I HAD a dual boot (W2K Server and WinXP) and lost everything!
Here is what you want to avoid. The dual-boot configuration information is stored on only one drive. What would you do if one drive fails, especially the one with the dual-boot configuration files? The second drive that still works is for all practical purposes dead, because although it is there, it is inaccessible to boot to.
So dual booting is fine as long as everything works, but if the C: drive is damaged, you will not be able to get to the other drive, and worse yet, if you have aprtitioned off your C: drive, you might lose it all. Backing it up is fine, but restoring in this case can get really tedious and will take much time.
The alternative I advocate is two hard drives with each having it’s own OS. Then, a physical switch that you can choose to boot one or the other. Another option are removable drive bays. Pop in the one you want to work with at boot time!
