Second O/S affect's the Performance of Vista? Yes or No?

Hello Community!

I am sorry if this Question is really dumb, but will it affect the Performance of 1 O/S if i install a second O/S on an other Hard Drive/Partition? Yes, or no?

For example:

Windows Vista 64 bit on HDD-1
&
Windows XP 32 bit on HDD-2

Is it better to install the second O/S on an other Partition OR an different HDD?
Will there be any Compatibility Problems of the Files? Like when you use MAC and Windows, you can't see MAC Files while MAC can see windows files.

Sorry but i am new to 64 bit, i am a Gamer too and i am going to buy an new PC soon, but sometimes i play some old Games like "Command & Conquer Generals" and I don't think this Game will run on 64, that's why I need an second 32 bit O/S.

Thanks in advance, for any help.

The simple answer would be NO.

A separate HDD or partition got nothing to do with a fresh Vista install. It doesn't matter where you install it. Vista will still regard your partition as a separate HDD.

Performance will depend on your CPU, RAM, Motherboard and the power of your HDD.

I disagree.

A second hard will allow for some separation, in that if one HD were to crash you still got a completely bootable OS on the second drive....

Also, If both OSs are on the same drive, one will have a slight performance degradation as it is further along on the platters and thus will have a slightly longer (talking milliseconds, but still) every time it needs to access the drive for data.

For todays hardware, it's just minimalistic for it to be even noticed, but yes, a second OS on another HDD would put you on the safe side.

Ok i got enough HDD's, so I will just put Win xp 32 on another one.

Thanks for your help