Seperate hard drives in same Laptop to keep software & files seperate

[spideyontheweb98]

Hi
Can you advise me if this is possible?

I have a Windows 10 laptop with a small hard drive.

But it has a slot for another SSD. Can I mount a hard drive with a seperate windows 10 OS(complete with new licence) and boot them seperately? Will they keep the files and software seperate and unable to access the files on my other hard drive? I'd like to try software in the second drive but would not like to risk my personal files in my original disk. Will it have any access at all to the other drive as long as it is booted seperately?

I have tried installing a virtualbox but found it a pain to to get used to it.

Many thanks to anyone who can advise me and direct me to establish this.

Regards

 

[USAFRet]

1. Installing a second OS on that second drive is a bad idea.
You can do it...that's referred to as a dual boot. But two identical, bootable, OS's in the same system often leads to confusion.

2. And that would not make anything "unable to access".

3. Personally, VirtualBox is easier and safer, IMHO, than a dualboot situation.

 

[spideyontheweb98]

1. Installing a second OS on that second drive is a bad idea.
You can do it...that's referred to as a dual boot. But two identical, bootable, OS's in the same system ofIMHO, than a dualboot situation.

Thanks for that.
My problems with the virtualbox - the graphics of the display are poor in the virtualbox, touch function which I need to use the pen for photo editing is poor, even the windows 10 display is not full screen (i installed the additions CD but it does not make the inner display full size),etc.
So, a dual boot does not keep files seperate is it?

 

[Math Geek]

why not put a second drive in and use it for all your files? this leaves OS and programs on one drive with your data on the other. this along with a healthy back-up system and you should be fine. this way if something goes wrong only your programs and os are messed up and files are sitting happy and safe on the second drive.

this is how i've done it for as long as i can remember and never had any issues this way personally. i can reinstall windows all i want and only have to worry about reinstalling a few programs once it's up n running.

 

[USAFRet]

why not put a second drive in and use it for all your files? this leaves OS and programs on one drive with your data on the other. this along with a healthy back-up system and you should be fine. this way if something goes wrong only your programs and os are messed up and files are sitting happy and safe on the second drive.

this is how i've done it for as long as i can remember and never had any issues this way personally. i can reinstall windows all i want and only have to worry about reinstalling a few programs once it's up n running.

Exactly the way I have mine.
1 drive for the OS and all applications.
Other files live on multiple other drives.

The first drive here has the OS and applications.
Each of the others are for different type files.

 

[Math Geek]

as a side note, when messing with new programs, let's face it we all love to tinker , i make sure to create a restore point in windows. makes it a bit easier to back out of any problems i create for myself. i do this often when installing new programs or trying out a new tweak or 2 i read about somewhere and so on.

pretty simple to revert back to restore point to undo things in case things go wrong. and they do go wrong more often than i like to admit.....