Best way to lock Win 8 partition from XP


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Hi

 

I have Win 8 as my main OS but Ive kept XP as a dual boot option as some of my old hardware and software still works on it.

 

Since XP stopped being supported I would like to make sure that anything it might pick up in the future isn't passed across to my Win 8 partition. 

 

Whats the best way to stop XP from interacting with the 8 partition?  If I don't assign a drive letter in XP to the 8 partition will that do it or could some clever mischievous piece of software see around that if it wanted to?

 

XP home and 8 Pro

 

Thanks

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I don't usually say this, but in your scenario, you could either: A: get rid of XP (please don't kill me for saying that, lol, everyone that still uses it has their reasons), or B: use a program like DeepFreeze on XP, that way, when you reboot, you have the option of either keeping or discarding the changes. (Been a long time since I used DeepFreeze)....then there's option C: virtualize XP into a VM, and take a clean snapshot, then revert when you think things might be headed south....but none of these are 100% reliable. Just be careful what you do with your XP/8 dual boot, however, and you should be fine. (Y) That is, unless something like another type of Blaster is released for XP which exploits 8 as well. Smart computing=not having to deal with these issues in the long run, however. That'd be my best advice. Others might be able to help you even farther than I can, I'm headed off to work at the moment.

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Just use sandboxie and Sandbox your internet on XP

 

What are you using XP for? If it's for something non internet related don't worry about it. Regardless of support being ended for XP you can't catch something just sitting at your desktop if behind a locked down router.

 

That being said if you are using internet on the XP machine. Download and use sandoxie and a modern browser. That way any infection you catch will be sandboxed and won't be able to jump to your windows 8 partition.

 

Also, can Windows XP even see your Windows 8 partition ... I found this online

 

Can the 32-bit version of Windows XP read, write, and boot from GPT disks?

No. The 32-bit version will see only the Protective MBR. The EE partition will not be mounted or otherwise exposed to application software.

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I don't usually say this, but in your scenario, you could either: A: get rid of XP (please don't kill me for saying that, lol, everyone that still uses it has their reasons), or B: use a program like DeepFreeze on XP, that way, when you reboot, you have the option of either keeping or discarding the changes. (Been a long time since I used DeepFreeze)....then there's option C: virtualize XP into a VM, and take a clean snapshot, then revert when you think things might be headed south....but none of these are 100% reliable. Just be careful what you do with your XP/8 dual boot, however, and you should be fine. (Y) That is, unless something like another type of Blaster is released for XP which exploits 8 as well. Smart computing=not having to deal with these issues in the long run, however. That'd be my best advice. Others might be able to help you even farther than I can, I'm headed off to work at the moment.

 

Thanks for your advice, much appreciated.  I know where you are coming from, I work in I.T (not my main role tho, more of a lapsed enthusiast of the NT/XP era) it's just Ive never really thought about this scenario.  Quick option would be to disconnect P from the net I guess but you know what it's like, there is always something you might need.

 

I guess anything I do within P to disable access to 8 could be undone by the right person.

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Just use sandboxie and Sandbox your internet on XP

 

What are you using XP for? If it's for something non internet related don't worry about it. Regardless of support being ended for XP you can't catch something just sitting at your desktop if behind a locked down router.

 

That being said if you are using internet on the XP machine. Download and use sandoxie and a modern browser. That way any infection you catch will be sandboxed and won't be able to jump to your windows 8 partition.

 

Also, can Windows XP even see your Windows 8 partition ... I found this online

 

Can the 32-bit version of Windows XP read, write, and boot from GPT disks?

No. The 32-bit version will see only the Protective MBR. The EE partition will not be mounted or otherwise exposed to application software.

 

 

I'm in XP now and yes, it can see my 8 partition unfortunatley. 

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I'm in XP now and yes, it can see my 8 partition unfortunatley. 

 

What about encrypting your windows 8 partition using truecrypt?

 

"TrueCrypt can on-the-fly encrypt a system partition or entire system drive, i.e. a partition or drive where Windows is installed and from which it boots."

http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/system-encryption

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What about encrypting your windows 8 partition using truecrypt?

 

"TrueCrypt can on-the-fly encrypt a system partition or entire system drive, i.e. a partition or drive where Windows is installed and from which it boots."

http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/system-encryption

 

Thanks, I use TreCrypt containers quite a bit - never locked a drive though.  Just wondering if I should use bitlocker.

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Thanks, I use TreCrypt containers quite a bit - never locked a drive though.  Just wondering if I should use bitlocker.

 

I would guess encryption of any kind should solve your issue.

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Could use NTFS file permissions and a different logon for each OS. Set the permissions to deny the other OS partition.

Even better move the XP to its own drive (edit the boot.ini) and then disable that drive in hardware manager in win8.

Then in XP, disable the win8 drive in device manager.

You could even use the bios setting to disable whatever drive you need blocked,

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just thinking - If I create a new administrator account in XP Home and then in Safe mode, I block my current main admin account from accessing the Windows 8 partition in NTFS - that should do it shouldn't it?

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