installing common programs for multiple OSes

[dhawald]

on my computer i have win2k and xp
and i have a diffrent partition only for program files.
can i install common programs for both the OSes in that partition.
will there be any problem.

is there any utility to help me in this.

[stalin]

better to install in different partition.

[drvarunmehta]

You absolutely CANNOT. Whenever you install a program, it adds entries to your Windows registry. Both XP and Win2K have different registries. The program will only make entries in the registry of the OS from which you install it, so you can only use the program from the OS you installed it in.

[vysakh]

yes you can.
just like you can install games in any other drive

[drvarunmehta]

Originally Posted by vysakh

yes you can.
just like you can install games in any other drive

No dude. It's not possible. Installing games in other drives has no connection with his problem. Yes the game can be played from both OS', but you will have to install them seperately in each OS.
He is asking if he can do a common install for both the OS', which is not possible.

[pimpom]

I have not installed 2k and XP together but I've installed Win98SE + XP or ME + XP on several computers, with the two OS'es together in C:.

In most cases, they share the same default location for Program Files in C: No problem installing the same program for each OS in the same directory. The only exception I've come across so far is AVG. For AVG, installing for one OS always corrupts a previous installation for the other OS.

I thought I'd try installing AVG in different directories for the two OS'es, but have not actually done so yet.

[ferrarif50]

It might run in some cases and it might not in some other. If the software is too tied up and dependent on the registry to run, then it will not work.

[it_waaznt_me]

Yes you can install ..Rather its the better option when you are running multiple operating systems .. It will save your hard drive's space .. When you intall the programs on a single location, the Registry entries will be created in the Windows partition and the files required will be placed in the Windows directory .. No harm in that ..