Shared Program Files Directory (XP5.1 & Win2K)

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Is it possible for XP and 2K to share the same Program Files directory? If so, must (or is it advisable for) it be in a different partition?

Al

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If you mean to share the same programs in the same folder, then the answer is yes. BUT you may have problems. If you upgrade from one OS and then try to upgrade from the other, it may appear to already be upgraded to the second OS. Or if you do NOT upgrade, the second OS may NOT be ale to read the program files because they are of the newer version which the current OS may not be able to read.

I install each program in each OS’s program folder and had have had only one problem. When I upgraded to Office 2002 my Office 2000 was removed from the other OS. This was because I used a UPGRADE copy and the upgrade installer found the copy on the other partition for the legal use of a upgrade.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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It’s possible, but not necessarily a good idea. I say that because it requires extra diligence on your part: if you apply , say, a service pack or path to an installed application, you need to immediately do the same thing under the alternate operating system. Typically, it won’t cause huge problems if you don’t, but application suites like Microsoft Office update the registry with service pack applications, as do other programs.

I always put Program Files in a separate partition – if you need to wipe out the OS for any reason, all of your personalized settings aren’t gone forever. Plus, it separates the system from the application, which is good computing practice.

“In the force if Yoda’s so strong, construct a sentence with words in the proper order then why can’t he?” — Princess Leia: @()@

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RE: always put Program Files in a separate partition

Do mean the *entire* Program Files folder, i.e., including the Common Files subdirectory? If yes, do you edit the registry so that the OS will look in the Program FIles partition?

Thanks,

Al

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I leave “Common Files” where it defaults to. You can download TweakUI for WinXP and change the default Program Files directory – no registry hack needed.

Once an application is installed, the OS will know where to find it.

‘The force is like Duct Tape – it has a dark side, it has a light side, and it binds the universe together!’

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Ok, one last question:

How about the Program File directories for IE, Netmeeting, xerox, and all that other “stuff” XP so thoughtfully installs on the PF directory?

Al

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They’ll be fine – once you change the default, it will affect only new installations. Where the software registers its location will not change.

Good luck!

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Okay, I moved the profile directories except for the Administrator account. Somehow, in the Start menu for the Administrator, the entries in the All Users Start menu aren’t showing up. Any idea(s) why?

Al

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How did you go about moving the directories? Did you copy them to a new location, and if so, did you use TweakUI or something similar to point Windows to the new locations?

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I copied the directories (All Users and one user so far) to the new partition and used RegCrawler and RegEditX to change the registry entries for the AllUserProfile and for each user to point to the correct locations. The Start Menu expansion for the user works just fine. It’s the Start Menu for the Admin that I’m having trouble with.

Thanks,

Al

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Okay after some searching, I discovered the problem. Somehow, some way, someone had turned off the NoCommonGroups entry in the
HKEY_USERSS-1-5-21-220523388-1645522239-1801674531-500SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer
registry entry… Dunno who but setting it to “1” fixed the problem.

– Al

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Opps … setting it to “0” solved the problem.

I found this in KB article (Q292504).

– Al

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