Two Operating Systems...................

[lancefiles]

I currently am running XP Home on my Computer , but I would also like to be able to run Windows 98 sometimes...............................is there a way I can have two OS on my computer so that it boots up to the one of my choice?

[edfair]

Look in your XP for dual boot capabilities. Will require a reinstall.

Or use one of the boot managers. Partition magic with boot magic works well.

[GaryRouth]

For whatever programs you want to use Win98 for, make sure you've tried installing & running them with WinXP's "Compatibility Mode" first - if this works, it will save a lot of headaches (you can just stick with XP only).

If you have complete backups of your WinXP setup & data, you can (as edfair points out), start again from scratch, only this time installing Win98 first, then XP = this will yield a dual-boot menu at startup. To have 98 able to access the XP files, though, you'll have to use FAT32 for both, giving up XP's NTFS file system, which is really better suited for today's giant hard drives, and supports extra security features. If you use FAT32 for the Win98 partition (or separate hard drive), and use XP's NTFS for the partition/drive that it's on, XP will still be able to see and access the 98 files (it's only 98 which won't be able to see the XP side).

Then there's Partition Magic (which edfair also mentioned) - makes everything pretty darn easy, but it's not free. Non-destructive re-partitioning, easy boot menus, 1st class all around. You'll want a recent version.

There are two threads on adding 98 the hard way, one is from our own HPRO, and starts with using two separate hard drives, and the other is from AnandTech: an article written for adding 98 to an existing Win2000 machine, some of the article applies to XP as well.

Make backups of your sensitive data no matter which route you decide on.

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=24831
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.aspx?i=54

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[P.S. some other angles and tools on multi-booting are covered fairly extensively in an article by Randy Rossmiller from couple years ago here at PC Mechanic in our Operating System articles section http://www.pcmech.com/show/os/334 ]