Two WIN versions on same computer?

[Guest]

hi there!
I'm having lot's of problems on XP with applications that
worked fine on 98. (e.g. Autoexec.nt), I almost want to switch back to 98.
Is it possible to have both XP & 98 installed in the same time and choosing
which one to run each time you boot the computer? Thanks.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

hi there!
I'm having lot's of problems on XP with applications that
worked fine on 98. (e.g. Autoexec.nt), I almost want to switch back to 98.
Is it possible to have both XP & 98 installed in the same time and choosing
which one to run each time you boot the computer? Thanks.

Yes, it is. What disks/partitions do you have on your PC?
Are they FAT32 or NTFS?

 

[Guest]

Definitely possible and very common to do. As I understand it you must
install Win 98 first into its own partition, and then XP into another
partition. Unless of course, you use a partitioning software like Partition
Magic. There is a series of articles on that topic as well. Just go to the
support website and type in Multiboot.

Have you tried running the programs of interest in Compatability Mode? That
works for a lot of the non compliant programs.

Regards,

Alifea

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

It is not neccessary to load Win98 first, regardless of the method used.

 

[Guest]

I am obviously confused by something I read previously on this because my
recollection is that Win 95, 98 and ME require the first partition on the
drive, and some are very fussy about partition size. If you say it can be
loaded in any order, then I have to go with that. Of my own, I have only
multibooted several copies of XP on the same drive to assure I could repair,
image, etc. the actual working partition when things went south. All my
applications worked when I transitioned to XP, either straight up or in
compatability mode.

Thank you for straightening me out.

Regards,

Alifea

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

There is a lot of confusion around about multi-booting between
WinXP and Win9x. You probably read one of the confused items.
The facts are:

- If you load WinXP first and Win98 later then you will most
likely have to restore the WinXP boot environment. This is
easily done.

- If your machine has only a single NTFS partition then you
cannot load Win9x. You must have at least one Win9x partition.

- If your first partition is an NTFS partition then it is possible
to load Win9x into one of the FAT partitions.

The OP will have to supply more details before any specific
advice can be given.

 

[Torgeir Bakken \(MVP\)]

I am obviously confused by something I read previously on this because my
recollection is that Win 95, 98 and ME require the first partition on the
drive, and some are very fussy about partition size. If you say it can be
loaded in any order, then I have to go with that.

Hi

How do I install Windows 98/Me after I've installed XP?
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_9x.htm

 

[Bruce Chambers]

hi there!
I'm having lot's of problems on XP with applications that
worked fine on 98. (e.g. Autoexec.nt), I almost want to switch back to 98.
Is it possible to have both XP & 98 installed in the same time and choosing
which one to run each time you boot the computer? Thanks.

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

C: Primary FAT32 Win9x/Me/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/Me 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
Win9x/Me 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


--

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

 

[Timothy Daniels]

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

C: Primary FAT32 Win9x/Me/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/Me 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
Win9x/Me 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

Will the WinXP boot manager really be found by the BIOS
despite it not being in a primary partition?

*TimDaniels*