Question on booting multiple operating systems
 

I've done several multi boot situations over the years. Currently it is XP86 and Ubuntu8.04x64. Both are running well.

Here is the question. I've always just relied on a boot loader to handle this. It has always been a bit sloppy with minor irritating obstacles. In lieu of getting a second machine, I'm wondering if there is a better way to do this.

Can you just install an operating system on one drive, unplug it from SATA and plug in a different drive, then install another operating system on that drive? Then it would seem you could just select which device to boot from. Like via boot order in BIOS. Can this be done? It seems to simple.

I can't imagine a reason that wouldn't work. However, I wouldn't ever do it that way. You're just having to double boot your system every time you want to change operating systems then...once to reconfig boot parameters in your bios, and once to have it take effect.

What boot loader are you using that won't do what you're looking for? Although a bit touchy, you can manually configure Grub to do damn near anything I can imagine.

Well, I don't know how to configure GRUB, and I always fear making horrible mistakes. I'll read more about it though.

Also, when booting I can hit 'esc' and select my boot device, so I wouldn't have to reconfigure each time.

There's a program called startupmanager that helps with configuring GRUB.

There is no reason you couldn't select the drive to boot from in BIOS. I think using GRUB is an easier, more elegant solution though. I have GRUB set up to give me 5 seconds to hit a key and select Windows on my laptop (although I rarely use it) otherwise it boots into Archlinux. startupmanager will let you configure the timeout, graphics, password, etc...

Excellent information. Thanks. I'll check that app out.