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From: jellybean stonerfish on 14 Apr 2010 12:17
On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:14:50 +0200, Kathy Taylor wrote:

> I have a desk top computer that uses SATA hard drives. It currently has
> XP Pro installed on one drive. I want to add another SATA drive so I can
> dual boot with Ubuntu. What I don 't want is Grub putting its stuff on
> the XP drive. Can I merely disconnect the XP drive and connect the drive
> I am going to put Ubuntu on, install it and then power down and connect
> the XP drive and use the BIOS to choose Ubuntu or XP to boot (my
> computer will let me choose where to boot by pressing an F key)? If so,
> should the Ubuntu drive be connected to the same place on the
> motherboard where the XP drive is now and switch it to the second place
> on the motherboard or just go ahead and install Ubuntu with it connected
> to where it eventually will always be? Also, I have read that RAID might
> be a problem. If so, how? I hope I've been clear.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Kathy Spencer

1. Install the blank disk where you want it to be.
2. Boot computer from the install CD
3. Install operating system, choosing the correct disk when
the choice is available.
4. Let the boot loader be put on the new disk.
5. Complete install.
6. On reboot, choose to boot from the new disk.
7. At the boot prompt, choose operating system.

From: Peter Foldes on 14 Apr 2010 13:04
Crossposted for a better answer

"Kathy Taylor" <nospam(a)nospam.com> wrote in message
news:hq4842$2fd$1(a)speranza.aioe.org...
>I have a desk top computer that uses SATA hard drives. It currently has XP Pro
>installed on one drive. I want to add another SATA drive so I can dual boot with
>Ubuntu. What I don 't want is Grub putting its stuff on the XP drive. Can I merely
>disconnect the XP drive and connect the drive I am going to put Ubuntu on, install
>it and then power down and connect the XP drive and use the BIOS to choose Ubuntu
>or XP to boot (my computer will let me choose where to boot by pressing an F key)?
>If so, should the Ubuntu drive be connected to the same place on the motherboard
>where the XP drive is now and switch it to the second place on the motherboard or
>just go ahead and install Ubuntu with it connected to where it eventually will
>always be? Also, I have read that RAID might be a problem. If so, how? I hope I've
>been clear.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Kathy Spencer

From: Anna on 14 Apr 2010 13:18
(Kathy is interested in installing two different OSs (XP & Linux) in her
PC).

> Anna wrote:
>> Kathy:
>> In addition to the suggestions& recommendations you've already received,
>> let me give you another possible option for your consideration...
>>
>> 1. Since you're working with a desktop and further assuming your current
>> PC
>> case has an available vacant 5 1/4" bay.
>>
>> 2. Consider equipping your PC with a removable hard drive (HDD). If
>> you're
>> not familiar with that type of device and without going into too many
>> details at this point just let me say that a "mobile rack" (designed to
>> house a removable tray or caddy which contains the HDD) is affixed to a 5
>> 1/4" bay on the computer case. The installation of such is quite simple -
>> not any more complicated than installing a CD/DVD optical drive in one's
>> system.
>>
>> The cost of these mobile racks is quite modest.
>>
>> 3. The beauty of this type of hardware configuration is that you can work
>> with multiple HDDs, each effectively isolated from each other (when
>> desired)
>> containing different operating systems. Through a simple turn of a
>> keylock
>> on the mobile rack, you can thus boot to this drive or that drive without
>> the need for any "bootloader" or any other multi-booting software, as
>> well
>> as no need in most cases to access the motherboard's BIOS to change the
>> boot
>> priority order in order to boot to this or that particular HDD.
>>
>> We've been working with removable hard drives for about 15 years and
>> probably have installed or help install more than a thousand of these
>> devices over those years. By& large we've found this desktop PC hardware
>> configuration a most desirable one for the great majority of desktop PC
>> users. And we've found that the only regret virtually every desktop PC
>> user
>> of these devices has had is that they didn't install them sooner!
>>
>> If you're interested, so indicate and I'll provide more detailed info
>> about
>> this kind of system.
>> Anna


"Kathy Taylor" <nospam(a)nospam.com> wrote in message
news:hq4nkk$bob$1(a)speranza.aioe.org...
> Does one have to open the case every time one wants to change to a
> different hard drive? I have no experience with what you're suggesting. Or
> are you saying this rack would be put in the same space as the DVD burner
> takes? I have two open spaces there. If that's the case, yes, I am very
> interested!
>
> Kathy Taylor


Kathy:
First of all the answer to your first question is "no"; there is no need to
get inside the PC case when using removable hard drives. All operations are
accomplished outside the PC case.

And yes, the mobile rack will be installed in a vacant 5 1/4" bay - the same
type of bay ("space") that houses a CD-DVD optical drive. Since you have two
available (vacant) 5 1/4" bays (do I understand you correctly?), you have an
ideal situation for installing one (or better even two) mobile racks
containing the removable HDDs. Here are some details...

BTW, I'm assuming that you're working with SATA hard drives. However, these
mobile racks that I'm going to describe also come in versions designed for
PATA hard drives.

These mobile racks are two-piece affairs - the rack itself and the inner
tray or caddy (in which the hard drive (HDD) resides) that slides into the
rack. They come in all-aluminum models or a combination of aluminum-plastic,
or all-plastic, ranging in price from about $15 to $50. Mobile racks come
in various versions, depending upon whether the hard drive to be housed is
an IDE/ATA, SATA, or SCSI device. A Google search for "removable hard drive
mobile racks" will result in a wealth of information on these products and
their vendors.

For the past three years or so we've been primarily using the Athena Power
MR-125B mobile rack. See...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817123302.
It's an all-plastic model but has proven very reliable for us. (It also
comes in a basically similar all-aluminum version at slightly higher cost).
The rack has a bottom-mounted 80mm fan that's virtually inaudible. What we
particularly like about it (aside from its reliability and reasonable cost
of about $20) is that rather than use an ON-OFF keylock switch, a simple
push-to-release lever (in effect) turns the device on or off, thus it can be
easily physically connected or disconnected from the system. It's an
important consideration for us since we're continually changing HDDs and
trying to find the key can be an annoyance for us. But most of these devices
do come with the keylock mechanism.

The installation of these devices is simplicity itself - no more difficult
than installing an optical drive (CD-DVD drive). After the rack is installed
you just plop the hard drive into the removable tray (caddy), make two
simple connections (power & data cable), and slide the tray into the mobile
rack. Note that the removable hard drive mobile racks we are discussing are
designed to be installed in desktop computers and not laptop or notebook
computers. The size, weight, and design considerations of laptops/notebooks
(generally) do not allow for this hardware configuration.

As I previously indicated, these mobile racks are generally equipped with a
ON-OFF keylock, so a simple turn of the key, in effect, activates the HDD.
For added security you can push or pull the removable tray in or out using
the tray's handle and thus electrically/physically connect or disconnect the
HDD from the system. No more difficult than opening or closing a small desk
drawer.

Can you see the enormous advantage of this type of hardware configuration as
it applies to your objective of working with two OSs? In your particular
situation (assuming you would be working with a single removable HDD) you
would install one of your SATA HDDs internally and the other SATA HDD would
be housed in the removable tray of the mobile rack. The latter would be
connected to your motherboard's first (SATA0 or SATA1) connector, while the
internally-connected SATA HDD would be connected to the second (SATA1 or
SATA2) connector. (Naturally I'm assuming this is a non-RAID configuration).

So when the removable HDD containing the XP OS is "on", the system will boot
to that drive and the internally-connected HDD would serve as a secondary
HDD. Should you wish to boot to your Linux OS, the removable HDD would
simply be set to the "off" position.

Thus, when the removable HDD is set to the "off" position, the system will
boot to the internally-installed HDD. Again, no need to fiddle with
modifications of the BIOS settings or system files affecting the boot
process, or using some third-party "boot manager". It's an ideal system for
computing with multiple operating systems or meeting one's special
interests.

So that in your case (as an example) let's say you install your HDD
containing the XP OS as the removable HDD. Your HDD containing the Linux OS
would be installed as your internal HDD. The mobile rack containing the
removable HDD would be connected to your motherboard's SATA0 (or SATA1)
connector and the internal HDD connected to the next SATA connector (SATA1
or SATA2). Your motherboard's BIOS setting for boot priority would be set
for a first hard drive boot to the removable HDD (your XP OS); the second
hard drive boot would be set to the internally-connected HDD. There would be
no further need to access the BIOS boot priority settings.

If I understand you correctly you can have even additional flexibility in
that you indicate you have *two* vacant 5 1/4" bays. Am I correct about
this?

If that is indeed the case installing *two* removable HDDs would be even
better. Obviously you would need *two* vacant 5 1/4" bays on your desktop
case to achieve this configuration. With this configuration, each drive is
effectively isolated from each other, but if for any reason you want both
drives connected during bootup, you can easily achieve that configuration as
well.

Again, the cost of equipping your desktop PC with one or two removable HDDs
is quite modest.

Keep in mind that another significant advantage of using a removable HDD is
that now you can have an *unlimited* number of HDDs at your disposal by
simply using additional removable trays to house additional drives. So that
another important advantage of using this hardware configuration is that
you'll be able to use one or more other removable HDDs as one or more
backups drive for your day-to-day working HDDs. Or let's say you want to
work with the Windows 7 OS in addition to your XP & Linux OSs. Now you can
easily do that with your removable HDD configuration.

We've worked with these removable hard drive affairs for quite a number of
years now and have helped hundreds of users install & operate this kind of
system. Virtually ever user we're aware of has found this hardware
arrangement a most desirable configuration in a desktop PC environment.
We've encountered no negative performance issues using these devices in
comparison with internally-installed HDDs and find the flexibility and peace
of mind you gain from this configuration an enormous advantage in day-to-day
PC computing.

So do give it some thought if it is practical in your situation.
Anna


From: Kathy Taylor on 14 Apr 2010 13:43
Anna wrote:
> (Kathy is interested in installing two different OSs (XP& Linux) in her
> PC).

To change from one hard drive to another requires a reboot? I looked at
some web sites since I saw your post and they all say "hot swappable".
What does that mean?

Thanks for all your help.

Kathy Taylor
From: Anna on 14 Apr 2010 14:35

"Kathy Taylor" <nospam(a)nospam.com> wrote in message
news:hq4usb$u3s$3(a)speranza.aioe.org...
> Anna wrote:
>> (Kathy is interested in installing two different OSs (XP& Linux) in her
>> PC).
>
> To change from one hard drive to another requires a reboot? I looked at
> some web sites since I saw your post and they all say "hot swappable".
> What does that mean?
>
> Thanks for all your help.
>
> Kathy Taylor


Kathy:
Yes, it would be necessary to shut down the PC in order to boot to the other
OS. For example, if you booted to your XP OS contained on your removable HDD
and then desired to boot to your Linux OS contained on your
internally-connected HDD, you would first have to shut down the PC,
power-off (or disconnect) the removable HDD and then power-on your PC.
Obviously you understand you're doing all this from the comfort of your
computer chair, right?

I do not know in what specific context that "hot swappable" phrase you came
across was used. I would only guess that it refers to the fact that either
you could install different hard drives in the mobile rack and use each as a
removable HDD at different times or the fact that if you were using two
removable HDDs (two mobile racks installed), the removable HDD connected as
a secondary storage device could be "swapped", i.e., another secondary HDD
in the removable tray could be installed in its place while the system had
booted to the other OS.

As an example...
Let's say you were working with two removable HDDs (two mobile racks
installed in your PC case) and you have booted to your XP OS contained on
the "first" removable HDD. Your other removable HDD containing the Linux OS
is connected as a secondary HDD, or you have not connected that latter HDD
at all during this XP boot operation.

Now you decide to use your backup program to backup the contents of your XP
OS HDD. You have a third HDD installed in a removable tray which you use for
backup purposes. You would simply insert that removable tray in the mobile
rack (after removing the removable tray containing your Linux system should
that removable HDD be present) and perform the backup operation. To that
extent the backup (secondary) HDD in its removable tray is "hot swappable".
It can later be removed following the backup operation without any problem
while the system is still booted to the XP OS.

Similarly if you used other HDDs in removable trays they could likewise be
inserted in the second mobile rack while the system has been booted to this
or that OS. Naturally any "other" HDD used in that way would be treated by
the system as a secondary HDD. If that HDD contained an OS it would not be
booted to until you shut down the PC and specifically booted to that
particular OS.
Anna




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