[soproud15]

I'm looking to reinstall my XP Pro with nlite. I have had some issues before with this so I was wondering if there is anything I could do like installing new XP on another partition with my old, stable partition still on C. I'm wondering if that could make it so I could easily switch back to the old system (if new one doesn't work) and possibly be able to transfer files easier. Am I able to do anything like this?

 

[belfasteddie]

I have read where people have done this but it would appear the two copies will share parts of the registry, which could be/get confusing.
If you are the installing as a once only the question begs as to why use nlite?
nlite is handy for multiple installs.

 

[soproud15]

I'm a bit of a tweakaholic so nlite's ability to slim down install and such is very appealing to me. Also if my new install is working I would delete the old one to get back its disk space.

 

[Riskyone101]

Hello,

You wont beable to delete old xp from the same partition wihtout having problems as clearly stated by belfasteddie.

This will lead corrupt O.S. files, registry files...ect...

 

[Riskyone101]

A suggestion here,

I use nLite too, no problem, but you should have the new installation on a separate drive than the same one while working with it.

 

[soproud15]

A suggestion here,

I use nLite too, no problem, but you should have the new installation on a separate drive than the same one while working with it.

I dont really understand, are you saying I can install XP on a separate drive and still have my old one (on the old drive), just that I then cannot delete my old installation?

 

[Riskyone101]

Ok I would not recommend installing xp on the same drive as old xp is all, because you will be unable to delete old xp from the partition without having conflictions.

Say for example: C:/drive = xp old and xp new not a good idea
C:/drive = old xp
D:/drive = new xp
good idea

Now on the second note: all I was suggesting when you build an xp cd, is to do it on a different partition using nLite is all.

say for example: C:/drive = old xp with nLite installed on,
D:/drive = xp files on it in a folder, example xp-cd.

This is a safe way to build a cd installation using nLite.

 

[Riskyone101]

sorry I see why you got confused, I didnt explain enough, well my post above should clear things up.

 

[Dunedin]

Hello soproud15

I was wondering if there is anything I could do like installing new XP on another partition with my old, stable partition still on C.

Yes you can install a 2nd copy of XP on another partition

Also if my new install is working I would delete the old one to get back its disk space.

Yes you can do this too, but you must be careful. You must NOT delete the following files or your 2nd installation will not bootup.
These files must always stay in the root of "C"

Boot.ini

Ntldr

Ntdetect.com

They all live in the C: drive root folder, and as long as they remain there then you can boot normally into your new Windows installation. You will have to show all hidden files to get them to show up.

.

 

[Riskyone101]

By meaning another partition that is fine and yes you can, but not on the same partition if this what you are asking then you will not beable to uninstall old xp without conflictions.

 

[Riskyone101]

You will have to use a program to repartition some space off of C:/drive to make D:/drive for a new xp installation.

Example:
http://www.partition-tool.com/

Then you will beable to delete old xp after you have the new xp setup, also you will beable to rejoin the 2 partitions together again after deleting old xp, this way you can see if new xp works before deleting old xp.

 

[Riskyone101]

To Dunedin, he was asking to install xp again on the same partition as the current one, and then beable to delete old xp from the same partition as the new is on. I had simply stated to him that this could cause conflicts with the new installation and errors upon bootup.

 

[Riskyone101]

But you are correct too in what you replied also. I agree

 

[Dunedin]

Riskyone101

No, the idea was to install XP on another partition. Read the very first question again

I was wondering if there is anything I could do like installing new XP on another partition with my old, stable partition still on C

.

 

[Riskyone101]

Yes your right, somehow I did not interpret it that way, ty for pointing that out to me Dunedin, I also was impressed with your computer knowledge when I first entered TSF.

 

[Dunedin]

Thank you very much Riskyone101. :smile:

You must be pretty good with the hardware side. I`m afraid I don`t have enough knowledge or time to visit the hardware forums. It takes all sorts to make the forum good. :smile:

.

 

[soproud15]

Thank you all, what you have proposed is what I was originally asking i just didnt explain it clearly enough. I just have a few follow up questions:
Will I be able to transfer files from C:/ (Old XP) to D:/ (New install)
Also you mentioned rejoining the partitions. How does that work exactly? Could I rejoin C:/ and D:/ after deleting the old system on C:/ ? What would this new, rejoined partition then be called, C:/ or would it still be D:/? I hope that made sense, thanks for all the help clearing this up.