Install Windows 98 after Xp is installed.

[Chris Lewis]

I have a machine with XP home pre-installed. Is it possible to create a
partition at the end of my main drive to install 98 and have a dual boot
system. How would I boot back into XP after 98 has written to the mbr. I
have no XP CD only an OEM recovery disk.

TIA

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Chris,

Yes, it's possible. At a guess, I would say you are using NTFS for the file
system (most preinstalled systems do), so the conventional way of creating a
native dual boot will not work for you (for that, the boot partition must be
using FAT32, Win98 cannot boot from an NTFS partition).

You will need a boot manager and partitioning software to a) resize the
existing partition without destroying the existing installation and b)
create a boot point for a Win98 installation.

Boot Managers and Partitioning programs, any of these should help you:

BootIT NG www.terabyteunlimited.com
Partition Magic www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic
Partition Commander http://www.v-com.com/product/pc_ind.html
Ranish Partition Manager http://www.ranish.com/part/

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Chris Lewis]

| Hi Chris,
|
| Yes, it's possible. At a guess, I would say you are using NTFS for the
file
| system (most preinstalled systems do), so the conventional way of creating
a
| native dual boot will not work for you (for that, the boot partition must
be
| using FAT32, Win98 cannot boot from an NTFS partition).
|
| You will need a boot manager and partitioning software to a) resize the
| existing partition without destroying the existing installation and b)
| create a boot point for a Win98 installation.
|
| Boot Managers and Partitioning programs, any of these should help you:
|
| BootIT NG www.terabyteunlimited.com
| Partition Magic www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic
| Partition Commander http://www.v-com.com/product/pc_ind.html
| Ranish Partition Manager http://www.ranish.com/part/
|
| --
| Best of Luck,
|
| Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
| Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!
|
| Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
|
|
|

Rick, thanks for the fast response. I have a couple more questions.


OK I have PQ PM so I can resize the existing NTFS partition to provide some
free space for 98. Does this need to go at the beginning or the end of the
drive? Then I install 98 which will over write the mbr thus making it
impossible to boot XP.

is it now that I install the boot manager?

Also is it true that the start of the fat32 partition has to be within the
8gb limit for 98 to install correctly?

 

[Guest]

Hi there Chris

How do I install Windows® 98/Me after I've installed XP
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_9x.ht

HT
Venkatesh [MS India Community Star]

 

[Guest]

Try Virtual Pc. Microsoft just bought it and it is great.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have a machine with XP home pre-installed. Is it possible to create a
partition at the end of my main drive to install 98 and have a dual boot
system. How would I boot back into XP after 98 has written to the mbr. I
have no XP CD only an OEM recovery disk.

In that case I would not try to do it via the XP dual boot mechanism.
Use a third party boot manager, such as the Boot Magic that comes with
PArtition Magic, or I would (and do)) use BootIT NG, from
http://www.BootitNG.com ($35 shareware - 30 day full functional trial)


Be careful not to have the 98 partition too far down the disk. I would
use the partition management facilities of either of these programs to
move the XP partition along and have one for the 98 up front - say 3 Gb
..

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Chris,

You can place the partition anywhere on the drive (the 8GB rule was for
older systems), Win98 won't care. It won't overwrite the NT bootloader, as
the Win98 installer cannot read or write to the NTFS partition. This is why
you need a boot loader. I believe it is Boot Magic that comes with PM, you
need to follow their instructions for setting up the Win98 installation (I
haven't used PM in years, and the method is beyond my recollection).

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone