Hi,
Hard drives are only for data/ backups..
HDD for os's is not going to be worth beans anyway
You really should get ssd's for operating systems.
Samsung 850 evo 250gb & even 500gb ssd's are pretty cheap.
Then at least it wouldn't matter if you used 1 ssd for each os or one large for 10 and 7 as vm at least the performance would still be excellent instead turtle slow.
I take your point and I'm sure you're right about the speed of SSD's but I already have a spare, lightly used HDD and I'm really tight with money - I mean really tight - and whilst HDD's are undoubtedly slower than SSD's, speed isn't a particular issue for me.
Do I take it that I can't have two different operating systems working off the same physical HDD/SSD?
Hi,
Either way actually
Best is to install each os on different hdd/ sdd's when the other os hdd/ ssd in not connected to the mother board that way it has it's own boot loader.
That way at least on start up you can use F8 or which ever key brings up the boot menu to choose an os you want to boot too.
Easy way to do that is use macrium reflect and check the option to add reflect winpe recovery boot option
That way it will appear and give you 10... seconds to select an os or it to boot too on startup or restart.
I have never had any issue running different editions of Windows in different partitions on the same physical drive. It helps greatly to have a working knowledge of how to create system partitions and how to populate them with the proper boot files though. Also there are alternative "less destructive" ways of installing an OS onto a specific partition.
I can't speak about Linux though.
On one of my computers I have Windows 7 and 3 other Linux OS's on the same 74gb drive (yes that one is from the days when HDD space cost more than a house).
Most Linux OS's work very well with windows, and I have installed windows 10 and windows 7 on the same drive before,so happy dual booting (or triple(or quadruple))!
Hi,
Linux grub is a pain
Best again to install on a different hdd/ ssd especially linux
I agree with you, that an OS is supposed to be a tool, and its annoying to think you have to continually chase upgrades. With that in mind, consider that I'm just now migrating everything from a stable, reliable, and predictable tool: Windows XP. I use malwarebytes for protection, and though I'm enough of an "internet personality" to make me a target for attack, I've never been hacked. The only reason I'm finally upgrading is because there are newer programs, and newer browsers, that I actually need. But for the most part I'm re-installing old reliable software and gradually re-building in windows 10. Based on my history with XP, I'm hoping I'll be able to leave this win-10 system in place for a good while, maybe another decade or more like I did last time. Now this is just MY opinion. Really, you should only move because there's good reason to do so, and you can maintain security with good third party programs, gateway routers, etc. As for me, if my favorite browsers (Chrome and Firefox--sorry, its not IE or Edge) were still supporting XP I might still be using it. I think the last straw was when my yearly tax software (I use H&R Block) decided to no longer include XP in their releases. But again, if my "last straw" for XP was January 2020, I think that proves you can get a good long run out of an OS.
Before delving deeper into the subject, I was under the impression that my PC's security would be compromised if I continued to use an 'unsupported' operating system (I probably paid too much attention to those who had a vested interest). From what I've read on this forum, and others, that needn't be the case if good third party security software if kept up-to-date. Also supporting that view, my friends W7 PC that hadn't received any OS updates for over three years and yet was working just fine.
I've given W10 a week or so to impress and it hasn't. It's back to W7 for me but I'll also look into loading W10 onto a second physical drive so the option is there if need be.
Bear in mind too that third party programs for security are more likely to under your complete control. On the other hand , you may find with Microsoft security that it forbids you to make your own educated choices. It can, for example, forbid you from putting a program or file on your system it "deems" to be a virus or just unacceptable. If you make exceptions, it often may undo those setting changes you carefully made, after an update. If you are the kind of user that intends to master your system, know full well the contents or "acceptability" of files and tools you install, and have the sense to fully back up your system (Fully sometimes means occasionally CLONING your HDs! so you can REALLY go back), then make your own choices carefully, and don't be scared off. I read one poster say something to the effect of letting Microsoft and windows do whatever it wants. My opinion? "NOPE!". Microsoft's decision to undo customer settings is already becoming a problem for IT managers in mission critical applications, who are wisely "controlling" when and whether updates can occur. Not trying to ruffle feathers here. Win-10 has some VERY useful features and I predict it will grow on you. But you'll also have problems, and SOMETIMES the solution is NOT what Microsoft would recommend.
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