How many systems can be installed on PC?

Asked By 30 points N/A Posted on -
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Right now on my laptop there is Windows 8 and Linux Ubuntu dual booted. I'm just curious. I want to know is there any limitation for having more than certain number of operating systems. Is there maybe a possibility to damage something if more OS-es are installed? 

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Answered By 0 points N/A #173094

How many systems can be installed on PC?

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Hi Pamela,

Installing multiple operating systems on a computer has some drawbacks, however. Each operating system uses disk space, and compatibility issues (especially between file systems) can be complex. Also, you cannot use dynamic disks with certain operating systems. Only Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Vista can access a dynamic disk.
Converting a basic disk to a dynamic disk that contains multiple installations of Windows Vista, Windows XP Professional, or Windows 2000 can cause startup problems.

Regards,

Anyet

 

Answered By 590495 points N/A #315269

How many systems can be installed on PC?

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There’s no reason for the hardware or the computer to get damaged if you installed multiple operating systems on the computer. Every operating system you install on the computer is treated separately with the other operating systems. They will not go into conflict when you use the computer because they are installed on their respective partitions.

A disk partition or simply a partition is a defined storage space on the hard drive and there are three (3) kinds of partitions: primary partition, extended partition, and logical partition. The primary partition is where the operating system is installed by default. A standard MBR or basic disk allows you to create up to four (4) partitions only.

You can create four (4) primary partitions or three (3) primary partitions and one (1) extended partition. The active partition is where the boot flag is set. If you have multiple operating systems, the active partition sets which operating system should boot.

Since a basic disk allows you to create up to four (4) partitions only which corresponds to four (4) drives, this is when the extended partition comes in. A standard hard drive can only have one (1) extended partition and that extended partition can be divided into multiple logical partitions. Microsoft Windows may then assign a unique drive letter to every logical partition.

Though a logical partition can be formatted and assigned a drive letter, it cannot host an operating system.

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