Need help adding a second installation of Windows onto current system

[MaKoMaN]

Hello everyone,

I recently decided that I would like to have 2 installations of Windows XP on my pc.
-1 for general use
- And 1 only for games (so I can optimize that installation purely for gaming).
I currently have 2 HDDs; C drive which has Windows alone and D drive which has all my games installed.

My question is this:
How can I install a second installation onto my D drive without losing my game installations? and how to go on about it.

I was thinking of using Norton Ghost to make an image of the D drive and then saving the image on my C drive. And after formatting my D drive into 2 partitions; to restore the image to one of the partitions.
Would this work? Or is there another method which is more suitable for this?

Thanks

p.s. Can I use the same CD-key for both installations? Or will I have to purchase another copy of Windows XP?

 

[DistributedBen]

You could do a install of XP onto the D drive, but simply not format the drive and it shouldn't interfere with anything already on that drive. Of course, making a backup is always recommended.

I assume the second install is the non-gaming installation, since your games are already installed to the other drives Windows Install?

As far as another key, I'm not sure. Same hardware, only one can be in use at a time, so I wouldn't know for sure. I would think it would be ok to use the same CD.

 

[djnes]

Why use a sledgehammer to drive a nail in when a hammer will work just fine?

There's no need to install the same OS again, and you may have to buy a second license to do so. You can either optimize your ine and install, and run your games from it, or you can create a second user account that runs minimally for games.

If you really need to worry about software optimizations for games, then you should be worrying about hardwar upgrades. There's nothing, short of common sense, that needs to be done on a regular install. Don't have IM programs, torrent apps, toolbars, and Ipod apps run at boot, and you will be fine. Even AV software is fine to let go...just set your auto scans to a time when you aren't using your computer. Anything more than that isn't going to give you any real changes in your gaming experience.

Remember, just because it sounds cool, makes your e-wang bigger, or you're "allegedly" computer gurur friend told you to do something, doesn't mean it actually makes your computer run better.