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hi guys! (and gals)
i have an xp pro sp2 machine 28 gb hard disk; while installing i wanted to have a 2gb C: (for dos 6.22) partition and 10 gb ntfs (for xp) 8 gb fat32 for dos 7.1 *win98 clone and 8 gb for user files (fat32); while loading xp pro it asked for partiting and i divided accordingly; i selected d for installing xp; though it has installed XP in D, base boot files are in C and it has formatted this as NTFS; ( though i didnot ask so!) now my questions are: can i reformat C as Fat16( will it allow me to restart xp from D?) or should i forget 6.22 and reformat c: as FAT32 with sys for DOS 7.1 and rewrite the boot mbr for dual booting xp?
hope some will clarify!neelakantan
I have dual boot with xp and 7.1
If you have 7.1 then it's all you will need...forget about 6.22.
7.1 allows the best of both worlds... it will allow what usually goes will 6.22 (ie: win3.1), and it works with FAT32.
Do yourself a favour and format everything with FAT32. This way DOS will be usable on your xp partition. This is good for cleaning and fixing xp when it screws up. If you format NTFS then that partition will not be usable by dos.
If you do video work, then leave some disk for NTFS. Video files can easily get big enough to surpass the 4 gig file limit of FAT32, otherwise, leave NTFS out of the loop.
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http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306559
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;289283
Ideally you install MS-DOS6 first, then W9x which will overwrite some MS-DOS files by default, tthen you install XP which will add a boot loader.Please be aware the 'MS-DOS6' and possibly 'W9x DOS Mode' may have driver issues on new hardware.
FYI MS-DOS 7.xx never existed as a retail standalone version, the versions floating around are hacked W9x.
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Might look at just using QEMU or VMWare's player. Both are very easy to use and you can run them along XP. No need to reboot just open your app.
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You can not multiboot dos6.22, 7.1 and Win98. Why?
Because they all have the exact same files in common [io.sys/msdos.sys/command.com]but different versions all parked in the same location.You can if you do this
http://www.computing.net/howto/simple/usingpqboot/If you format c: you will have to do a repair install of XP. Its the only way to get the files and master boot record altered to point to XP for multiboot.
Golly gee wilerkers everyone. Learn to Internet Search
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wanderer:
Yes you can multiboot 6.22, and 7.1 and win98... I've done it.
The drive letters are not written in stone... Each OS will see its partition as drive C.
For example, if you format D: and install the 6.22 system files, format drive E: and install 7.1 the next time you boot up with 6.22 (drive D) it will report as being drive C. If you boot up with 7.1 (on drive E) it will... yes, you guessed it... Report that is is on drive C.
If you use XP boot loader for dual boot dos 7.1 (which I have), the dos boot loader shows dos7.1 as being on D. but as soon as I choose 7.1 and it boots up, it reports IT as being on C and xp as being on D
Each OS will see your partitioned drive a little differently It starts to get very confusing and you have to place actual worded labels on each drive because the drive letters change with each os that you use.
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Oh, forgot to say this. If you put XP sometimes on non first ide chain drives you get an odd mbr situation. There is some space in the unused end of the mbr that xp writes to. You would need that information.
Most how to's on multi boot have you starting with dos and working up to the most current I think.
For most situations you might be able to get along with an emulator/virtual machine. If not then ghost the partitions and consider a boot loader like grub or boot magic. If you have a number of different types of OS's it might be easier to get a boot loader anyway. You don't run into that high cylinder boot load problem. Some boot loader apps can hide partitons.
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hi blackbill and wanderer! and others
current situation is (in XP) c: is 2 gb ntfs, D is 10 gb ntfs; i reformatted E with (win 95 OEM reduced to 7.1). it has the standard Command.com, io.sys and text type msdos,sys (as in 7.1).
i have changed the boot.ini in XP to point to E (partition 3). but it fails to load ; and reverts to the default OS (that is win xp)
my thinking is dos 7.1 doesnt rquire to be in the primary partition as long as the three files are there!
also my first question is with boot.ini initiating the dual boot how one can say it is a dos boot?
my next question is if i rewrite the command.com, io,sys and msdos.sys currently inthe ntfs drive,. what will happen?
cheers guys; i will just wait for some responses as you would have done the same (no point in re-inventing the wheel, unless it is square shaped!) before heading for the crash action myself in question 2 and post the resutls
awaiting......
neelakantan
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a: Install Windows 9x on C: as per M$, you are currently past the cylinder limitb: Third Party Boot Manager
c: Emulation software to run MS-DOS two were mentioned, another is DosBOX
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Okay, listen carefully,
First you need to label the drives with actual WORDS because as I explained above, each os will see your drive differently and as a result, the drive letters WILL change depending on which os you are using. I assume you want 7.1 on drive E:, so boot up with 7.1 floppy (or cd) and have a look at what drive letter 7.1 has assigned to E, because it may or may not be labeled E anymore. (DOS7.1 likes to be installed on C so it will CALL whatever drive you have its system files on, drive c. don't worry, this does not affect xp at all. XP will letter the drives as it sees fit when it is booted up.)
Then type: FORMAT (drive)/S
This will format the drive and install dos system files to that drive. From there you can build your autoexec and config files.
The label on the boot manger will have to read "WIN95", or "WIN98" (depending on what os the 7.1 was bootlegged from) if you choose to use the XP bootmanager.
On my system, I don't use the XP boot manager, it's a little too simple and limited. I use BOOTITNG. Not only will it will allow me to re-label the "WIN98" to anything I want, but it also comes with some pretty serious partition tools and the ability to boot from ANY drive I want (including USB externals). See the link below.
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/
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thanks for the response!
i used a win98 oem cd for "bootlegging" 7.1 as u have colorfully said; ( i could have used the image files strewn around in net! but i wanted to recollect my old days of creating dosstart diskettes!!) i had trouble in getting the format done it refused to format; so i used sys command to transfer the three files to E drive (seen as C by win98);
when i tried it on a diskette it boots;
when i pointed it to multiboot of XP, the machine simply powers off and restarts; ( i used the name dos)
now that i have read your post, i will rename it as win98 and see!
till then...
cheers
(btw when u use ver command what version name u get? can we edit the version number in msdos.sys?)
neelakantan
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Oh, might take note that you can't just copy the system files. That is what it looks like to me. System files have to be placed in a special part. Use sys to put system on a partiton. That being the format /s (system)
As above a few times stated the place on the drive is important. The place can prevent normal dos from loading.
Use setver command to get correct version to report to an application. Will not work on all programs.
Since you installed XP to D and have the system files on C you are still in trouble.
I say nuke it from high orbit. It is the only way to be sure. NO! Get a boot loader like bootmagic or grub.
Before you get too far out of whack, make some sort of backup.
I know that each poster is trying to help you. All are good ideas. Each person has their own ways to fix stuff. Repost if you feel that your question hasn't been answered well enough. I know I don't fully explain answers.
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ok sys or format to transfer the sys files (command, io and drvspace or dblbuff) doesnot work; even modifying boot.ini to look at partition(3) or naming it as C:/ just drives the bios to look at DOS files but not able to load.
then i did the unthinkable! rewrote the ntfs formatted original primary partition(which was in ntfs) with DOS format (fat32) to transfer the system; and then again reloaded the winstart files (ntldr, bootini, etc)
presto dos 7.1 is working aswell xp
moral: dos needs to be in primary partition (do i hear all saying WE SAID SO>)
thanks for help
now i have to get the drivers sound dvd etc now; may be that is in dos forum?
if anybody has the soundcard driver (acer labs) let me knowcheers
neelakantan
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