Re: Partition HD in XP and Win 98

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From: R. C. White (rc_at_corridor.net)
Date: 11/24/04 

Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 09:09:29 -0600

Hi, Sharul.

The others have told you how to partition and format, but remember three
basic rules:

1. MS-DOS and Win9x/ME cannot read, write, boot from or even SEE a volume
formatted as NTFS.

2. Always install the newest Windows version LAST.

3. No matter how many volumes (primary partitions and logical drives) you
have, the boot process must always start in the "system partition", which is
the first primary partition on the first physical drive - almost always
Drive C:.

Combining rules 1 and 3 means that Drive C: must be formatted FAT (16 or
32). Also, the volume where Win98 will be installed must also be FAT. And
any applications or data to be accessed from Win98 must be on FAT volumes.
Since Win98 can't even SEE an NTFS volume, drive letters for FAT volumes
following an NTFS volume will not be the same in Win98 and WinXP unless you
specifically assign letters using Device Manager (in Win98) and Disk
Management (in WinXP). So long as you plan to continue using Win98 on this
computer, you might want to format all volumes on it as FAT; when you retire
Win98, you can convert them all to NTFS for its greater security features.

So, partition your drive in the sizes you prefer, using FDISK. (You could
boot from the WinXP CD-ROM and let it partition the drive, then abort the
setup, but it's probably easier to use FDISK.) Then format Drive C: as
FAT32, using Format.com from the DOS boot disk. If you plan to install
Win98 on D: or any volume other than C:, format that volume as FAT32, also.

Then boot from the Win98 CD-ROM and install Win98 as usual, choosing the
volume you prefer. Then boot from the WinXP CD-ROM and install WinXP into a
different partition. WinXP Setup will detect the existing Win98 and will
automatically create the dual-boot system. It will overwrite the boot
sector on C: with the NT-style sector, after saving the DOS-style sector in
a new file, C:\bootsect.dos; copy WinXP's system files (C:\NTLDR and
C:\NTDETECT.COM); and create C:\Boot.ini. Then it will install WinXP into
the volume you have selected. If you choose to install Win98 on C: and
WinXP on D:, your "boot folders" will be C:\Windows for Win98 and D:\Windows
for WinXP.

You will need to install each of your applications twice if you want to run
them from both OSes so that the app's Setup process can add the proper
entries to each OS's Registry. Win98 and WinXP can share executables and
data, but they can't share Registries.

We see many posts here from users who have installed WinXP first, formatting
drive C: as NTFS, and now want to add Win9x/ME. Because they have not
observed the 3 basic rules, they must start over by reformatting C:. :>(

Sizes of the volumes must be determined by you, based on your own
organization preferences. The Win98 boot volume must be at least a GB or
so; the WinXP boot volume should be at least 5 GB, and 10 GB is a safer
minimum because many applications - and WinXP itself - will put some stuff
there even if you try hard to keep as much as you can in other volumes. You
may or may not want to keep applications in a separate volume and data in
still another; that is up to you and the sizes will depend on your own
needs.

RC 

-- 
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@corridor.net
Microsoft Windows MVP
"Sharul" <Sharul@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message 
news:D11A74E5-AF65-4F18-9891-AF161C662B60@microsoft.com...
> Hi,
>
> I have two PCs that are running in different OS ie 98 and another in XP.
>
> Need to know the steps to partition the hard disks operating in both 
> systems
> without using any third party software please. Am prepared to lose all 
> data
> as I would like to reformat the systems as well. Also, how do L allocate 
> the
> sizes of the drives e.g. 40 GB for C: and another 40 GB for D:
>
> Thanks for the advice and help.

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