I have an IBM A40i 2284-55U with factory installed WinME in C: 20 GB partition, 8 GB in extended partition, and a 40GB drive installed without drive letter assigned yet. I would like to install W2K for dual boot, onto the second drive. I hear the easiest is to install W2K to the second drive, and let it update the boot records on C: Questions: 1) Do I need to shrink the C: partition to less than 2GB? I keep hearing W2K bootup must start from a <2 GB partition. 2) Can I use PQ PM to assign drive letter D: and format a 2 GB primary partition on the second drive to FAT32 to install W2K, or must I get hold of an Win98 startup disk with FDISK to format. 3) Once set up for dual boot, can I later on remove the WinME drive, and reformat it for other uses, yet keep the the W2K installation intact? 4) PM shrink the WinME C: primary on the left, and create a new 200-300 MB primary C: partition for boot files? Note that I have only a factory Recovery CD, and not the WinME install CD.

1. No, the size of C will not depend on your ability to boot up or install W2k (within some limit). 2. Yes you can use PM, but dos will assign the drive letter when you boot up. What your main concern is to create partitions for your W2k and another one for you install files or pgm files that will house both o/s programs (FAT32 format). 3. Yes, but you will have to do so file by file because your mbr is also on C: which cannot be wiped out and still boot up. 4. Yes. But shrink first. Create Extended partition with 2 more logical partitions in it with PM. Then format each (either both FAT32 or just the PgmFile partition Fat32). Install W2k and choose partition D: to install it on when prompted. F6 option for CDRW device. W2k will create a boot menu for you to select which o/s to boot up to. Install all your programs to E from now on to keep you o/s partition small. Read this:"The essential Windows 2000 multiboot troubleshooter: Planning partitions and file systems ." Tom B. -------------------------------------- Where will you be in 100 years? If you don't know, I can tell you. (and it will not be the grave)

Re (1): Possibly you are thinking of the NT boot-code boundary; i.e. the boot/start-files have to start no further than 2Gig into the HD. If the partition where they are located is greater than 2Gig (within reason...) and this partition is 'first' on the HD, or there is another smallish partition ahead, that does not 'push' the start of NT/W2K boot-files beyond the 2Gig boundary then there is no problem with the size (within reason). The equivalent for '98 = 8Gig!!! Re HD-2 and W2K. If intending to remove ME-HD, at some time or other, and have W2K only, then initially install HD-2 as stand-alone master; install W2K into its own Primary, with an Extended partition for data. Either use a '98 boot-disk to prepare the HD, or the W2K set-up sequence to create partitions etc. Then MAKE the ERD for this version of W2K - keep safe (for future use when W2K-HD installed as 'the' OS)! Once W2K installed, re-install ME-HD as Master with W2K-HD as Slave; run W2K set-up (CD boot/floppies - whichever) and point it to either re-install W2K to present location on HD-2, or choose Repair option. Either way the W2K boot/start-up files will be written into the ME-HD system partition, thus establishing the dual-boot whilst both HD's are in operation. MAKE an separate ERD for this dual-boot version - keep safe/current. When you remove ME-HD and 'revert' to W2K only you will already have the W2K boot-files present to allow you to boot to W2K. You will also have an ERD (somewhere safe?) in case of need to get it going, (if need-be...). Once W2K is 'alone' renew the ERD. Presumably in (4) you are intending to use the new/second Primary for the W2K boot/start-up files, with the system files (the OS itself) going into the D: (Primary) partition on HD-2? This 'new' Primary would have to be ahead of the ME Primary, and the size you suggest should be quite adeqate. Can't say as I totally go along with the approach to put applications in a separate(logical) drive; some of them will 'insist' on being in the OS partition; and generally it's tidier to have OS/apps together, with more space for data etc? I have gone this separate partitions route in the past with both NT and '9x systems, but to no great advantage... However you set up your dual-boot, you will have to install apps. for W2K afresh; the ME instaled versions will not usually function correctly - if at all... Finally... If you are considering acquiring/using PM6x, then you 'could' leave ME-HD alone; install W2K on HD-2 as above (stand-alone). Then install it as slave HD. Then install PM6x via ME, and use its inherent Boot-magic util to select which Primary (HD) to boot to/from, and thus which OS to use... (Equally W2K-HD could be the Master, and the PM6x goes in via W2K?) This way each HD and its OS is secure from the other - to a large extent; also when you switch to W2K only (HD configured/OS installed etc. as above), it's ready to go... Also be aware that when you revert from a dual-boot (ME-HD = Master) to a single W2K-HD, the Extended partition/logical-drive letters on the W2K-HD may change, as there is an Extended partition/logical-drive on the ME-HD as well... In your situation the ME-HD Extended partition would be assigned letters before the W2K-HD Extended partition... (i.e. HD-1 is assigned Extended partition letter(s) before HD-2; and these after Primary letters have been assigned.) However under NT/W2K you can assign drive letters to accomdate this? How/why drive letters are assigned: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q51/9/78.ASP?

lm-s, Thanks for your very detailed explanation. Its takes much time to write this clearly! I'm beginning to like to idea to load W2K onto drive 2, as the only drive, and then use PM Boot Magic on ME to set up for dual boot. I heard a lot of refs to ntfaq.com on not using WinME to format FAT32 for W2K installation. No one has said if using PM 6.0 on WInME to create and format FAT32 partitions is OK for W2K installation. I presume PM on WinME created FAT32 is "different" from using WinME fdisk to format FAT32. On your advice, I will create a single partition for W2K O/S and programs, and a second for data. Perhaps, I will avoid some letter problems, when re-connecting the original drive with WinME on C: and its data on E: (since D: goes to the second drive's primary).