Win 98SE & WinXP

I am thinking about Dual booting 98SE & XP. Computer is a Compaq with 533MG speed, 30 GB hard drive, 384MG RAM. Hd is now partitioned C & D(System restore). I would get Partition Magic and put XP on the D Partition and resize the C Partition. Maybe Program Files on an E Partition. Hopefully this could be used by both 98SE & XP. Maybe create an F Partition for Backups. Went to the Microsoft XP site and it tells me that I have some hardware and software that is not compatible with XP. Could I install 98SE on the D partition and then Upgrade with XP. Not sure about how to do this Dual boot thing.

 

Went to the web site. It is not too clear to me. And what are the other issues.

 

The easiest way to set up a dual boot in this situation is to format and install WIn98SE on c partition first.
You then start the WinXP install to the d partition from the c drive cd-rom. It will configure setup files, then automatically reboot.
After the reboot, choose advanced option, and specify the XP install to the d partition.You can also format at that time if necessary, and choose between fat32 or ntfs re: choice of file system.
AFter the XP install, you will have the dual boot option when computer starts.
I would keep program file folders within each os, and for partition size, I recommend C drive=5 GB D drive 15 GB, and E drive= 10 GB for backups.
cheers, ~pawprint~

 

The D partition on a Compaq contains the data used by the Recovery CD to "recover" the C partition to its original state. Whether putting an operating system on that partion would mess things up is something I don't know...but I suspect it will.

Be forewarned that Compaq puts crucial BIOS data on the harddrive so a normal format and install can create a lot of headaches.

 

Why is it important to you to keep Win98? You can save your programs and files and use XP to get to them. Miz made an important point about "the hidden partition" on OEM machines. I think you have to use XP as your main OS, too. Do a search on the board for "dual boot" and a lot of info will come up. There are people away for the holidays, so when you ask your questions, don't be surprised if you don't get an immediate response. They will be back!



Johanna

 

I have some software that I want to continue to use. Some of it is not supposed to work with WinXP.