Let the multi-system say goodbye to the Startup Menu

Source: http://soft.yesky.com/

When installing multiple systems, the general method is to install them in a certain order to automatically generate multiple boot menus. This is convenient, but there is a fatal weakness. When the first system fails, the system at the end will be paralyzed, causing inconvenience to the maintenance work. Is there a way to make the systems independent?

Yes, we only need to make a little effort to break every system from the dependency on the Startup menu, without affecting each other. In addition, there are also many advantages of traditional multi-system systems, such as program sharing and user data sharing. The following describes how to install an independent multi-system that contains Windows XP/2003.

I. Disk Planning

Use the partition magician of the DOS version to partition the hard disk by partition planning table.

Tip: the author's hard disk is only 40 GB, And the capacity distribution is shown in the partition planning table. Please adjust it according to your own hard disk capacity. In addition, partition 5 is used to store backups of two systems. The compression ratio is as high as 50% during backup, and the size is 5 GB.

Ii. Install multiple systems

1. Install Windows Server 2003.

Use the DOS partition magician to Set Partition 2 as an active partition and install Windows Server 2003.

Tip: there can be multiple primary partitions, but only one of them is active. Therefore, after you Set Partition 2 as an active partition, partition 1 is automatically hidden, which is the key to independent installation.

2. Install Windows XP

Set Partition 1 as active partition by using the partition magician of DOS version (partition 2 is automatically hidden at this time) and install Windows XP.

Some applications can also be used in another system after being installed in one system. You can install them in partition 3 and drag a shortcut to another system. For folders that store user data, move them to partition 3 to facilitate use in both systems. The data includes emails in OE, address book, and favorites in IE, "My Documents" and so on.

The method is also very simple. For example, to share the emails under OE, you can create a folder named OE in partition 3, and then point the saved emails in both systems to this folder.

Tip: After partitioning by Table 1, no matter which system is started, the partition of the system is displayed as "C:", and the drive letter of partition 3 is always "D: ", will not affect the sharing of the above data.

If maintenance requires, set both primary partitions to display (but only one of them is active). At this time, the primary partitions are ranked to the end, in this example, "F:" is displayed :". If you want to display partition 5 at the same time, it can be inferred from table 1 that partition 4 is "F:", and the inactive primary partition is "G :", it does not affect data sharing.


Iii. Quick Conversion System

If a multi-system installed using the above method does not generate a boot menu at startup, how should we convert the system?

Install partition magician 8.0 in Windows XP and copy the following files to a new directory on disk D in the installation directory (C: Program FilesSymantecNo rton PartitionMagic 8.0 by default, set the directory name to PQBOOT): pqboot32.exe1_pqbw.exe, pqbw. rtc, pqpe. rtc, PQVXD. vxd.

Tip: the common version of the partition magician 8.0 cannot be installed on Windows Server 2003, but the extracted files can run normally under it.

Run pqbw. Obviously, it has found the primary partition in the system, and indicated the partition Status in the "Status:" field Subscript: "Active" indicates that the partition is Active, what is working is the system in this partition; "Hidden" indicates that it is Hidden. In this case, select the partition marked as "SYS2K3" and "Restart Now", and click "OK" to close the current system and start another system. It is more convenient.

If you are still in trouble, run Pqboot32 at the command prompt. It can run with parameters. Enter the following command to convert it to Windows Server 2003:

Command: Pqboot32/v: SYS2K3

Note: parameter v is followed by the volume label.

The next step is to make it into a batch processing file and put it on the desktop of each system. Isn't "one-click conversion" implemented?

Tip: The Pqboot that can run in pure DOS is the same as that in Pqboot32, but Pqboot32 cannot run in pure DOS.

Iv. System Backup and Maintenance

Back up an independent multi-system. I recommend that you use PQDI (Power Quest Drive Image). Compared with Ghost, it can operate hidden partitions. Store backups on hidden partitions for higher security.

During maintenance, if one system fails, we can go to another system to maintain the faulty system, which is very convenient.

Tip: If Windows 2003 cannot be started after it is restored from the backup, you can delete partitions in the DOS version of PQDI and restore the partitions directly to the deleted partitions. Remember to set active partitions. PQDI also has this function. (Li xuanchang, Sichuan Province)

Post-Compilation: although the above method is a little troublesome during installation, the subsequent benefits will make you feel that the trouble is not worth mentioning. If your hard disk is large enough, you can install four independent Windows systems at the same time. You can even install an independent dossystem: format it as a system disk, and then merge it into a commonly used dostool, which is very useful for maintaining the system.