Load Win98SE & Win2000 on same PC/How

  • Thread starter Thread starter Barry
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Barry

I would like to have both Win98SE and WIn2000 on the same
PC, is this possible and how can I acomplish this task?

I think....I need to:

Create two partions???
Put each OS in it's own partion???

When I start the boot will the system stop and ask me
which OS to load??

Can I copy data from one partion to the other??

Thanks for any help & advice
Barry
 
Greetings --

The simplest way I've found to dual boot between Win9x and Win2K
would be to partition your drive(s) roughly as follows:

C: FAT32 Win9x/Legacy Apps & Games
D: NTFS Win2K/Modern Apps

Adjust the partition sizes according to your actual hard drive(s)
size and the amount of space you'd like to allocate to each OS and its
applications.

Create the partitions using Win9x's FDISK so you can enable large
disk support (FAT32). (No need for 3rd party partitioning
utilities/boot managers and their frequent complications.)

Install Win9x first, being sure to select "C:\Windows" (or
D:\Windows, if you prefer) when asked for the default Windows
directory. When you subsequently install Win2K, be sure to specify
"D:\Winnt" (or "D:\Windows," "C:\Winnt" as referred/applicable) when
asked for the default Windows directory, to place it in the other
partition. The Win2K installation routine will automatically set up a
Multi-boot menu for you. The default settings for this menu can be
readily edited from within Win2K. NOTE: If you elect to place Win98
on the "D:" drive, you'll _have_ to leave the "C:" drive as FAT32.

This method can be adapted to using 2 physical hard drives by
placing the boot partition (C:, which still must be FAT32) and either
of the operating systems on the Primary Master hard drive, and the
second operating system on the second hard drive.

It is also possible to have a 3rd partition for shared
applications, but it would be necessary for such a partition to be
formatted in the common file format (FAT32). The applications would
also have to be installed into each OS (to ensure proper system file
placement and registry updates), one at a time, but the bulk of the
program files could be located on this common partition. I do not,
however, actually recommend doing this as, if you were to uninstall
such an application from one OS, you may not be able to gracefully
uninstall it from the second OS, having already deleted crucial
installation data during the first uninstall action.

Just about everything you need to know (URLs may wrap):

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q217/2/10.ASP

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/administration/management/mltiboot.asp



Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH
 
In line reply.
I would like to have both Win98SE and WIn2000 on the same
PC, is this possible and how can I acomplish this task?

I think....I need to:

Create two partions???
Click to expand...

Yes. But Windows 98 may not behave properly if the last partition on
the drive is not a DOS partition. You can set a small DOS partition
right at the end if need be.
Put each OS in it's own partion???
Click to expand...

Yes, put OS on separate partitions.
When I start the boot will the system stop and ask me
which OS to load??
Click to expand...
Yes, the Windows 2000 OSLoader will show you a boot menu.
Can I copy data from one partion to the other??
Click to expand...

Yes, no, maybe. It depends on whether of not you will use NTFS.
Windows 2000 will read and write data to any Windows 98 compatible file
system PLUS Windows 2000 can use the NTFS file system. NTFS is better
in many regards than the FAT32 that Windows 98 commonly uses. Windows
98 cannot read or write to the NTFS file system. If it is an important
consideration that all the files be available to both OS then you will
have to use FAT32 for all your partitions.

Go on the internet and do a search for Dual boot windows 98 windows
2000" and you will get all kinds of hits with information on how to set
this up. You can go here for starters:
http://www.labmice.net/Windows2000/install/dualboot.htm

REMEMBER: Install Windows 98 first, if you install it after Windows
2000 it will break the Windows 2000 boot files.

Also, Fdisk is not the best of utilities for setting up partitions so
you should consider using something like BootItNG
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/ for partition work. You don't need
to install it, just run the partitioning utility from the diskette.
With BootItNG you can create more than one primary partition. With
Fdisk you can only create one primary partition and extended partitions.
I prefer primary partitions that can be flaged as active if needed as
opposed to extended partitions.

John
 
After much trouble and money, I have come to the conclusion that the best way to run a multi-boot system is to use a removeable storage drive and have a tray for each drive (one OS per drive). This is a hard earned piece of knowedge. You can experiment with other options (I did) or you can get it done simply by doing what I suggested. I am running Win98SE and two W2K Pro OS's.
 
I think you need to go back to computer school. Or keep on doing more
"bodging" until you figure things out. Removable drives my buns...

John
 
Greetings --

If you had to spend extra money on a completely unnecessary
hardware solution to successfully dual-boot 2 or more Microsoft
operating systems, you really do need to spend a few minutes learning
a little about computers and operating systems.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH


Charlie Chan said:
After much trouble and money, I have come to the conclusion that the
Click to expand...
best way to run a multi-boot system is to use a removeable storage
drive and have a tray for each drive (one OS per drive). This is a
hard earned piece of knowedge. You can experiment with other options
(I did) or you can get it done simply by doing what I suggested. I am
running Win98SE and two W2K Pro OS's.
 
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