XP64 beginner needs some basic help

[leroythedog]

Hi everyone !
I am new to the whole 64 bit world and have some probably very basic questions.

1. Is it necessary to to partition one disk and have both XP and XP64 OS ?
2. If so - then how do you choose which one to boot?
3. Is there a way to switch between the two while working?



I started out disconnecting the drive with XP on it, adding a new drive, and installing XP64 on it (drive #1). It is working and connects to Internet fine. During boot, the other two drives show as recognized, but will not be seen by XP64. I have tried to install drivers from the Maxtor CDs, but they won't install. I can't see them in Windows Explorer, and can't see them in My Computer - Manage - Disk Management, either.

Should I start over and install both XP and XP64 on same disk but in different partitions? Are there drivers available for Maxtor drives ?

My hardware is as follows:

Motherboard: Asus K8V SE Deluxe
RAM: 1 stick of 1 Gig, two sticks 512 Meg - but only 1.5Gig is showing up
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
PCI Card : Maxtor SATA/150 ( with hard drive # 3 connected)
Hard Drive 1: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 ATA 133 80Gig
Hard drive 2: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 ATA 133 250 Gig
Hard drive 3: Maxtor DiamondMax 10 SATA 150 200Gig
Printer is HP All-In-One Officejet 7210
I have a Belkin Pre-N wireless router that I need to connect, also for a lap top.

Drives # 2,3 have lots of media already on them from the XP Home OS.

- Leroy

 

[ElementalDragon]

you would actually have to partition your hard drive to have two separate partitions, or in your case, install each OS on different physical drives if you don't want to have more than one partition on them. as far as i know, current OS's don't let you install on the same partition, and even if they did, you'd be bound to run into issues somewhere down the road.

As for switching, the only way you can do so is by restarting your computer, and when it finishes the POST, a menu will come up that will allow you to select Windows XP, and Windows XP x64 Edition.

as for reinstalling..... i'd say your best bet is probably doing so, but if you don't want to install x64 on the same physical hard drive as regular Windows XP, keep every drive you're going to use installed in the computer. don't disconnect any. when you get to the screen where it asks where you'd like to install Windows XP (both x86 and x64), it'll show the list of hard drives, as well as their free space. just create a partiton on one, then install one version of XP. when that's done, you can either get that version up and running (like installing drivers and such), then insert the disc for the other version of XP, and when you get to the screen to choose where to install it, pick one of the other drives. then that will install, and the boot loader will be updated to show both versions, and you can pick which one to boot to. (the boot loader is what comes up on a dual-booting system right after the POST)