Windows XP installing / booting / Sata

Hello all,

I'm trying to work through an install/boot senario with 2 versions of windows.
I'm not a windows master so keep with me if I'm on the wrong track totally.

I've found this thread http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.p...t=Sata+install
and I've picked a few bits of info out of it.


I've got XP pro installed on my local ide primary disk (simpley because windows likes the first partition of the primary disk for install)

I would like to install XP64 on one of my sata disks, but also maintain XP pro on the ide disk.

I have numerous things that are not clear in my mind on this, and a few issues that may make this more complicated. First things first though.

This is how I have it in my head, but as I said windows isn't my thing so I could be way off.

I can't boot directly off my Sata disks (an Asus AV8) so I have to maintain the boot sector off the primary IDE disk. Using part of the process in the thread I've read above, I think I've understood how to install XP64 to the sata disk, using this method would the xp64 install put the boot sector for xp64 on the sata disk - or the ide disk ? (have I explained that clear enough)

I'm hoping the response will be the boot sector on the sata disk and that the boot sector on the ide disk will be left untouched.

My primary IDE disk has grub installed as a boot loader to boot various OS's from various disks, including the windows32 install on the ide disk, so if the XP64 install updates the sata disk boot sector and not hte ide one I can just add it to the grub config.

am I right in understanding how the XP64 install to sata will work with the boot process ?

as an update to this for reference.

I've installed XP64 to the sata disk, and it does infact update the boot sector with a clean XP64 boot sector on the primary IDE hard disk, overwriting grub/xp pro's origional boot sector.