Using same dir to install progs in a dual boot setup (ME/2K)

[UcLaGeE]

Hi I was wondering is it possible to 'share' an installation in a dual boot system WinME & 2000. Not more the reason for saving space, but convenience, ie. I use Eudora for my e-mail, but I like to have a record of all my e-mail. Say my ME drive is D: and 2000 drive is C:. Can I install Eudora under Win 2k as C:\Program Files\etc. and then boot Win ME and install it under the same dir, so they will share settings/mailboxes, etc. Also another example would be AOL as I would like to use the same personal filing cabinet. Also, it would be useful for saving space in the case of big programs, ie Office 2000. Is this safe to do? Just basically installing it twice (so it will be properly setup on both environments), or will this make a big mess in my system? Or let me know another solution......


Thanks!

 

[AndyHui]

For something like Eudora, it may be OK, since you will be sharing mailboxes, but it is still not recommended. You can set up both in different directories, but can still get it to point to the same folders containing your mails.

For Office, it's probably not a good idea. Whatever you do to one installation can have adverse affects in the other OS, since Office is heavily reliant on registry entries. So if you applied the service pack in one OS, but did not do it in the other, you may have versioning conflicts, not to mention the mess that occurs when you decide to uninstall.

It's always safest to install in separate directories on separate partitions.

 

[Spiff]

Actually this can be done in an effective manner. And it does not "ruin" your system or have any direct deleterious effect on your system. But, some precautions need to take place and you should be aware of some caveats.

- Installation of software into the same directory requires two installations still. Becauseof registry entries and the possible placement of files into other common directories, you will still need to perform the install twice. This is okay and can be done safely.

- Systems utilities are often platform specific. One example of this, is antivirus software. Typically, this will require separate installions into different directories because of the way the software insteracts with the OS. Although most of these will probably do their own version checking when you install, don't rely on that. Check the software to see if there are differences that are dependent on the OS version.

- Uninstalls will not be clean. You will only be able to uninstall once. Uninstall on the other OS will fail because the files it attempts to remove are already gone. This means that registry entries and any system files that may have been placed by the app will remain. Typically having this stuff in the registry is not a big deal. It does not have any siginificant impact on system performance. However, you would need to watch and be wary of anything that was supposed to start automatically on boot or login and you would have to be wary of anything that might have been scheduled to run in the Task Scheduler. Easy enough if you are familiar with systems but I would not recommend for the casual end user unfamiliar with computers.

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If you wish to use the same config information or mailboxes or other things like this, your email appplication should allow you to point to the location of the mailbox and address book. I usually keep mine in a non-standard location. This allows me to easily rebuild my systems without the need to dig around all over the place for things to backup. At this time, the only items I need to remember to move, are my ICQ db and my list of bookmarks. And actually... I could probably move the location of the bookmarks if I wished.

Installation of apps to the same directories in dual-boot setups can b on effectivly and with little hassle, but it does require you be aware to a degree, of how your system works.

 

[DazedAndConfused]

Good Advice for sharing. Let me add this if are using Win ME or any 9x kernel with a NT Kernel then get Norton utilites for the 9x kerenl its win doctor will allow you to delete entry keys for programs and Dlls it can no longer find (I say NU because I know of no other program that has this type of utility). The other option is free, but definatly more of a pain, just reinstall the program in the second OS ( I am assuming you removed already from the other) and then rerun the unistall.

Dazed