Hi, PhorTwenny.
Win9x/ME can't read, write, boot from, or even SEE an NTFS volume.
Win9x/ME can't boot at all if the "system partition" (the first primary
partition on the first HD, which must be the currently Active (bootable)
partition - typically, Drive C
is NTFS, because it won't be able to read
its "system files" (io.sys and msdos.sys) and it can't boot without those.
(WinXP, on the other hand, is perfectly happy reading any version of FAT or
NTFS.) Also, Win9x/ME's "boot volume" must also be FAT, as must any volume
to be accessed from Win9x/ME. So, the typical dual-boot arrangement is to
have Drive C: formatted FAT; often, Drive C: is also Win9x/ME's boot volume.
If your old 10 GB HD is fast enough for your purposes, your best bet might
be to create a single primary partition covering the whole physical drive,
format it FAT32, make it the primary master drive and install WinME there.
Then hook up your large HD as secondary or slave. Boot from the WinXP
CD-ROM and have it install WinXP on the large HD. WinXP Setup will offer to
partition and format that physical drive for you, or you can do it in
advance. If you don't tell it otherwise, Setup will make the whole drive a
single partition and format it NTFS; that may be exactly what you want it to
do. WinXP Setup will detect the existing WinME installation and
automatically create the dual boot system for you. Each time you reboot,
you will see a menu to choose between WinME and WinXP. You can choose
either as the default and set a minimal delay time here.
It's easy if you follow the Golden Rule and install the newest version of
Windows last. But it's not so easy if you want to add WinME to a system
that already has WinXP installed. And it's a real headache to add WinME to
a computer that already has Drive C: formatted as NTFS, especially if WinXP
is already installed in Drive C:. :>(
As you probably know, Convert.exe makes it easy to convert a volume from FAT
to NTFS, but it's a one-way street. Microsoft provides no easy way to
convert from NTFS to FAT. To "revert", you have to either
backup/reformat/restore, or use a third-party program such as Partition
Magic.
Tell us (a) where you are now and (b) where you want to end up and we can
probably help you get from (a) to (b).
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
"PhorTwenny(REMOVETHIS)@MSN.com"
