Advice re new computer if needed, please ...

[Mara]

Not too sure where to put this, so hope this section is the right one?

 

I love my computer (Sony Vaio with Windows XP) but even though I clean the dust from it's 'tummy' every month, I know nothing last forever - and I thought I'd better ask this question now, while I can access our site.

 

If I have to buy a new computer with the most recent OS from Windows, I know so many of my software programs will no longer run (some are created for Windows 98 - but I love them).

 

And buying a new computer and dumping the newest OS and replacing it with my trust XP software would be foolish - if only because eventually my XP will no longer be "supported" and I wouldn't be able to use the latest security programs,'

 

Is there such a thing as buying a computer capable of having 'two brains' (sorry, I don't know the proper terminalogy) ... one to run the latest OS with all the newest security programs ... and one to run XP and all my software programs on?

 

If so, could I please have the information needed - I'll print it out and keep it handy to take to the store with me when 'the time comes'.

 

Thanks ever so much,

Mara

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Well here's the catch Mara

 

If you wanted to dual boot a machine with both XP and Vista on you could run into problems.

 

Firstly you would have to install XP first as good old MS does not allow an installation when a newer operating system is present but immediately your up a gum tree because 9 times out of 10 the hardware on the new machine will have been designed for Vista and therefore XP won't work.

 

Sorry possum. :(

 

Most software however will run quite happily on Vista so rather than completely re-install them all from new downloads you could copy the .exe files to a back up location like an external hard drive and install them once Vista is up and running.

[Mara]

Thanks so much, Wolfeymole - truly appreciate you letting me know about nasties waiting should one try to load both XP and Vista on one computer.

 

This is honestly a wonderful site and the knowledge and kindness shared - thank you!!!

[Dalo Harkin]

You can run all programs in compatibility mode MARA - XP is by no means an outdated OS - Microsoft are just pedalling Vista at the moment -

Windows 7 - the next OS after Vista is 'rumoured' to be here before the end of 2009 hold out for that or you will have the same dilemma then :)

[Plastic Nev]

Although not familiar with this practice, I have seen somewhere that you can have an external hard drive with XP loaded on it, it is then just a matter of setting your machine, (somewhere in safe mode) to boot from the external hard drive rather than the internal which is loaded with Vista.

I may though have this understanding wrong, so will wait for a more experienced contributor to verify or not.

[Dalo Harkin]

Nev,

 

It CAN be done that way, but it is far better to operarte a dual boot system

[Plastic Nev]

Cheers Dalo, I was of course harking back to the days of small hard drives, My lappy for example with only 40GB, where there may not be room for a separate partition and dual booting.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

A 40gb drive will accommodate dual booting Nev, it just depends what you want to put on besides XP.

 

XP will take up 1.5GB of space.

 

Run an external drive for your stuff.

[Plastic Nev]

Indeed that now seems the way to do it. I think perhaps the original idea of loading a separate OS on an external drive comes from a time when slower data transfer speeds coupled with smaller hard drives may have been an issue. I don't know exactly where now, but I am sure I have seen that way recommended some time since.

As and when I get enough spare cash I am thinking of an external drive to hold some of the ever growing collection of video and brass or brass based music. Sometimes both combined, such things as video of our band on the march for example! I will hold off from Vista just yet though, as my present system may not work too well with it, besides I hate change just for the sake of it.