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Dual boot, 98 and XP with one hard drive


herbalist

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Given a choice, I'd put XP in a virtual environment. Now that you mention it, I could install Virtual PC on the new 98 box and move XP onto it. Managed to do that with an existing 2K system. Just need to remember how I did it.

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Not with Virtual PC, maybe another VM-system, since VPC only runs on NT-type (Win2k and above).

There is one version of Virtual PC that does run on 98, Connectix 5.1. When MS got it, they took 9X compatibility away. I presently have it installed on another 98 unit with the images stored on the external drive. I'm glad virtual machine software was mentioned here. Haven't used it in ages, not very practical on underpowered machines, but this one has more than enough RAM and a fast enough processor to make it quite usable.

are you absolutely certain that you have no I386 folder for the XP? Seems kind of odd unless the XP installed from a CD (no I386 folder).

Yes. The install path is E:\I386. I talked again to the individual I got this from when I installed a security package on an almost identical unit. They're refurbished PCs. I didn't check if the operating systems were exact copies or not. Didn't want to know. It worked at Windows update, which is good enough for me.

One might assume you're new to all of this; read up, be careful, be prepared to restore the HDD while attempting this, and you'll be fine... Everyone will help you "get there from here" after you've found most answers to your questions.

My experience with building systems on newer hardware is limited. I've had lots of practice on older hardware and getting as much out of them as possible. My experience with XP is in servicing and securing existing systems, not building them. This is the first time I've had hardware this recent that I could do with as I wanted.

jaclaz,

I went through those links you posted. Except for one, all of the options require that I have the CD for XP, which I don't. I have a 2K CD but don't know if I could use it to repair an XP boot. If it can, that would be my first choice. One of the links mentioned using Partition Magic, which I do have. I wasn't aware of the abilities of the utilities that came with it. PQboot looks like a potential solution.

I need to back away and think about this before I go any further and decide just what role this unit and the others will fill. With a 40GB hard drive, it doesn't have enough storage to do everything. It's one hard drive cabinet is quite a limitation. I've also obtained a P-866 Compaq with 2-10GB drives but limited RAM (128MB) that's got all kinds of room and empty slots, possible light duty Linux server. There's also an old Gateway that's very limited on the processor (233mhz) but is maxed out on the RAM (384MB) that would make a good hardware firewall. I've thought about taking the motherboard out of the Dell and putting it into one of those two cabinets. If it would fit, it would make for a much more versatile PC. I'm also considering dumping XP completely and starting fresh with 98 and 2K. Those I have CDs for.

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Not with Virtual PC, maybe another VM-system, since VPC only runs on NT-type (Win2k and above).
There is one version of Virtual PC that does run on 98, Connectix 5.1. When MS got it, they took 9X compatibility away.
I stand corrected (pre-MS and I was referring to post-MS). So good-to-go on that score...
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Finally, it's working. 98SE and XP are both installed and working properly, using the windows bootloader. Used the Win2K CD (substituted nicely for the XP CD for this job) and BTSECT. It all works but it's going to take some getting used to. On my HP, the drive letters don't change, no matter what OS I'm using. 98 is the "C" drive, 2K is the "D" drive. On this PC, the partition containing the OS in use becomes "C". I would have preferred that it behaved like the HP, but if I understand it correctly, that would require that XP was installed on a "D" drive to start with. I'll just have to keep the changing drive letters in mind when I write batch files.

I'm building the 98 system over from scratch. Both OS are using a dedicated swap partition. So far, the only issue is the graphics issue described in post #24. I'm using a driver obtained from the Intel site instead of the one from Dell but it didn't fix anything. Running at a reduced acceleration stops the lag and so far, hasn't caused any other issues. It will suffice until I find a driver version that works better.

Thanks to everyone for all the help. Now I can get to the fun part of this job, finding out just what this unit can do with 98lite.

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My dual boot system has Win98 on the C drive, and WinXP on the E drive. I don't think the partition that the OS is installed on becomes the C drive automatically, even if going through WinXP's installation procedure.

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My dual boot system has Win98 on the C drive, and WinXP on the E drive. I don't think the partition that the OS is installed on becomes the C drive automatically, even if going through WinXP's installation procedure.
Xp installed after 9x (mine works the same way as herbalist')...

Glad ya got it going, herbalist! Kinda similar to my "info" post (following jaclaz'). Those links were just what you needed! Kinda thought it might be possible easily (after my grub4dos "complicated"). Slick idea using "debug" and a script to extract the boot sector, I must say (never even dawned on me...). Now I can go ahead and "fix" mine!!! Thx, jaclaz (duh! on me...)!

Sadly, for you though, many items in ADD/REMOVE in the XP may not be available, since you don't have the I386, but hey, what's there is there. Just don't use the Add/Remove Windows Components part...

(err, is this info in cannie's topic? should be if not...)

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The knowledge and help in this place is amazing. I'm still not sure why I'm keeping XP at all, except for that one addictive game that's installed there. It would probably run on 2K just as well. I should have archived it and installed 2K. Still might. Regarding the lack of an I386 folder, if it turns out that I really need it, I can copy it from a friends PC.

Until now, it's always been a matter of getting the most out of a slow processor and limited RAM. There's so many things I've wanted to try but didn't have hardware that was up to the task, virtualization for one. Win2K is running faster in Virtual PC on this hardware than it does as a real system on my HP. Using some of the info in this thread and 7zip, I think I can make a zipped copy of the XP system on this PC and extract it onto a virtual disk. A fitting response to those who think 98 should be forgotten. This is going to be fun.

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(err, is this info in cannie's topic? should be if not...)

Even when the first post of the topic is rather complex, it only resumes my own experience and collects a short extract of the contributions of qualified members of this forum all along the same thread.

It is said that "four eyes see more than two".

You are welcome if you improve the tutorial with new ideas or experiences. :whistle:

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If you have the drive/partition for XP already formatted FAT32, there is no need for 3rd party boot manager, or other tricks.

Windows XP has a built-in boot manager that will recognize Win98, and will dual-boot for you. Has a menu similar to Win9x boot menu:

http://www.mdgx.com/msdos.htm#MEN

After installing XP, just tweak your C:\BOOT.INI in Notepad:

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=289022

BOOT.INI switches:

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=833721

http://web.archive.org/web/20080430030837/...s/bb963892.aspx

http://mirror.href.com/thestarman/asm/mbr/bootini.htm

1. Make sure your drive/partition is (freshly) formatted with FAT32, and that no other NTx [NT4/2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008/7] OS has been installed in the past.

That's because 98 won't recognize other boot sectors installed by other OSes like Linux, OS X, WinNTx.

So if you select to install XP first, you will not be able to install 98 unless you use a 3rd party boot manager.

Boot managers [free(ware)]:

http://www.mdgx.com/dos.htm#BTM

Boot tweakers [freeware]:

http://www.mdgx.com/toy.htm#BOO

2. First must install Win98/98SE, but not in the default directory [which is C:\WINDOWS], but C:\WIN98 (example, change if you wish).

To customize Win98 setup, see these switches:

http://www.mdgx.com/last2.htm#SETUPSW

3. Boot into Win98.

Place the WinXP setup CD in your CD/DVD drive, or better, copy [from Win98] the entire XP disc onto your HD, your XP installation will be much faster.

Now you may want to "nLite" your setup, btw... MSFN has the best unattended setup guide on the planet:

http://unattended.msfn.org/

to install completely unattended XP with built-in SP3, up-to-date updates/hotfixes, custom drivers, apps, tweaks etc.

Do not allow XP to re-format the drive with NTFS ! You must install XP on FAT32, in order to access XP from within 98, and the other way around.

And it is possible that you may have some drivers that can be used for both.

4a. If you wish to create a custom CD/DVD to install XP from, just reboot with that custom XP setup CD/DVD [make sure it is bootable] inside your drive, and let it install on its own.

Make sure your mobo BIOS can boot from the CD/DVD drive: enable that BIOS option if u have to.

To add the boot sector to your custom CD/DVD, u can use this free tool [mentioned also in the MSFN unattended guide]:

http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/

4b. If you wish to install from the HD [entire XP setup CD copied], just run setup.exe from the root dir of the CD, or better, run winnt32.exe from the I386 subdirectory.

This guide has most of the steps for "hands-free" unattended XP setups:

http://www.mdgx.com/xp1.htm#IXPA

HTH

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