New to XP - - seeking partition recommendations

Hi!

Later this afternoon, I expect UPS to deliver my first PC with Windows XP
Home Edition installed. Presently, I am a stubborn Windows 98SE user and
was exceedingly reluctant to move to XP, and refuse to go Vista. Someday, I
expect to upgrade to Media Center 2005 or XP Pro, but neither were available
for my budget at Dell's Outlet.

I have several DOS-based programs, including AutoCAD 11, that will require
FAT32. Accordingly, I plan on transferring my Windows 98SE system and DOS
programs to a couple of FAT32 partitions.

My partition plan for the 320GB HDD includes starting from scratch and
re-partitioning the HDD and then reloading the O/S, Utilities, and other
disks provided by DELL.

Tentatively, my partition plans include . . .

C:\ @ 80GB NTFS - Windows XP Home Edition / XP-based Applications

D:\ @ 80GB NTFS - XP files

E:\ @ 40GB NTFS - XP downloads from Internet

F:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential future
conversion to NTFS

G:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE / 98-based Applications

H:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE Swap File / downloads from Internet

I:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential anything

Any suggestions, recommendations or critiques are welcome and sincerely
appreciated.

Many thanks!

XP Newbie

If you want my honest opinion I think that you will have an
overcomplicated mess of partitions!

Secondly, there is no guarantee that you will even be able to install
Windows 98 on the new computer. It is getting increasingly more
difficult to get Windows 98 to work on new hardware and I expect that
you will run into difficulties trying to install it on the new hardware.

Thirdly, if you can even get Windows 98 to install on the new hardware,
it may not like it too much being installed at the proposed location.
You will have to use a third party boot manager to get it to install
back there, you will have to change the Active Partition for it to
install and you may have to hide the other partitions to do the
installation. *IF* it installs you will then have to do a bit of work
and trickery to get the XP and W98 installations to coexist together or
you will have to rely on the third party boot manager.

Due to the constraints mentioned above, increasingly, and especially on
newer hardware, the recommended way around problems like yours is to at
least attempt to install and run the applications on Windows XP and if
they absolutely cannot run then the increasingly preferred method is to
run Windows 98 in a Virtual Machine (Virtual PC) inside of Windows XP.

John


XP Newbie wrote:

Hi!

Later this afternoon, I expect UPS to deliver my first PC with Windows XP
Home Edition installed. Presently, I am a stubborn Windows 98SE user and
was exceedingly reluctant to move to XP, and refuse to go Vista. Someday, I
expect to upgrade to Media Center 2005 or XP Pro, but neither were available
for my budget at Dell's Outlet.

I have several DOS-based programs, including AutoCAD 11, that will require
FAT32. Accordingly, I plan on transferring my Windows 98SE system and DOS
programs to a couple of FAT32 partitions.

My partition plan for the 320GB HDD includes starting from scratch and
re-partitioning the HDD and then reloading the O/S, Utilities, and other
disks provided by DELL.

Tentatively, my partition plans include . . .

C:\ @ 80GB NTFS - Windows XP Home Edition / XP-based Applications

D:\ @ 80GB NTFS - XP files

E:\ @ 40GB NTFS - XP downloads from Internet

F:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential future
conversion to NTFS

G:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE / 98-based Applications

H:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE Swap File / downloads from Internet

I:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential anything

Any suggestions, recommendations or critiques are welcome and sincerely
appreciated.

Many thanks!

XP Newbie

f'ups for this part of this thread set to .general.

See inline:

XP Newbie wrote:
Hi!

Later this afternoon, I expect UPS to deliver my first PC with
Windows XP Home Edition installed. Presently, I am a stubborn
Windows 98SE user and was exceedingly reluctant to move to XP, and
refuse to go Vista. Someday, I expect to upgrade to Media Center
2005 or XP Pro, but neither were available for my budget at Dell's
Outlet.

Don't fret the diffs between Home and Pro too much; you're not likely to see
any diffs unless you network.


I have several DOS-based programs, including AutoCAD 11, that will
require FAT32. Accordingly, I plan on transferring my Windows 98SE
system and DOS programs to a couple of FAT32 partitions.

My partition plan for the 320GB HDD includes starting from scratch and
re-partitioning the HDD and then reloading the O/S, Utilities, and
other disks provided by DELL.

So far do-able, but not with XP's native install. Check me out, but I think
you're limited to a total of 4 partitions using XP's native applications.
To go beyond that, you'd need a 3rd party app like Partition Magic or
similar.
If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will step in and correct me; I no longer
use XP's partitioning abilities so I could be in error.

IMO you don't have to though, and also IMO you have too many partitions
planned to keep track of and manage easily. But remember, this is MY
opinion; you're entitled to yours.

Tentatively, my partition plans include . . .

C:\ @ 80GB NTFS - Windows XP Home Edition / XP-based Applications

Should suffice nicely. If it's only going to be for XP system files, you
could drop it down to 40 Gig and still have plenty of breathing room left
for a long time.

D:\ @ 80GB NTFS - XP files

I assume you mean data files here. OK.
For easy backup and management, it would make sense to move My Documents
folder to here and build your file structure under it. NOTE: My Documents
is a system folder and cannot be simply copied to another location; you have
to use Properties; Move to relocate it.

E:\ @ 40GB NTFS - XP downloads from Internet

Disagree; no need for a separate drive for that; simply create a Downloads
folder inside your newly located My Documents folder over on D.

F:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential
future conversion to NTFS

G:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE / 98-based Applications

H:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE Swap File / downloads from
Internet

Not sure I'd do that. The only time having a swap file on a different drive
really helps is if it's on a different PHYSICAL DRIVE.

I:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential
anything

Any suggestions, recommendations or critiques are welcome and
sincerely appreciated.

Many thanks!

XP Newbie

It sounds like you've done some research, and that's great. You should do a
little more research, though, and keep asking questions once you get
started. I can almost guarantee you're going to run into some good headaches
g.
In particular, read up on multi-boot systems and the sequence that they
have to be installed in. It definitely matters.

I could be wrong, but I -think- AutoCad can be installed on an XP machine;
possibly using what's called "compatability mode". Do NOT take my word for
it though: Ask the folks at ACad whether that version will run. It might
be as simple as a few new drivers or already capable.

There will be a learning curve for you in going to XP. One of the things
that will help you a lot will be to go into "Classic" mode displays when you
get it set up and running; it will be less confusing and more efficient. It
installs defaulted for dummies, sort of.

I think if it were me doing this (and it's not), I would have 5 partitions:

100 Gig:
1. win98 System FAT32 20 Gig
2. win98 Data FAT32 80 Gig
200 Gig:
3. XP System NTFS 40 Gig
4. XP Data NTFS. 160 Gig

No idea what displayable space you'll get with a 320 Gig drive; probably
about 300 though.

Make good use of Folders and folder names. XP has a My Documents folder
that most programs will default to when doing Opens and Saves. It's a handy
place to put your complete data structure under. Then all data, even email
etc. gets backed up by backing up one folder: My Documents.

Another point to keep in mind: XP can change FAT to NTFS easily enough
wihtout losing data but not the other way around.

And of course get a GOOD backup strategy figured out and implemented; you
WILL need it! External drives are the best way to go. Don't keep backups
on the computer's internal drives; too easy to lose everything all at once
(lightning, power surges, virus, worm, trojan, etc).
And I assume you know about AV software, firewall and multiple spyware
detectors. If not, do some more research; you need all three.

Best luck,

Pop`

Hi,

XP Newbie wrote:
Hi!

Later this afternoon, I expect UPS to deliver my first PC with Windows XP
Home Edition installed. Presently, I am a stubborn Windows 98SE user and
was exceedingly reluctant to move to XP, and refuse to go Vista. Someday, I
expect to upgrade to Media Center 2005 or XP Pro, but neither were available
for my budget at Dell's Outlet.

I have several DOS-based programs, including AutoCAD 11, that will require
FAT32. Accordingly, I plan on transferring my Windows 98SE system and DOS
programs to a couple of FAT32 partitions.

Have you considered using MS Virtual PC 2007?
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...c/default.mspx

This way you can create virtual hard drives within XP and run 98 inside XP.

If XP shipped with Norton AV or McAfee, remove them ASAP!

Here are two good AV applications. One pay for and the other free.

NOD32 Antivirus Software for Windows from ESET
http://www.eset.com/products/windows.php

Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition Download
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

My partition plan for the 320GB HDD includes starting from scratch and
re-partitioning the HDD and then reloading the O/S, Utilities, and other
disks provided by DELL.

You will want to make sure Dell shipped an XP install disk before starting!

Do you have a plan on how you're going to boot between XP and 98? If not, I
have a couple of suggestions.

Tentatively, my partition plans include . . .

C:\ @ 80GB NTFS - Windows XP Home Edition / XP-based Applications

80GB's may be a bit large. The base install of XP is less then 5GB's with
all 70+ post SP2 updates. This would not include any Dell utilities installed.

D:\ @ 80GB NTFS - XP files

E:\ @ 40GB NTFS - XP downloads from Internet

F:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential future
conversion to NTFS

G:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE / 98-based Applications

H:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE Swap File / downloads from Internet

I:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential anything

Any suggestions, recommendations or critiques are welcome and sincerely
appreciated.

Many thanks!
XP Newbie


Regards,
Bert Kinney MS-MVP Shell/User
http://bertk.mvps.org
Member: http://dts-l.org

Thank you for your reply, Bert.

Have you considered using MS Virtual PC 2007?
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...c/default.mspx

This way you can create virtual hard drives within XP and run 98 inside
XP.

First, it appears that your suggestion for MS Virtual PC 2007 will not work
for me. As noted in my initial post, the new PC O/S is Windows XP Home
Edition, not XP Pro.

According to MS . . .

Physical Computer and Host Operating System Requirements
Following are the minimum system requirements for the physical computer and
the host operating system:
- Host operating system: Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise,
Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Windows Server
2003 Standard x64 Edition, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP Tablet PC
Edition

If XP shipped with Norton AV or McAfee, remove them ASAP!

It is not, but I did purchase NSW Standard Edition and had planned on
installing NAV. I do not allow it to run in the background or check my
email (since my ISP does this).

May I ask why you are so BIASED against NAV with XP Home Edition?

Here are two good AV applications. One pay for and the other free.

NOD32 Antivirus Software for Windows from ESET
http://www.eset.com/products/windows.php

Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition Download
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

Have never tried a free AV program. Why are these products superior to NAV?

You will want to make sure Dell shipped an XP install disk before
starting!

It is supposed to, but I will verify before starting.

Do you have a plan on how you're going to boot between XP and 98? If not,
I
have a couple of suggestions.

Well, again, I have no experience with XP and (initially) I thought about
using the FDD to boot to 98SE, or to boot to the FAT32 DOS partition to run
AutoCAD. Maybe not, eh?

Again, I am not familiar with XP, nor the BIOS in DELL's E520 PC, but I
thought I may be able to set the boot drive within BIOS. Maybe not, eh?

After submitting this post, my existing Windows 98SE HDD is partitioned to
C:\ and D:\ drives. I thought that I might avoid problems with programs
referencing drive C:\ if I loaded Windows 98SE on C:\ and revised my
partitions as follows . . .

C:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE / 98-based Applications

D:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE Swap File / downloads from Internet

E:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential anything

F:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential future
conversion to NTFS

G:\ @ 80GB NTFS - Windows XP Home Edition / XP-based Applications

H:\ @ 80GB NTFS - XP files / potential future Vista Home Premium,
multi-boot

I:\ @ 40GB NTFS - XP downloads from Internet

Thanks again for your reply and suggestions. I am looking forward to your
next thoughts and recommendations.

Best regards,

JJBlaine


"Bert Kinney" wrote in message
...



My partition plan for the 320GB HDD includes starting from scratch and
re-partitioning the HDD and then reloading the O/S, Utilities, and other
disks provided by DELL.



Tentatively, my partition plans include . . .

C:\ @ 80GB NTFS - Windows XP Home Edition / XP-based Applications

80GB's may be a bit large. The base install of XP is less then 5GB's with
all 70+ post SP2 updates. This would not include any Dell utilities
installed.

D:\ @ 80GB NTFS - XP files

E:\ @ 40GB NTFS - XP downloads from Internet

F:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential future
conversion to NTFS

G:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE / 98-based Applications

H:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE Swap File / downloads from Internet

I:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential
anything

Any suggestions, recommendations or critiques are welcome and sincerely
appreciated.

Many thanks!
XP Newbie


Regards,
Bert Kinney MS-MVP Shell/User
http://bertk.mvps.org
Member: http://dts-l.org

XP Newbie wrote:
Hi!

Later this afternoon, I expect UPS to deliver my first PC with Windows XP
Home Edition installed. Presently, I am a stubborn Windows 98SE user and
was exceedingly reluctant to move to XP, and refuse to go Vista. Someday, I
expect to upgrade to Media Center 2005 or XP Pro, but neither were available
for my budget at Dell's Outlet.

I have several DOS-based programs, including AutoCAD 11, that will require
FAT32. Accordingly, I plan on transferring my Windows 98SE system and DOS
programs to a couple of FAT32 partitions.

My partition plan for the 320GB HDD includes starting from scratch and
re-partitioning the HDD and then reloading the O/S, Utilities, and other
disks provided by DELL.

Tentatively, my partition plans include . . .

C:\ @ 80GB NTFS - Windows XP Home Edition / XP-based Applications

D:\ @ 80GB NTFS - XP files

E:\ @ 40GB NTFS - XP downloads from Internet

F:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential future
conversion to NTFS

G:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE / 98-based Applications

H:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE Swap File / downloads from Internet

I:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential anything

Any suggestions, recommendations or critiques are welcome and sincerely
appreciated.

Many thanks!

XP Newbie



It's doable, only if your C: drive (the one housing WinXP) is
formatted using the FAT32 file system.

MS-MVP Doug Knox has kindly provided clear instructions:

Install Windows 98 after XP is Installed.
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_9x.htm

Otherwise:

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:\Winxp" (or "D:\Windows," "C:\Winxp" 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.../Q217/2/10.ASP

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p.../multiboot.asp




--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

Thank you for your reply, John.

If you want my honest opinion I think that you will have an
overcomplicated mess of partitions!


Damn. I do not want to have to spend another $3500 for an XP version of
AutoCAD after spending $2500 back in 1991 for the version I have today - it
works flawlessly.

Secondly, there is no guarantee that you will even be able to install
Windows 98 on the new computer. It is getting increasingly more
difficult to get Windows 98 to work on new hardware and I expect that
you will run into difficulties trying to install it on the new hardware.


After submitting this post, my existing Windows 98SE HDD is partitioned to
C:\ and D:\ drives. I thought that I might avoid problems with programs
referencing drive C:\ if I loaded Windows 98SE on C:\ and revised my
partitions as follows . . .

C:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE / 98-based Applications

D:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE Swap File / downloads from Internet

E:\ @ 20GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential anything

F:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - spare space / possible files / potential future
conversion to NTFS

G:\ @ 80GB NTFS - Windows XP Home Edition / XP-based Applications

H:\ @ 80GB NTFS - XP files / potential future Vista Home Premium,
multi-boot

I:\ @ 40GB NTFS - XP downloads from Internet


Thirdly, if you can even get Windows 98 to install on the new hardware,
it may not like it too much being installed at the proposed location.
You will have to use a third party boot manager to get it to install
back there, you will have to change the Active Partition for it to
install and you may have to hide the other partitions to do the
installation. *IF* it installs you will then have to do a bit of work
and trickery to get the XP and W98 installations to coexist together or
you will have to rely on the third party boot manager.


I have no experience with any third party boot manager, but I have read
about the utility included with BootIT NG, Acronis Disk Director Suite 10.0
and one or two others.

At this time, I'm not familiar with XP, nor the BIOS in DELL's E520 PC, but
thought that I would be able to avoid a third party boot manager by setting
the boot drive within BIOS.
Or, using the FDD to boot to 98SE, or to boot to the FAT32 DOS partition to
run AutoCAD. Maybe not, eh?


Due to the constraints mentioned above, increasingly, and especially on
newer hardware, the recommended way around problems like yours is to at
least attempt to install and run the applications on Windows XP and if
they absolutely cannot run then the increasingly preferred method is to
run Windows 98 in a Virtual Machine (Virtual PC) inside of Windows XP.


It appears that MS Virtual PC 2007 will not work for me. As noted in my
initial post, the new PC O/S is Windows XP Home Edition, not XP Pro.

According to MS . . .

Physical Computer and Host Operating System Requirements
Following are the minimum system requirements for the physical computer and
the host operating system:
- Host operating system: Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise,
Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Windows Server
2003 Standard x64 Edition, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP Tablet PC
Edition


Thanks again for your thoughts, John. I am looking forward to any other
recommendations you may have.

Best regards,

JJBlaine

"XP Newbie" wrote in message
...
Thank you for your reply, Bert.

Have you considered using MS Virtual PC 2007?
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...c/default.mspx

This way you can create virtual hard drives within XP and run 98 inside
XP.

First, it appears that your suggestion for MS Virtual PC 2007 will not
work
for me. As noted in my initial post, the new PC O/S is Windows XP Home
Edition, not XP Pro.


Then try the free VMWare Server - it does exactly the same thing....
http://www.vmware.com/products/server/

XP Newbie wrote:
Thank you for your reply, Bert.

Have you considered using MS Virtual PC 2007?
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...c/default.mspx

This way you can create virtual hard drives within XP and run 98 inside
XP.

First, it appears that your suggestion for MS Virtual PC 2007 will not work
for me. As noted in my initial post, the new PC O/S is Windows XP Home
Edition, not XP Pro.

According to MS . . .

Physical Computer and Host Operating System Requirements
Following are the minimum system requirements for the physical computer and
the host operating system:
- Host operating system: Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise,
Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Windows Server
2003 Standard x64 Edition, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP Tablet PC
Edition



If it works on WinXP Pro, it'll almost certainly work on WinXP Home,
even if it isn't supported. However, there are other virtual machines
applications available, some of them free. Personally, I use InnoTek's
VirtualBox, (http://virtualbox.org/) which is a lot more flexible, as
far as guest operating systems, than Microsoft's VirtualPC, and is free
for personal use.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

"Bruce Chambers" wrote in message
...

It's doable, only if your C: drive (the one housing WinXP) is
formatted using the FAT32 file system.

MS-MVP Doug Knox has kindly provided clear instructions:

Install Windows 98 after XP is Installed.
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_9x.htm

Otherwise:

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


And all this assumes that the new Dell the OP is getting comes with proper
XP CD and not a "recovery" CD.....

Thank you for your comprehensive reply, Bruce.

I sincerely appreciate your the clear and consise manner in which you write.
Very nice!

Having replied to a few others before reading your post, it would appear my
revised thoughts were on a similar track to one of your suggestions. My
current PC is partitioned with C:\ and D:\ drives. I use D:\ for 98SE's
swap file (fixed), program files (including AutoCADD, and Internet
downloads.

Revised a second time (now), my current partition scheme looks like this
follows . . .

C:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE / 98-based Applications

D:\ @ 40GB FAT32 - Windows 98SE Swap File / program files / AutoCAD /
Internet downloads

E:\ @ 120GB NTFS - Windows XP Home Edition / XP-based Applications

F:\ @ 120GB NTFS - XP files / Internet downloads / slack space

I have not taken a look at Doug Know website and instructions, but I will
shortly. Thank you for this reference.

This will likely sound foolish and expose me for the amateur I am, but I was
hoping to use a program like Laplink PC Mover to migrate my Windows 98SE C:\
and D:\ drives to the new PC without actually installing Windows 98SE from
scratch. I am guessing this cannot be accomplished as I once thought.
True?

Thanks again, Bruce, for taking the time to educate an XP Newbie!

Best regards,

JJBlaine


"Bruce Chambers" wrote in message
...

It's doable, only if your C: drive (the one housing WinXP) is
formatted using the FAT32 file system.

MS-MVP Doug Knox has kindly provided clear instructions:

Install Windows 98 after XP is Installed.
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_9x.htm

Otherwise:

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:\Winxp" (or "D:\Windows," "C:\Winxp" 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.../Q217/2/10.ASP


http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p.../multiboot.asp

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand
Russell

Thank you, Gordon, I will look into it shortly.

Best regards,

JJBlaine


"Gordon" wrote in message
...

Then try the free VMWare Server - it does exactly the same thing....
http://www.vmware.com/products/server/

Many thanks, again, Bruce.

I will look into VirtualBox shortly.

Best regards,

JJBlaine


"Bruce Chambers" wrote in message
...

According to MS . . .

Physical Computer and Host Operating System Requirements
Following are the minimum system requirements for the physical computer
and
the host operating system:
- Host operating system: Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista
Enterprise,
Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Windows
Server
2003 Standard x64 Edition, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP Tablet
PC
Edition

If it works on WinXP Pro, it'll almost certainly work on WinXP Home,
even if it isn't supported. However, there are other virtual machines
applications available, some of them free. Personally, I use InnoTek's
VirtualBox, (http://virtualbox.org/) which is a lot more flexible, as
far as guest operating systems, than Microsoft's VirtualPC, and is free
for personal use.

Bruce Chambers

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Russell

And all this assumes that the new Dell the OP is getting comes with
proper
XP CD and not a "recovery" CD.....

Hmmm . . . damn, looks like I might be S.O.L. Will know more by 6PM CDT
when the DELL should arrive.

JJB




"Gordon" wrote in message
...

"Bruce Chambers" wrote in message
...

It's doable, only if your C: drive (the one housing WinXP) is
formatted using the FAT32 file system.

MS-MVP Doug Knox has kindly provided clear instructions:

Install Windows 98 after XP is Installed.
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_9x.htm

Otherwise:

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


And all this assumes that the new Dell the OP is getting comes with
proper
XP CD and not a "recovery" CD.....

"XP Newbie" wrote:

Hi!

Later this afternoon, I expect UPS to deliver my first PC with Windows XP
Home Edition installed. Presently, I am a stubborn Windows 98SE user and
was exceedingly reluctant to move to XP, and refuse to go Vista. Someday, I
expect to upgrade to Media Center 2005 or XP Pro, but neither were available
for my budget at Dell's Outlet.

I have several DOS-based programs, including AutoCAD 11, that will require
FAT32.

Are you really sure about that? Nearly all programs are totally
unaware of what file system is running. Programs make standard calls
(open, read, write, close), and the OS is responsible for calling the
appropriate file system drivers. The only applications I know of that
are file-system aware are things that work at a very low level:
defraggers, consistency checkers, things like that.

--
Tim Slattery
MS MVP(DTS)

http://members.cox.net/slatteryt