Take the easy route towards a multiboot system.

In past shows, we've shown you how to set up your PC to dual boot Windows and Linux. It involves partitioning the hard drive, installing the operating systems, and running some type of boot manager such as Grub or LILO.

What a pain.

It's not that this method doesn't work. It's just that partitioning the hard drive and installing a boot manager can be a tricky process. It's best suited for advanced computer users.

The absolute easiest way to run a dual-boot system is to run each operating system independent of each other on separate hard drives. Makes sense, doesn't it? With each OS on its own drive, you don't have to worry about partitioning, and it's easier to manage the software.

There's a catch.

Make the switch

The problem is that you have to change the master and slave jumpers each time you decided to boot into your OS of choice, since the master drive is always the first drive that boots. That means you have to power down your computer, open the case, remove the hard drives (if you can't contort your fingers to reach the jumpers), change the jumper settings, remount the drives, close up the case, and power up. Ugh.

Rather than manually change jumpers before every boot, I decided to create a flip switch that changes the jumper setting for me. To pick which drive I want to boot, all I have to do flip the switch.

The switch is a single-pull double-throw (SPDT) flip switch from RadioShack. This $3 switch completes the circuit when it's up and stops the circuit when it's down.

You need a Dremel tool and your soldering kit for this. You also need to find hard-drive jumpers with wires, not the hard-drive jumpers you find on drives today. I found my jumpers from an old 286 PC. Try looking at used computer parts stores.

Instructions

  1. Place both drives on the same primary IDE channel and remove all jumpers. I placed my Linux drive at the end of the chain, but it doesn't matter which OS is at the end.
  2. Boot the PC. Most drives default to cable select mode when the jumpers are removed. The drive at the end of the chain will be master. The drives should show up as master and slave.
  3. Shut down your PC.
  4. Place your wired jumpers on each drive. The drive at the end of the chain should be set to slave. The other drive set to master.
  5. Solder the other end of the wires to the switch, separating the two wires from each jumper to the two leads on the switch.
    • When the switch is flipped up, the circuit is completed and the jumpers are activated.
    • When the switch is flipped down, the connection is broken and the drives default to the cable select position, as if no jumpers were on the drive.

  6. Dremel a hole in a 5.25-inch bay to mount the switch and close up your case.


On my PC, I flip the switch up to boot into Windows. (This selects drive 1 as master.). To boot into Linux, I flip the switch down. (This activates cable select, making drive 2 master.)