Bootups, Hard Drives and BIOS

I suspect every system is different, but on my Acer laptop, I have the opportunity to change boot order during the BIOS loading process- I get a note at the bottom of the screen that says, "To change boot order, press F12", and this takes me in to a boot order menu, not BIOS. Alternatively, my primary boot sector (which is a Windows partition that I am using less and less) has been fitted with a GRUB loader thanks to Ubuntu also being loaded on the computer. At bootup, the GRUB loader gives me a choice of which system I want to boot (in this case, the two systems are on separate partitions of the same hard disc). If I don't respond fast enough, the system boots into the default, which is Ubuntu in my case. If I understand the GRUB loader functionality, it would recognize any other bootable sectors of any hard drives, but I am not absolutely certain of this.

So, the answer to your question is, yes, it is possible. Now, how to do it would require more information about your system...Start by checking with the BIOS supplier web site- they may have some information about a simple way to do this. I don't know if it is possible to get a stand-alone GRUB type loader...

system:

celeron 1.7ghz wiliamette cpu

768mb Ram

Pheonix 2003 BIOS

Search for "boot manager". There are several open source options (a good place to start is sourceforge.net). There is likely one that will offer what you are looking for. I do not see any instructions from Phoenix for doing this outside the BIOS setup.

You will need to either use a third party boot loader (as suggested earlier) or modify your existing "boot.ini" file (located in the root of "C:\"). Your existing boot statement will look something like this:

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

You will want to add a statement indicating the secondary boot device, which MIGHT look something like this:

multi(1)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\%operating system%="%operating system name%" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

You will need to specify whether this is a multiple boot system (0 = no; 1 = yes); the proper disk and partition (numbering starts at zero); the %operating system% parameter is replaced by the appropriate name (Windows, MacOS, Linux, etc...) and the %operating system name% parameter is replaced by what you wish your boot menu to actually display (Windows 7 Beta, for example). There are a couple of good articles on this at the MS Technet site...

Thanks.

GA for that, I shall have a look in my registry

As cwarner7_11 has stated all versions of Linux provide an excellent alternative for what you are trying to accomplish. The only inconvenience with it is that once you install Linux on the hard drive where you are sharing OS you will not be able to completely erase it from the hard drive. XP is some what more compatible than Vista for such application. You can get a Linux magazine with the free cd included for a very reasonable price. I really suggest this because it will tell you exactly how to configure your boot order. I would try Open suse 11 or Yabason Linux.

Grub boot loader

In case there is not a software method when two HDs are involved, then think about an electrical version using a Double pole changeover switch for the power to both drives. Only allowing power to one or the other will do what you want.

You need to switch both the 12 volts and the 5 volts......

Power down fully before changing over......!!

It should look something like this!!

a small wiringe mistake and the Harddisk is gone.

a simple boot selector programm will do the job and if the HD's has dip switches you both have to make them Master, but can only access one of the 2

Having both master (or slave) on the same bus will not work......Having them on different buses means they can be anything with no problems....

The wiring is extremely simple and anyone who connects without fully checking first is living VERY dangerously!!!

You have them wired so only one Harddisk will be on, so they have to be both Master i think. I don't know but for some reason Bondy doesn't strike me as a electronics kind of person

haha, chinese laugh sound will appeal to many people again.

Epke, you are quit right, every electronic fans will know this very well.

I have no idea if I will post my opinion, because that Andy G has so higher enthusiasm and passion on helping others.

But Im afraid he will mislead others, so I try to correct some, only a little.

Having both master (or slave) on the same bus will not work......Having them on different buses means they can be anything with no problems....

It appears he really dont familiar with computer at all. Even in last 80's the old computers can support , at least , two or four harddisks on the same bus.

haha, dont angry when see this thread from a Chinese.

He he, Epke is not a Japanese, but an European who worked there temp. Japan is our neighbor. People between the two countries are friendly. You can read this words in every chinese papers, in every times.

Do you have a different opinion that one bus can connect 4 hardisks?

if you would have such idea, argue with me directly.

Dear cnpower,

You are showing your complete ignorance yet again on yet another subject..... Do you never check up on how accurate you post? Or do you simply not care, just being rude is your only strong point I feel......

Your carelessly inaccurate comments reduce yet again (is that even possible?) your status on this blog and on CR4.......how sad!!

If you really wish to learn something accurately, or anyone else for that matter, about the history of hard disks and their interfaces, please look at:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_drive

It mentions ATA (IDE) as only having M & S. That means only 2 drives max. That was the standard on home PC drives, and still were up until SATA made its appearance a few years ago....

Now if you want to include for example SCSI drives, that is quite a different matter, but they were seldom used by private people as they were up until fairly recently, too expensive for the home PC....in fact, even today few people have SCSI HD devices at home....they have simply moved onto SATA....which brings a similar performance at a lower cost.

Most PCs would need a relatively expensive (for real quality and few problems) interface card to address SCSI drives, more than most people want to put out.....especially as IDE and SATA are already fitted to many mainboards for free!!

SCSI basically has had 3 interface styles, HVD, SE and LVD. If you wish to learn more, just ask, I know the interfaces quite well......I worked on them since they were first released almost 30 odd years ago.....as SASI....

Look here for more detail:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCSI

But read the links fully, it will educate you "alarmingly quickly" as to the real history of hard drives......and some of their interfaces......

wow, you come back? you seem to be weak too much than ever.

haha, it must spend you much time to collect such material. hmmm, many of these knowledges are out of my depth. some of them may hear the first. Im afraid Im not so smart to remember them all. What you try the best is to make your point. but Its just you forget the fact, you beat yourself.

Review your words,--- cannt connect more than two disk in a same bus-----, now you admit, 2 hard disk can do.

wow, what shall I speak more about them?

I wish to know who teach you this? your friend? haha, you are decieved by him or them.

Dear cnpower,

You are obviously one of those (thankfully very few) on CR4 that never feels that they need to have any understanding of the subject, before jumping in with some stupid and generally rude comment.

By the way, where/who is weak here in reality? You or me?

What has weak got to do with it anyway? Perhaps you misunderstand the meaning of this (and many other) words in English!

Why can you not ever stay on the subject matter on hand? But are consistently rude and abusive in almost every post you make....

Why are you consistently rude and abusive? What has gone wrong in your life that caused such a "personality wrong turn" at some point?

Why should we entertain your style of manner on CR4 anymore?

Why did you not read and learn from the excellent link I posted for you?

Why Why Why????

I have been lucky in so far that I have met many Chinese in my life and NOT a single one of them was as consistently rude (none of them were ever rude actually!) and ignorant as you appear to be, at least here on CR4....

Well, well, you are right, quite right any way.

he he, I dont know why I always speak a wrong words? why do only read a, b, c and do my best, though. but yet dont know what is n, o, p? oh, there must be no a good enthusiast to teach. I stand a high mountain and look down, where he is?

here here here !!!

A speaker shout. I browse profile and find a wondrful word, specialist. I smile those directors of USA large companies in Gernan must be blind or wear a blinder to hire a such stupid labour.

China has the most population in the world and spread every big cities. Many chinese can be met, not odd.

Im interested in who they are, labour or talent? Could they speak chinese? could they know HD? wow. may be specialists, too?

guy, if you met rude guys along ruelle. you'd btter allow him past at the first.

That made no sense at all.

Please take English 101 at the earliest opportunity.

Also please try using the spell checker in the tool bar, maybe it might help you to get a post understood better.

It's all spelt correctly, and anyway, everyone but you can understand him perfectly, and in all my time on CR4, you are the first person who I have met that has had a go at someone's grammar, when they are trying to share their knowledge with the world.

Please decode message, I have not english as first language.

http://www.superwarehouse.com/Promise_FastTrak_TX4000_PCI_Ultra_ATA_RAID_Controller/FASTTRAKTX4000/p/241467

Andy,

Ease up, you were wrong...in post#10, take a quick look...we know stuff happens

For IDE what I wrote is exactly correct, on one bus. PCs generally have 2 x IDE buses.

It appears that many here wrongly believe that the IDE bus(s) on a single motherboard are one bus, they are not, each connector is a bus.....IDE0 and IDE1!!!

That's still true even if they come out of one chip.......

Think about it logically, if we could have 4 IDE drives on one bus, you would need some way of defining the addressing 4 ways. That is simply not possible with just master and slave jumpers. Why, because 2 is the maximum number of drives for a single IDE bus!!

If you look at this link, under specifications on the RH side near the top, you will see it mentioned just how many devices can be connected, which is "surprise surprise" exactly two!!:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Technology_Attachment

I posted a link previously with far more detail, but it also said exactly the same......

So I fail to see the error in what I wrote........

Having both master (or slave) on the same bus will not work

It is upon this statement; post #10, the criticism was expressed.

It was an answer to say (maybe slightly unclearly) that having both drives as master, or both drives as slave on the same bus will not work....

If you had also read the post that it answered, I believe it is clearer. Reading it on its own is misleading I agree....but only to people that do not have any idea about how to attach such drives to a PC or similar.

Yes IDE cabling is confusing at best to the uninitiated and if we had it to do again we could skip it altogether

Thanks... I am kinda a electronics person, in which I mean that I take everything apart, fiddle round with things, nab bits from one thing to another, am making a pc as we speak.

sorry about that, as long as you know what you are doing

Don't worry. You weren't to know, and I sounded way too harsh :P But thanks for checking that I won't blow the house up, nice to know someone out there is watching my back.

If the only disk powered on is a slave, it will be seen as the boot disk.....

The ONLY reason for having M & S (be careful Guys, its not what you think!), is to differentiate between them when you have 2 drives on the same IDE bus. I am not talking SATA, by the way.....

SATA is different.....its a serial bus.....

I believe this link will take you where the boot manager is:

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/diskdirector/index.html

Thanks everyone for all your expertise and patience, but I shall just go through modifying the registry (being careful what I modify) etc, rather than getting new parts for the pc, because soon I will have a new one.

I recently set up a system for a customer, and simply created two different login accounts. One for each drive, then it was simply a matter of which one the customer chose to log into................