of a RAID 0, but most users do not need that benefit. Plus you are more susceptible to data corruption on a RAID 0 since there is no redundancy.
You can easily manage all your installs with a boot loader like GRUB or LILO...
As for making the partitions, I would suggest running XP/Linux on one disk and Vista on its own. The vista installer is a pain in the butt and has very little to nil partition scheme set up options. So installing it on its own HD is easiest.
Also I do not recommend running a RAID 0 and sharing OSes on the partitions. It will be more effective for you to run them in standard mode. Unless you actually need the benefit of a RAID 0, but most users do not need that benefit. Plus you are more susceptible to data corruption on a RAID 0 since there is no redundancy.
You can easily manage all your installs with a boot loader like GRUB or LILO...
As for making the partitions, I would suggest running XP/Linux on one disk and Vista on its own. The vista installer is a pain in the butt and has very little to nil partition scheme set up options. So installing it on its own HD is easiest.