Multiple Operating Systems.

[Daniel Moore]

As everyone is aware, not everything that would run on
Windows 98 SE works with Windows XP (Games Mainly). So I
was wondering, can you have two operating sytems working
on a pc without them detecting each other and causeing
problems? I mean is there a way that when you click your
name to log in, can you also select the operating system
you want to use?

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Daniel.

What you are talking about is usually called "dual boot", although multiple
boot is a better name because there can be more than two Windows versions
installed. Many of us use dual boot and WinXP makes it easy - IF you have
Win98 already installed. WinXP Setup will detect Win98 and create the
dual-boot system, including the opening menu that asks which one you want to
run today.

But it may not be easy to get there from where you are NOW. To run Win98,
the "system partition" (almost always Drive C MUST be formatted FAT
because Win9x/ME cannot read NTFS and it can't boot if the boot device is
formatted NTFS. Also, of course, the volume where Win98 is installed, if a
different volume, must also be formatted FAT. To overcome these problems,
follow the instructions on MVP Doug Knox's page:
How do I install Windows® 98/Me after I've installed XP?
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_9x.htm

Rather than do all this, though, have you tried to use WinXP's compatibility
mode settings for your games? If you'd like to know more about this, post
back with the names of your games and somebody here can probably tell you
the best way to run them in WinXP.

RC

 

[sgopus]

Certainly!
Best method, since you already have an installed operating
system, is to get another HD, install it as a slave,
format it allowing enough space for w98 about 2 gig would
do. also get a third party boot manager type of software
like boot magic. install your w98 into the correct
partition, then install boot magic, and VOILA you will
see two options when you boot, xp or 98...

 

[Kenny]

Yes but the normal procedure is to have 2 partitions and win98 installed on
th first partition, then install XP on the second partition. The Xp
installation
will detect the win98 installation and add it to its bootloader. when your
computer starts you will see a selection to run win98 or XP.

ADVANCED OPTION:
If you already have XP on your machine you will not easily be able to
install windows98. There is a work around though.
You can use partition magic to create a partition, install windows 98 on
that partition then do a repair installation of windows XP so that the
bootloader will be created. Another solution is to not do a repair
installation and use this bootloader that will detect both windows versions
and let you select the windows you want.
http://www.osloader.com

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

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

C: Primary FAT32 Win9x/Legacy Apps
D: Extended NTFS WinXP/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 WinXP, 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 WinXP installation routine will automatically set up a
Multi-boot menu for you. The default settings for this menu can be
readily edited from within WinXP. 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/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/multiboot.asp

Another proven technique would be to install a virtual machine
utility application, such as VMWare or Microsoft's VirtualPC, and run
the legacy OS and application(s) from there.


Bruce Chambers

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