Some Noob Questions

[aoc153]

OK so I downloaded build 5048. I want to try installing on an older machine I have first before trying on my main pc. It has 2 harddrives so if I run setup and install on my F Drive, do I need a boot manager thing or will my pc know theres 2 OS'S installed? Also, my older pc doesnt exactly meet some of the reqirements so will it still let me install?

Thanks!!

[Blam-O!]

If the PC is old and you say it doesn't come to par with longhorn requirements, then the obvious answer is no. If Windows XP is installed as the Primary OS then Longhorn wil know that you have another OS there, as long as you don't install Longhorn over it! ... Have you even read the "Read Me" yet?

(Parts from the Read Me:)

Important Information about Setup

Computer configurations for installation
You can install Longhorn onto a computer that meets the following requirements:

The version of Longhorn for x86-based systems requires a partition that must
have 6 gigabytes (GB) of free space and 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM. If the video
card is sharing system RAM with only 256 MB, Setup will not be able to complete
this installation.


The version of Longhorn for 64-bit extended systems requires a partition that
must have 6 GB of free space and 512 MB of RAM. If the video card is sharing
system RAM with only 512 MB, Setup will not be able to complete this installation. 


You are not installing this preliminary release of Longhorn on a hidden partition or
a partition reserved for use by your OEM. 


The drive on which you want to install Longhorn is not a dynamic disk. 


Install Longhorn on clean partitions only
You can perform only a clean installation of this preliminary release of Longhorn.
You cannot upgrade your computer to this release. You can start a clean
installation of Longhorn from the installation DVD while you are running Windows
XP, a Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 operating system, or Windows Server
2003 with Service Pack 1. To perform a clean installation, be sure to format the
target partition as NTFS before you start the installation. If you have no operating
system installed or you are running an operating system other than Windows XP
with Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003, start the computer from the
installation DVD and perform a clean installation. You can format the partition as
NTFS during Setup.


You will be unable to install on FAT and FAT32 partitions. Although you cannot
choose a format other than NTFS during the installation, if you install this
preliminary release of Longhorn on a drive or partition that was previously
formatted as FAT, you must reformat the drive to NTFS before you install
Longhorn.

We recommend that you start Setup from the Longhorn installation DVD. From the
Setup Wizard, enter the product key, read and agree to the License Terms for
Microsoft Software, and click Clean installation. To format the partition, on the
Where to install Windows wizard page, choose the partition you want to format
and click Format. Then install Longhorn.