Installing ubuntu on a hard drive containing XP

[DC_FC]

If i were to install ubuntu on a hard drive that has xp already on it would xp be the operating system that would start up if ubuntu wasnt selected to start up. Also if i installed ubuntu on a separate hard drive would Xp still load if ubuntu wasnt selected to load

thanks

[Huderon]

If you install it on the same drive ax XP, the loader menu will have XP as the default, so yes to your first question.

If you install it on a separate drive, part of the install process will set GRUB as the boot loader and it will have Ubuntu as the default OS to load (or rather that's how it was last time I put it on a separate drive). You would be able to edit the menu used by GRUB to make XP the default OS from withing Ubuntu.

I'd say that if you have the space, install it on the same drive as XP - if you decide to drop Ubuntu editing your Boot.ini is a lot easier and quicker than fixing the MBR to get rid of GRUB.