Re: NTFS and FAT32 on same drive?

From: Bruce Chambers (bchambers_at_nospamcableone.net)
Date: 03/21/04


Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 08:31:21 -0700

Greetings --

    Yes, certainly.

    WinXP can read FAT12 (the file system used on 3.5" diskettes),
FAT16, FAT32, CDFS (the file system used on most CDs), and NTFS with
equal facility. Further, the file system on any one disk/partition or
diskette has absolutely no affect upon the operating system's ability
to read other compatible file systems on other disks/partitions.

  The simplest way I've found to dual boot between Win9x and WinXP
would be to partition your drive(s) roughly as follows:

C: Primary FAT32 Win9x/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 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:\Winnt" (or "D:\Windows," "C:\Winnt" 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 Win98
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/kb/articles/Q217/2/10.ASP

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/multiboot.asp

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
You can have peace.  Or you can have freedom.  Don't ever count on 
having both at once. -- RAH
"Wayne King" <Spanking@themonkey.com> wrote in message 
news:c3joei$ctj$1@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Can I create a NTFS partition and a FAT32 partition on the same 
> hard-drive?
>
> I want to have XP and my old windows 98 on one drive as I have a one 
> or two
> hardware that I can't get the drivers for XP.
>
>
>
> 


Relevant Pages

  • Re: Is FAT32 format gone?
    ... is nolimit> to partition size re FAT32-formatted partitions. ... FAT32 file system in a WinXPenvironment,> he or she can do ... Disk> Management utility, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: How do I move files to my new PC?
    ... on MS-DOS, as you probably know, while WinXP is built on the NT ... whether they are formatted FAT32 or NTFS. ... a significantly superior file system as compared with FAT32. ... Then, too, if the new PC is an OEM machine and a "full" XP installation CD ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: Is FAT32 format gone?
    ... The theoretical limit for a FAT32 partition is 2 terabytes. ... ordinarily recommend using the NTFS file system in an XP environment. ... Just for the record, how would I format a FAT32 partition on, say, a 500 gig ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Seeking advice on how to make eCs and Win XP to see each other
    ... Typically, your WinXP will be on an NTFS partition, although it could be on a FAT32 partition. ... I believe that eCS requires that the OS be installed on an HPFS partition. ... Someone has written a file system for OS/2 / eCS that can read NTFS file systems; it is easy enough to find and install, and it works, in my experience. ... There is also a driver for the FAT file system and the FAT32 file system, and these are read / write capable. ...
    (comp.os.os2.setup.misc)
  • Re: [opensuse] Upgrade doesnt recognize filesystem
    ... tried telling the install program my file system is: ... When you say "the installation program doesn't recognize the file system ... evaluating root partition ...
    (SuSE)