PC quesiton about set up

DucDuc

DucDuc

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Name
Thomas
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OS = XP SP3

I have loads of software and hardware on one machine the PC it's self very high performance. But still I do run in to S/W & H/W conflicts. For eaxmple Power DVD and Nero 8. I know i can set up hardware profiles but could I create (by user, or hardware profile or in any way) a profile or series of profiles that tie hardware and software together? For example if I want to edit photos I only need my Canon S/W, PSE, Graphix cards and a few other minor things. If I want to play games I only need the games, Graphix cards, and sound card. If I want to surf the net I want only my logitech S/W not other imaging S/W that conflicts so I can Skype for example. Sorry if that's confusing, basically I'd like to log in the PC with a purpose so I do not have to manually shut down programs or hardware that has conflicts for that specific purpose. Any help on the matter is appreciated
 
Dual or triple booting will give you the control you need, it does mean installing windows XP multiple times onto different partitions of the hard drive(s). You can then select which OS to boot at startup.

Also check Windows Virtual PC, it will allow you to run another instance of XP under the main OS. It should be fine for light tasks, email, web, skype but heavy duty apps (games) will struggle, assuming they run at all. You can experiment with different options in a virtual machine and if it doesn't work it's very easy to "undo" the changes.

Other software to create virtual machines; VM software.
 
+1 for Neils question. You could always set up an account for each activity...
 
Same as above. What do you mean conflicting?

You don't have to have every program running at once, what would be the point of being in a Skype video call and also trying to use a second webcam program.
 
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