I just added a second hard drive to my system. I didn't have any problems installing it or formatting it. What I would like to know is how can I put a second operating system on my new hard drive, so that my computer can boot from either drive. What software would I need to do this? The new one is already formatted and ready to use. Thank you.

It depends what OS you want to use on the 2nd drive, if you are currently using Win9x, when you install NT 4.0 or 2000, the install routine will create a boot menu for you with options to start either the original OS or the new one.
If you are using another OS, you would need a third party product like System Commander.

Thanks, I'll give it a try. I never had 2 hard drives with this much space before.

hehe if you wana know what i did
i have win98 on my first HDD, and i have Win2k on the second
OS like Win2k and Linux are pretty easy, cuz they install a boot loader, but you can tell it which partition you want it to be placed on

Karl
kb244@bellsouth.net

Cool. I didn't realize that it could be that easy.

Some of the new motherboard BIOS allow you to select which device to
boot from (IDE 0, 1, SCSI, ZIP, etc.). This is what we used.

David J. Aller
GoTech@GoTechnologiesInc.com
Business Computer Systems & Networking Services

Thanks for the information, everyone.

It does sometimes depend what OS you install, like the guy above said. Always install try to install an Microsoft OS on the first few harddrives before the others, or they will likely complain. Linux has no problem installing on to a second hard drive and installs what is known as LILO, the LInux LOader, which installs into the MBR, master boot record, and brings up a prompt (sometimes graphical, depending on the distribution) and asks you what or operating system to boot. You could also use a (free) partition manager like the one at http://www.ranish.com

REH
hawkdogg@crosswinds.net
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Learn Linux and Leave out the Windows :)

Thanks ndogg. I like your website.

Easiest and simplest way of the lot.....just disable one or the other drive in BIOS when booting up No probs!

Unfortunetely, Sshaker, not all bioses are alike (or equal for that matter). Mine, for example, does not support that.

REH
hawkdogg@crosswinds.net
Powered by Linux
Learn Linux and Leave out the Windows :)

Also, some people just wana boot up and sit back and watch it load. it's easier in the long run to do it without the bios disabling

Karl
kb244@bellsouth.net