Restrict installation to a single window per system.
Restrict installation to a single window per system.
I searched online but got a lot of dual-boot information instead of what I needed. I’m planning to use my PC only for work, so I want another drive and a Windows key to boot into the specific one when required. I don’t want either my work or gaming PCs to access more than their designated drives, nor should they see the new drive. Would it be feasible to keep them separate? The current setup would show all drives in both installations, which goes against my goal.
Technically, the issue is best addressed with a dual-boot setup, though it remains a dual-boot configuration. A straightforward approach could be to build a bootable USB drive for your essential tasks and prioritize it in the boot sequence. Using an USB extender cable would help preserve the condition of your ports.
You might simply deploy your application on a virtual machine. Allocate ample RAM and multiple CPU cores, and it would function seamlessly. Explore options like VirtualBox, VMWare, or other VM tools—running them from Windows is straightforward without needing Linux. You could also consider a hardware-based approach via BIOS presets or templates if your motherboard supports it. Essentially, in BIOS you might disable specific SATA ports for drives you wish to conceal and save the configuration. Upon powering on, select the appropriate profile via a key press. Keep in mind potential licensing concerns; some software might link system details to hard drives. To avoid this, either remove the drive or block access through the device manager. This method also sidesteps licensing issues by isolating the affected drive.
In every Windows setup, adjust the disk letter for another installation's drive or partition in Disk Management.
Thanks for the advice. The VM won’t run because it needs more power. I’ll test it using the other suggestions after installing the new drive.
A possible approach is to encrypt both disks using BitLocker, ensure each requires a unique USB key, and connect the appropriate key to unlock the desired drive.
You can achieve over 95% of the original system performance using a virtual machine. Contemporary processors support virtualization, allowing seamless operation of graphics cards and additional components.
Correct, the guidelines prohibit VMs, so a clearer version from my side would have been more appropriate.