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Possible Duplicate:
How do I set up multiple HDD?

I can see that there are other similar threads, but many relate to older versions of Ubuntu or take a slightly different tact.

The setup is thus: I have one computer with one SATA drive in it. When the computer, which was Windows, crashed some months ago I opted to switch to Ubuntu rather than re-obtain Windows (I had lost the CD/Key, it was a mess)- even though at the time Windows was better suited to my needs.

I popped Ubuntu on and everything has been going swell, love it, learning it and so far it has been meeting my needs.

For a number of reasons (which aren't particularly important) I've found myself thinking that I would like to have another boot option of Windows for certain particular tasks but primarily use Ubuntu.

I have seen much on installing Ubuntu on a partition from Windows but fewer things on Windows from Ubuntu, especially if it is from a second harddrive and not a partition.

I guess my overarching question is: is there any great difficulty in popping a second harddrive in, and installing windows on it? I don't know much about the mechanics of all this, but my thought turned to whether there would be 'competition' of any sort between the drives for boot priority, or if there would be trouble even if I booted into Ubuntu with the Windows drive still 'running' in the background and whether things like ram and video card compatibility would come into problem?

It seems like most people go the other way from Windows to Ubuntu--would it be easier to just install Windows then partition and then install Ubuntu back onto a partition of the same harddrive and restore everything from a backup?

Much thanks, steadily learning and loving it,

M

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Madrigal
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    I think (I could be wrong though.) that if you temporarily disconnect the Ubuntu hard-drive and do a clean install of Windows on the second drive. Connect the Ubuntu Drive back up and in the BIOS set it as the first boot priority. This should boot into Grub which after running sudo update-grub should have both Ubuntu and Windows in the list! – Merri Jan 12 '13 at 21:34
  • I'll look into that option, that is most helpful--especially if that's the way to do it. I don't have a ton of time to tinker around with it (regrettably) so that would be ideal. Thanks. – Madrigal Jan 12 '13 at 21:55
  • That thread seems to be the fix, the title was sort of ambiguous so I didn't notice it.

    Consider this question answered (I am not sure how to count user68186's comment as answer).

     – Madrigal Jan 12 '13 at 21:58
  • @Madrigal the intended behaviour is to upvote the answer in the link that suits your question ;) – Rinzwind Jan 12 '13 at 22:04

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I did that very thing...first disconnect the Linux Hard drive, and only have the second drive. Go to Bios, and make sure it boots first with DVD/CD drive. Put in the OS disk, if you have one, then start up the computer. tell the machine to install on all the disk. when all is said and done, remove the disk, start up the machine, press f12 frequently, it should show both drives, you can decide which you want....

Benny Kellogg
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  • F12 to get the BIOS boot screen is literally BIOS dependant - it may not be case for all machine (ASUS is often key for example). You don't need to go to the boot menu each time in any case, just set BIOS to boot off the first hard drive (Ubuntu) and get grub2 to include the Windows drive in its boot menu - Boot Ubuntu and open a terminal window, then type the command "sudo update-grub". The OS prober will find the Windows installation and include it in the boot menu. – fabricator4 Jan 12 '13 at 22:37