New HD

[Abbysmall]

so i bought a new PC and i would like to know if i can maybe partition (is this verb used right? it "feels" wrong to me) my HD to use one part portuguese located and the other Japanese Located (using diferent accounts)
is it possible to do it (with windows XP)?

 

[corocoro]

You'd have to install a separate copy of Windows on each partition which would still mean you have to reboot between sessions.
A VM solution would probably be better for you.

 

[Abbysmall]

i see... i am not familiar with vm (wich i believe is virtual machine) i will ask for help to some teatchers to understand more, but is it possible to do it using only windows XP? and BTW corocoro sir, your avatar pic what anime is it? i seems familiar but i cant remember... and thanks for the help

 

[corocoro]

You can use a VM solution like VMWare on pretty much every host system. By the way, I think Windows 7 Ultimate allows switching between languages without rebooting, but don't quote me on that.

My avatar is Osaka from Azumanga Daioh.

 

[Abbysmall]

ok thank you dude

 

[MoreDeath-11]

The other alternative is use WinXP Pro with Japanese MUI and whatever native language pack you're using. That iirc, doesn't require reboots.

 

[Abbysmall]

with this MUI thing i can change the language of 1 account to portuguese and the other to japanese or i will need to change every time i log in? cause i want use one account with password since, well u never know when u gonna pass out so the best would be to let the porn in the pc unreachable

 

[MoreDeath-11]

with this MUI thing i can change the language of 1 account to portuguese and the other to japanese or i will need to change every time i log in? cause i want use one account with password since, well u never know when u gonna pass out so the best would be to let the porn in the pc unreachable

iirc, a Windows XP MUI will still require a logon/logoff for that language to take effect, but it still reduces the need of rebooting into a second XP installation that has Japanese on there so you can play your games there.

I remember a few years ago running some of the eroges on XP Pro's JP MUI and for the most part, most games happily worked with the MUIized version of Windows XP. But then again it's been ages since I've touched Windows XP with a MUI so I wouldn't know the current state of affairs on using MUI'd XP with newer Japanese eroges/games.

EDIT: And oh, corocoro is right about Windows 7 Enterprise/Ultimate being capable of switching from language to language without requiring a reboot. All you'll need at that point is the appropriate language pack for the desired language and you're good to go at that point.

imo, Windows Vista (and later)'s MUI infrastructure has been greatly improved over of the support of Windows XP's MUI infrastructure as it doesn't require an english edition of Windows as the base to support those MUI packs now that I remember all of a sudden.

 

[Low Gravity]

Honestly i find partitioning a hard drive to be extreme just to change the System Locale (assuming that is your intent), it is meant for multiple OS's, compartmentalizing, or to prevent malware spread and a VM would do all of those (and doesn't require a reboot) as stated above as long as you can deal with some compatibility problems running 3d programs (there might be good fixes out for them as VM's are not new to the home user).

If you just want to change the System Locale easily I recommend trying Microsoft's AppLocale. The wiki link has some information on installing it: Wikipedia.

 

[Abbysmall]

i do have applocale but some games dont work even with it (without the applocale no letters (kanji, hiragana , "ABC") appears when i use it some weird symbol stuff appear but it doesn't make any sense...)

 

[Low Gravity]

I should have expanded a bit more about locale, locale is used for non-unicode programs (most programs that are English are unicode). the locale does not affect the language the system uses on the GUI. for example I use alot of programs that are English and I also run on a Japanese locale and can play both Japanese and English games without using AppLocale or changing the system locale because the English games are unicode. my GUI is also in English (the locale is not related to the GUI, it is just how the system handles non-unicode programs).

You can get weird text for two reasons (excluding AppLocale compatibility problems) ether you are not running under the proper locale (unicode handler) or you are running under the proper locale but don't have the proper fonts/language packs (in this case Japanese).

I would recommend just running under Japanese locale like I am unless you need to run other non-unicode programs.

As for your interface language for your OS, I have nothing new to add as everyone posted knows more about that then me (not implying I know more about unicode/non-unicode).

Edit: Should we have a sticky on stuff like this?