Hi.
This is my first post so I hope this doesn't sound obvious but...

I'm running XP Home and recently installed Vista on a separate hdd via a separate ide. I used the ide that was running to my dvd/rw but when I connected the Vista drive to the C drive ide, it booted XP straight away.
How can I run Duel Boot without sacrificing my dvd/rw? And I have changed the master/slave pins around too!

Thnx in advance.

Hello Campbell and welcome to PC help Forum.

Firstly you need a double IDE lead and both hard drives can be safetly connected to it and not cause any problems.

Hi there Campbell.0 and welcome to PC Help Forum.

How many IDE connections do you have on the motherboard? Does your motherboard carry SATA connections? So, you have your XP drive set as master and the Vista drive (when plugged into IDE2 (?)) as slave?

Thanx for the welcome!
I only have two slots on the motherboard. No, no sata ports I'm afraid and yes, I believe , I have the drives set accordingly.

Then you can go with Jelly Beans suggestion and get hold of an IDE cable with 3 plugs on it - one for the motherboard, one for the DVD Drive and the one on the end for the secondary IDE drive. I have used SATA for so long now, my IDE knowledge is getting rusty lol!

As for the config, make the XP drive primary Master, set the DVD drive to primary Slave and the second IDE drive to secondary Master. Check your bios when you have connected them to see how they are picked up. It may take a few goes to get the config right.

Thanx for your suggestions. I'll take them onboard for tomorrow.

Campbell.0