Unfortunately, I find myself in need of a Windows system to supplement my existing F8 distro in order to run some astronomical image processing and observation planning software that flat refuses to run under wine.

The machine is a Dell XPS 410 with 2 300 GB hard drives, the first of which (sda) hosts my every day, does everything else I need, Fedora 8 installation. The second drive (sdb) is reserved for crash and burn development type projects. Currently, there's an F9 -alpha install on that disk.

What I'd like to do is install Windows (Vista, probably) on that second drive WITHOUT messing up the F8 install on drive one, and then be able to boot into Windows of F8 at will. I've done dual boot systems (Windows & Fedora) before, and it was not rocket science. But it was always a box that already had windows on board and I was adding Fedora after the fact. This is the exact reverse of that, and to be completely honest, I pretty much of a Windows dummy.

So... can anyone help me out with a step-by-step on this one? Bottom line, access to my existing F8 install is an absolute requirement. The Windows add on would be nice, but if I have to, I guess I could run the software in question on my desktop at work, although I doubt my management would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Bert