1 laptop 2 hard drives( vista on one and win 7 on the other)


  1. Hokeb1
    Posts : 2
    Win 7 home premiumx64 and Vista x64
       New #1

    1 laptop 2 hard drives( vista on one and win 7 on the other)


    Hi All,

    I have a question that i have spent hours on line trying to find an answer for, with no luck. I have a laptop with two hard drives, win 7 x64 on one and vista x64 on the other. I am able to boot and run each operating system just fine. The problem is that whichever Os I'm in if I go to My computer I can see and access the other OS. Is there a way to avoid that. The drive with win 7 is dedicated for graphic arts programs, movie editing and the like. So it only connects to the internet for SOME windows updates and all my editing software updates as well as being setup to use the least amount of background resources. The Vista drive however is for everything else( web surfing, email, office documents....etc.) Bottom line, the Goal is two keep the win 7 drive from getting viruses or other problems that can occur from everyday use on computers.

    I have read in other forum posts to just use one drive at a time(swap as needed) that however is not really an option. I also read that the best thing to do is go to computer management, disk management and hide each drive from the other.

    Can the drives be truly 100% independent of each other and still be installed at the same time, if so Please explain how or supply a link for instructions.



    Thanks in advance
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  3. smarteyeball
    Posts : 12,364
    8 Pro x64
       New #2

    Hokeb1 said:

    I have read in other forum posts to just use one drive at a time(swap as needed) that however is not really an option.
    No, that is a poor option.


    I also read that the best thing to do is go to computer management, disk management and hide each drive from the other.
    Realistically that's the easiest way to to do it. It will certainly stop any 'user level' accidents.

    Can the drives be truly 100% independent of each other and still be installed at the same time, if so Please explain how or supply a link for instructions.
    Not truly 100% - since you'd be able to 'find' the drive through diskpart/computer management at any time, so the OS pretty much knows the other drive is always there so to speak.

    Hiding the drives + a good Anti virus and regular scans should be more than sufficient to keep the drive with Seven safe.
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  4. Hokeb1
    Posts : 2
    Win 7 home premiumx64 and Vista x64
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    Wow, Thanks for the VERY quick reply. Can you explain or link instructions on hiding the drives.


    thanks in advance
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  6. gregrocker
    Posts : 50,642
       New #4

    Remove the other OS's drive letter in Disk Mgmt: Drive Letter - Add, Change, or Remove in Windows 7 - Windows 7 Forums
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

 

  Related Discussions
My question is can I swap two different hard drives one with windows 7 and other with 8.1 back and forth on same laptop?
I need to purchase a computer. Below is pasted from a vendor’s shopping cart. Does this laptop computer have 4 hard drives? 2 mSATA SSDs, and 2 mechanical hard drives? If this is possible is there any disadvantage other than cost to using a computer with 4 hard drives? Would there be any...
I need advice by detail on how i should setup for best performance later and so many doubts occur having 2 HDD,s on Laptop: (Both HDD have same speed with 500gb) I can format the whole windows 7 on primary HDD and then later put the pagefile on 2nd HDD maybe? i believe 2nd HDD maybe...
Hi everybody, I cant believe the prices of a new IDE laptop HDD at Best Buy. Can anybody please point me to a source that sells 2.5" IDE drives (60GB to 80 GB) larger is fine if the price isn't too crazy. I have four IDE laptops that are still great machines and I would like to purchase a few...
Being a laptop owner i was not happy to read this :( More information Here
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

 © Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 23:57.
Find Us