Dual Boot Win 7 & Win 7

Hi Brink, this may be the wrong forum. If so point me to the right one, please.
Here's my question:
I want to set up a dual boot system with 2 times Win 7. One system with Office software and related, the other with multimedia software like Photoshop etc. My experience with Xp systems is that that postpones the unavoidable clutter that Windows creates on a system disk. Also, I found it convenient to be able to access the system disk of the respective one system from the other one that is booted at the moment (backup, repair,...).
Now I want to do that for my new PC, too. I have a new PC with one 250GB HDD for the two OSs, and two 250GB HDDs (RAID0) for data. How do I go about installing the two OSs on two partitions? My first tries showed that I need one 100MB partition for the boot manager; two partitions of 80GB each are for the two Win7 systems, and the remaining partition for the application software (paging file will be on the RAID HDD).
Thanks for any hints!

Shawn, thank you for this very helpful hint. I did it! It works! I then found a tip in one of my IT magazines about how to change the boot sequence in the bootmanager without using BCDEDIT or Autoruns (By MS). So now I am looking for 64bit applications to install on my system (I believe in running native using the 32bit mode only when absolutely necessary. I hear that MS is working on Office 2010 in 32- and 64-bit Versions. That would suit me. Any more suggestions in that area?
Tx
Volker

Ok.. guess no need then for additional input.. just now im writing up scripts exactly for those kind of things!! :)

I personally in that scenario would set up a 0x27 primary and startign partition with system + winre (recovery environment), optionally with two captured images of the two win 7 OS with * all the programs you want to have there from start. So assuming the programs you mentioned would make one primary partition of hmm about roughly 17 GB for such a scenario (meaning though if something went wrong, backup as you say) all you'd do is push F6 say, go to a custom recovery tool (in my case), and choose which OS to reapply WITH the base favourite programs already installed. The two OS would be partition 2 and 3 on disk 1 as you say and one of them would carry the bootmanager though. (not to worry, the recovery environment saves the day any time except a full disk failure). Then set up as you say the rest.

How to do it... erm , either a loooong explanation here or a batch file and a few vbs files :)

Every post I am reading today , I realize I should extend the options for more scenarios.. this was a good one :) But anyway, by merging system + recovery, gives you recovery options as if it was delivered from a OEM and only uses one primary partition slot (your first disk can hold 4 primary partitions). So system + 2x OS = 1 left for logical (or plain primary).. that's good, but in the odd chance you want recovery, then have used up the slot for any remaining space on the disk 1.

Still, your solution worked, but so does running a single step-by-step streamlined guide. Arg. I want to port it to c++ (should of just done it immediately) as it took me almost a week to write the silly batch code , with good exception handling... batch files are terrible, why did I even bother trying to understand them on a borader level :P bcdedit is BRILLIANT... 80% of the problems people encounter with booting problems on this forum, to me seems eassily solvable with bcdedit tbh. A good move from ntldr. Microsoft sometimes do some good steps in the right direction :)

In fact, no 3rd party tools are needed to fully deploy your own home system as if it was deployed through mass deployment systems! I gotta say wow and weee.. finally.

Ahhh solar, you're the very man I want to 'talk' to!
I am not sure I understood what you said how to go about saving the two OSs in a recovery partition(?). If you have a file/document I'd very much like to get it; brink hast my email address. As I am in the good position to have a clean PC to work with it should be an ideal testing ground for your method. I am a firm believer in backup/restore not just in cases of emergency (virus etc.) but for performance reasons (I use ccleaner and TuneUp for interim cleaning but that does not make a system really clean...). If I had a recovery partition I could restore to the original system more quickly than by using external HDDs.

One hint re. BCDEDIT: I could not understand it so I found "EASYBCD". Now that is a good tool! Try it if you do not know it yet.

Looking forward...
Volker

Hi solar,
yes I know all about that! Internet can be a nuisance but try to live without it...! I have IPTV i.e. my TV programmes come over the internet (5MBit/s); if IP dies I have no outside contact at all!
I should be VERY interested in your procedure to set up a recovery partition. But do not get into stress writing it. As we say here, good things take time...
Have good sunday!
Volker

O-ohh, solar! Hope you won't end up spending the nights in front of the screen...
BUT: I'll gladly wait...
Volker