Can't get 2nd OS to install

[Jack]

Hi,

I'm running XP, but there are some old programs I want to
use that won't run on it, so I have been trying to install
a second OS, Win 3.11 on my computer with little luck.

I've set up a separate partition from the C: drive, E:, and
formatted it in FAT16. I have boot managing software that
recognizes the partition. At least it's on the list with
XP.

I ran the setup for the 3.11 to drive E:, but it only went
through the first 2 diskettes of the 8 and then shut down.

So when I try to boot to the new partition, I get nothing
and it puts me right back to the boot manager, and I can
only boot to XP.

My question is, how do I boot to this new partition, and
once there, will it then accept the 3.11 setup.

 

[Carey Frisch]

One cannot dual-boot Win 3.11 with Windows XP.
You'll need to install Win 3.11 on a separate hard drive
since it must be installed on a C: partition only. It is
also quite doubtful that your computer hardware will
be compatible with Win 3.11.

 

[Miles]

You might want to try a third-party boot manager such as
Acronis OS Selector (www.acronis.com). It's first rate.

miles

 

[I'm Dan]

I'm running XP, but there are some old programs I want to
use that won't run on it, so I have been trying to install
a second OS, Win 3.11 on my computer with little luck.

I've set up a separate partition from the C: drive, E:, and
formatted it in FAT16. I have boot managing software that
recognizes the partition. At least it's on the list with
XP.

I ran the setup for the 3.11 to drive E:, but it only went
through the first 2 diskettes of the 8 and then shut down.

So when I try to boot to the new partition, I get nothing
and it puts me right back to the boot manager, and I can
only boot to XP.

My question is, how do I boot to this new partition, and
once there, will it then accept the 3.11 setup.

Yes, you can dualboot Win3.11 with XP, but you should use a third-party
boot manager, not the Microsoft boot loader to manage your dualbooting.
(It sounds like you've already realized that.) However, you cannot
install on E:, you must setup the new partition as an alternate C:
partition -- IOW, XP will have its C: drive and Win3.11 will have its C:
drive, and only one partition or the other will be unhidden and active
at a time. Hopefully, your boot manager is competent enough to do this.
(If not, Acronis, as Miles mentioned, is a good choice, while I
personally prefer XOSL or BootIt NG.)

Your new partition must also live within the constraints of Win3.11 --
FAT16, less than 2GB in size, and exist totally within the first 8GB of
the HDD. You didn't say how big your HDD is or where you put the FAT16
partition, but if you put it behind the XP partition on a modern HDD,
you've probably violated the "first 8GB" requirement. There might also
be an issue with maximum RAM amount if you have a lot of memory, but I'm
not sure what the limit is.

 

[D.Currie]

You could probably pick up a computer capable of running Win 3.1 for next to
nothing at a garage sale or used computer outlet. Then get yourself a KVM
switch, and you won't need another keyboard, mouse, or monitor.

Or...hmmm, you could try Virtual PC. There's a 35-day demo of it on
Microsoft's site. Might be worth a try.