can software errors jump partition borders?

[gery350]

hey guys, quick question. i partitioned my hard drive cause i need to run vehicle diagnostic software that conflict with each other(chrysler and ford). well today i went to use chrysler and it had the same error as it did when i had it running together on the same drive with ford. so i switched to the ford partition and sure enough the ford program wasnt working either. can these programs conflict and cause errors although they are running separate partitions. each partition is running winxp sp3 and the actual program exclusively. ive also posted on the mechanics forum and they say they havent had any problems. is it possible the t30 hardware may be causing this. one program uses the lan/nic line and the other uses the usb.

thanks, gery

[Harryc]

Can software errors jump partition borders? No, not unless the software installs in both partitions share a common directory/sub-directory/folder/s.

[gery350]

the reason i ask is both programs stopped working at the same time and they are on different partitions. how can i find out if they share a common directory/sub-directory/folder/s.
thanks, gery

[Harryc]

Well, when you installed them the installer should have asked you to choose a default folder for installation. If you did not choose a different folder for each, then they would be on the same partition. In other words, during install program A says, I want to install myself on C:/Program Files/Cars, then Program B says, I want to install myself in C:/Program Files/Cars. If at that point in installing program B you did not choose D:/Program Files/Cars, they will both end up on the same partition. This is the exact reason that I do not like running (2) versions of the same OS on the same machine...too easy to get confused. Do the programs use any hardware in common..e.g Serial Port?

[gery350]

thanks hary for your reply. one uses the usb and the other uses the ethernet port.
both programs recide(sp)on different partitions.
gery

[Harryc]

Sorry, I can't identify any commonalities between the two. Good luck.