duel boot questions

[shifty]

Why would someone want two os's on their machine?Would you put them on the same hard drive and same partition? How do you chose which one to boot or boot both of them,and then which one to use?Can some one explain please.

[RobH]

I started doing this not to long ago,my reason was the A+ certification,they use questions on the software section for 3 different os.(or so Im told) 98-2000-xp.
There are other reasons better than this,some like to play,or experment,some need the os for certain software,ect.(million reasons here)
You will need a hard drive with atleast 2 partitions (or this is the way I did it) and install the second os on the second partition.
If you use 2000 or xp as the second os-they have what is called a boot manager,while the computer is starting up it will allow you to select the operating system you want to use by using the up and down arrows on the keyboard.
I believe Linux also has a boot manager,though I have only installed it by itself.Hope this helps

[shifty]

I have xp on my c partition now.If I put windows 98 on my other partition will I have access to all the software allready installed under xp or will I install all software I want to use for 98?Thanks for response.

[shadow_man]

Hello shifty...You will not have access to any files on the XP partition. XP uses the NTFS file system and W98 uses FAT32 file system. When running XP you can read FAT32 files, but W98 can not read NTFS files.

XP has to be on a different partition or better yet a different HD than W98. When installing XP, it will setup a boot menu so you can choose between systems.

I was using W98 and then bought another HD and installed it on the new HD. The neat thing is that I can access all my W98 fies and programs from XP...

shadow_man

[BFD Deadeye]

Originally posted by shadow_man Hello shifty...You will not have access to any files on the XP partition. XP uses the NTFS file system and W98 uses FAT32 file system. When running XP you can read FAT32 files, but W98 can not read NTFS files. XP has to be on a different partition or better yet a different HD than W98. When installing XP, it will setup a boot menu so you can choose between systems. I was using W98 and then bought another HD and installed it on the new HD. The neat thing is that I can access all my W98 fies and programs from XP... shadow_man

Unless you installed XP using FAT32...it's capable of both. Then you can read either partition in either OS (my preference). If you have XP installed already, and want to install 98 afterwards, you will have to very carefully read the "Multiple OS" article on the PCMECH home page. It covers exactly what you are asking. Very well written, I may add.

[shifty]

Thanks for responding Deadeye and Shadowman.I'll look at the article.