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Choosing which operating system
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Help please!!!
I have a 500Gb hard dive which by some fluke I managed to partition&format,then install both Windows 7(Disk D) and Vista(Disk C).My problem now,is I can only boot up from Drive C-Vista.
How,if it is possible,can I just change between the two.
My eventual aim is to have Windows ME on another partition,but since I dont know how to switch I am a bit stuck.Please help,I feel I have come this far only to get stuck on something that my be right in front of me.I am fairly new to computers so please if you can help keep it simple,I am a slow learner!
Thanks muchly if you can help.
I have a 500Gb hard dive which by some fluke I managed to partition&format,then install both Windows 7(Disk D) and Vista(Disk C).My problem now,is I can only boot up from Drive C-Vista.
How,if it is possible,can I just change between the two.
My eventual aim is to have Windows ME on another partition,but since I dont know how to switch I am a bit stuck.Please help,I feel I have come this far only to get stuck on something that my be right in front of me.I am fairly new to computers so please if you can help keep it simple,I am a slow learner!
Thanks muchly if you can help.
Answers
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I'm slightly confused here. Partitioning a hard drive, formatting the newly created partition and installing an operating system on it, whilst not particularly difficult, is not really something that you could have done "by some fluke"...
As to what you do from here, it rather depends what you want to end up with. Do you actually want your hard drive partitioned into three, with Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Me (surely not!) installed on the separate partitions, and the ability to select which one to use when you switch the machine on? That's certainly possible.
However, I would suggest a different approach. I appreciate that you're new to computers, but have you heard of something called 'virtualisation'? This allows (essentially) an operating system to run in something called a virtual machine. This would mean that e.g. you could have just one partition with Windows 7, but other virtual machines running anything you like. And you wouldn't need to constantly reboot to change from one to the other, because they could all be running at the same time, so long as you had enough memory...
This is achieved by means of virtualisation software such as VMWare Player, which is completely free: http://www.vmware.com/products/player/. Whenever you want to run a different machine, you just fire up VMWare Player, select the machine you want to run, and off you go! No messing around with rebooting.
As to what you do from here, it rather depends what you want to end up with. Do you actually want your hard drive partitioned into three, with Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Me (surely not!) installed on the separate partitions, and the ability to select which one to use when you switch the machine on? That's certainly possible.
However, I would suggest a different approach. I appreciate that you're new to computers, but have you heard of something called 'virtualisation'? This allows (essentially) an operating system to run in something called a virtual machine. This would mean that e.g. you could have just one partition with Windows 7, but other virtual machines running anything you like. And you wouldn't need to constantly reboot to change from one to the other, because they could all be running at the same time, so long as you had enough memory...
This is achieved by means of virtualisation software such as VMWare Player, which is completely free: http://www.vmware.com/products/player/. Whenever you want to run a different machine, you just fire up VMWare Player, select the machine you want to run, and off you go! No messing around with rebooting.
<continued>
Finally, what on earth do you want to run WinMe for? It's now *completely* unsupported: http://support.micros...tion&Filter=FilterNO, so no security update etc. Also, it's generally considered to be the worst version of Windows Microsoft ever produced...
Finally, what on earth do you want to run WinMe for? It's now *completely* unsupported: http://support.micros...tion&Filter=FilterNO, so no security update etc. Also, it's generally considered to be the worst version of Windows Microsoft ever produced...
As I already pointed out - if your system is capable of running Win7 and Vista, it is not going to be able to run ME, because if the devices are old enough to have ME drivers available, they are too old to have Vista drivers - and vice versa.
VHG already advised you that Installing ME was not a good idea.
Like MarkRae, I'm amazed that anyone could accidentally install a copy of Vista and a copy of Win7 - it's a bit like saying that you've accidentally put a new engine in your car.
There's not much point in you posting questions on here if you're not going to accept the advice given.
VHG already advised you that Installing ME was not a good idea.
Like MarkRae, I'm amazed that anyone could accidentally install a copy of Vista and a copy of Win7 - it's a bit like saying that you've accidentally put a new engine in your car.
There's not much point in you posting questions on here if you're not going to accept the advice given.
> There's not much point in you posting questions on here if you're not going to
> accept the advice given.
I didn't realise this was, essentially, a repeat question - apologies...
> As I already pointed out - if your system is capable of running Win7 and Vista, it is
> not going to be able to run ME, because if the devices are old enough to have ME
> drivers available, they are too old to have Vista drivers - and vice versa.
That's (almost) certainly true, hence my advice that if the OP really absolutely positively HAS to have a copy of WinMe running that he do so in a virtual machine. As you will know, virtual machines have a much simpler emulated set of hardware, and WinMe runs perfectly well in them or, at least, as well as WinMe ever ran anyway... ;-)
> VHG already advised you that Installing ME was not a good idea.
Indeed.
> Like MarkRae, I'm amazed that anyone could accidentally install a copy of Vista and
> a copy of Win7 - it's a bit like saying that you've accidentally put a new engine in
> your car.
I'm beginning to wonder if the OP is a wind-up...
> accept the advice given.
I didn't realise this was, essentially, a repeat question - apologies...
> As I already pointed out - if your system is capable of running Win7 and Vista, it is
> not going to be able to run ME, because if the devices are old enough to have ME
> drivers available, they are too old to have Vista drivers - and vice versa.
That's (almost) certainly true, hence my advice that if the OP really absolutely positively HAS to have a copy of WinMe running that he do so in a virtual machine. As you will know, virtual machines have a much simpler emulated set of hardware, and WinMe runs perfectly well in them or, at least, as well as WinMe ever ran anyway... ;-)
> VHG already advised you that Installing ME was not a good idea.
Indeed.
> Like MarkRae, I'm amazed that anyone could accidentally install a copy of Vista and
> a copy of Win7 - it's a bit like saying that you've accidentally put a new engine in
> your car.
I'm beginning to wonder if the OP is a wind-up...
Not a wind up at all!I am offended at that.
Look,most of the equipment we use is old.
Windows ME,though old runs everything,Vista and 7 will not run scanner and has problems with speakers.
I only rearly use the internet,which I like Windows 7.Hubby does photos,minor music,no netting.He thinks Vista and 7 are slow and complecated and hates them.
Thanks you for your advice,I dont mind that some things are not compatable,I dont use scanner printer etc,I leave that to hubby with windows ME.
I like the sound of virtualisation and will give it a go Thank you.
Finally,by fluke,I meant I was amazed that I was able to go through 3 different books and get what Hubby had mentioned.I didnt even know what partitioning was till last week,so please dont have a go,as I said,new and learning SLOWLY.
Thanks for answering,I will give virtualisation a go ASAP
Look,most of the equipment we use is old.
Windows ME,though old runs everything,Vista and 7 will not run scanner and has problems with speakers.
I only rearly use the internet,which I like Windows 7.Hubby does photos,minor music,no netting.He thinks Vista and 7 are slow and complecated and hates them.
Thanks you for your advice,I dont mind that some things are not compatable,I dont use scanner printer etc,I leave that to hubby with windows ME.
I like the sound of virtualisation and will give it a go Thank you.
Finally,by fluke,I meant I was amazed that I was able to go through 3 different books and get what Hubby had mentioned.I didnt even know what partitioning was till last week,so please dont have a go,as I said,new and learning SLOWLY.
Thanks for answering,I will give virtualisation a go ASAP
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