Hi all'
  I have a second 250 gig HDD and I was wondering could I install Windows Xp Pro and My important programmes on this drive ?
The reason is then I could carry on using my normal C drive installion but if anything went wrong, or if I got a virus or something then I could ( hopefully ) use this second installation while I re-formatted my HDD and installed everything again. In other words can I have 2 Win XP Pro installations on the same PC but on different drives.And if I can do this, do I need any SPECIAL software. :-?
Yes you could, but I doubt it'd be a good idea in case of a virus attack.. You should just create two partitions. Install Windows XP On C:\ and use the rest of the disk space to store important information. In case of an attack, wipe C, reinstall and scan the other partitions for viruses before opening programs there.In that case, I also have an EXTERNAL 40 G Hard Drive on my USB2 port. Would it be better to install the second inslilation there ?
That would be safe from virus attack etc wouldent it ? because I can leave it disconnected and only use it when needed.
But is it possable to install Windows on any other drive apart from c :
Does the setup ask you which drive you want to put XP on ?
Looking forward to your answer You're better off creating an Image using software such as Norton Ghost or not getting infected at all by paying for proper Internet Security technology.

A dual-boot is never a good way to make certain you can't be infected, because the other OS might become infected as well unless you use Linux...

You can't reformat C:\ and expect the other Windows OS to still work, Windows relies on the Windows installation of C:\ to work.I agree with Raptor.  Get some imaging software (I use Acronis TRUE Image) then image the primary hard drive to your second hard drive.  It will be a lot easier to recover that way then to have to reinstall EVERYTHING and copy all that data back.  

Alan <><  With imaging software (I use Acronis) there is no need to use another HDD...restoring a drive takes about 10 minutes tops...use that space for something else.

I back up once a week and burn a current one monthly to DVD. Worst case scenario i am 3 weeks from back to perfect all within as i said minutes.

patio.  8-)Thanks Guys,
   I will try that ghost idear, I have a Norton program that has that feature ( Norton Sys Tools I think ) I will use that and make an image of my C: drive and burn it to disk.
If I ever have to use it though what do I do ?  :-?Just format C: drive and drag and drop the Image file, or what ? :-? :-?   Quote

Thanks Guys,
   I will try that ghost idear, I have a Norton program that has that feature ( Norton Sys Tools I think ) I will use that and make an image of my C: drive and burn it to disk.
If I ever have to use it though what do I do ?  :-?Just format C: drive and drag and drop the Image file, or what ? :-? :-?