Two primary partitions. XP on 2nd partition mangled 1st partion... why?

[Noozer]

Hi!

For testing purposes I wanted a 2 gig partition with Windows ME installed on
my computer. I normally use Windows XP SP1.

I created two primary partitions on my drive, first 2 gig being for ME and
then the rest for XP. I set the first partion as active and installed ME,
got it all working, software I normally use, drivers, etc. and all was good.

I then set the other partition as active and installed Windows XP SP1. It
all installed fine and my applications and drivers are all humming along.

Tonight I needed to test a network adapter in ME. I booted from a floppy
disk and ran FDISK. I set the first partition as active and then restarted
the computer... It says "Starting Windows Millenium..." and then the next
line has about 10 ASCII/ANSI characters and the computer just stops.

What did XP do to me ME installation and how can I get it working???

 

[Guest]

XP overwrites the Master Boot Record of Win 9x-ME when installing. When you boot XP, you should get the option of booting either OS. I don't wish to sound like a wise guy
but why on earth would you wish to run Win ME anymore? I briefly installed ME as an upgrade from 98SE and it slowed my system to a crawl. It was the worst upgrad
Microsoft has ever offered
Jef

----- Noozer wrote: ----

Hi

For testing purposes I wanted a 2 gig partition with Windows ME installed o
my computer. I normally use Windows XP SP1

I created two primary partitions on my drive, first 2 gig being for ME an
then the rest for XP. I set the first partion as active and installed ME
got it all working, software I normally use, drivers, etc. and all was good

I then set the other partition as active and installed Windows XP SP1. I
all installed fine and my applications and drivers are all humming along

Tonight I needed to test a network adapter in ME. I booted from a flopp
disk and ran FDISK. I set the first partition as active and then restarte
the computer... It says "Starting Windows Millenium..." and then the nex
line has about 10 ASCII/ANSI characters and the computer just stops

What did XP do to me ME installation and how can I get it working??

 

[Steven]

Noozer:

You should not use the method you stated to run multiply OS on one
computer. You should use the "Dual Boot" method. There are many
articles on the Internet and at Microsoft's TechNet site on dual booting.

Here is a quick run through for dual booting two OSs.
1. Create two partitions on the hard dive.
2. Make the first partition the Active partition.
3. Install Windows ME on the first partition.
4. Start the install of Windows XP and chose the second partition for
the installation destination. The installation will automatically setup
dual boot for you.
Whenever you power up your computer you will be prompted to chose which
OS to load. ME or XP.
Note that this is only one way to setup a dual or multi boot.

Steven.