Dual OS System with a Virus

[loveamd]

Hi there,

Can you call help settle something for me...

In the next few weeks I am going to put in a second hard drive (G) with a second installation of XP Pro. I will also format my C drive for fresh install for surfing the net and downloading files and such.

I want my G drive to be as virgin as possible and only have games installed. Should I install a virus scanner either passive or active on my new G drive? Remember it won't be used to surf the net. Or will my AV program on my C drive be enough? I was talking to a friend of mine and he said that if I get a virus on my C drive it can also install itself into the registry of my new G drive. I am guessing if I think I am infected on the (G)aming drive I can shut down and boot to C and scan G?

 

[pscowboy]

Take care of all the "G" setup AFTER you work on "C". You don't need Pro on this drive.

When you do the clean XP install on C, do not have your pc connected to the net. Also, DO NOT FORMAT THIS DRIVE USING A 98 BOOT FLOPPY! However, I strongly recommend that you delete all the partitions on "C" using fdisk from a 98 boot floppy. Make sure you ESC out and reboot to effect the changes. Pop in your XP cd and do the fresh install opting for a "long" NTFS format during the install process.

After the XP is running okay, immediately install your AV. Now connect to the net and update the AV. At this point you should Activate and get all the hotfixes and patches from MS. Get this XP to as-good-as-it-gets. Then, go into Disk Management and change the drive letter on your optical drives to "M" or above.

Shut down; install the new "G" drive, and cold boot. Go into Disk Management. The drive will probably be "D" (do not change this yet) - Create partition - Format (I suggest long). Reboot.

Go back into Disk Management, and change "D" to "G". Now you should install all your games.

Keeping your AV active and automatically updated, should leave your "G" drive pristine.