Hi!
I have Windows98 installed and running as Master on one physical hd C Fat 32: (NOT partitioned) and on second (physical hd) WinXP (partitioned) installed on C: as slave. So, when i start up in Win98 i can see the D: drive on the second hd and the WinXP is hidden, which is on C: partition NTFS. I have the jumpers on both drives set correctly, otherwise would not be able to see the second drive. Or i can make the XP Master & 98 slave, start up and see the 98 disk.

I would like to dual-boot using Win98 Master and WinXP as slave. Would appreciate any response.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306559/en-us

Link won't help you since you have both installed as c:. You can't multiboot with that setup. 98 will never see the xp drive since its ntfs.

How you CAN multiboot with that setup is to do a repair reinstall of XP. This will correct the registry entries from c: to d: [which is the actual true drive letter] and it will modify the master drives partition table to look for the boot.in which will now contain both the 98 and xp boots

Give a person a fish, they eat for a day. Suggest they internet search and they learn a skill for a lifetime.

Hi wanderer!
I made a gross mistake in my Post. The XP is installed on D: drive NOT C:) on the second disk. You can still see the D: drive in My Computer when i start in Win98, but WinXP is invisible.

When you boot do you get a choice between 98 and XP? If not then you still have to do the repair install.

Now if you want 98 to be able to see the xp drive you need to do a new install wiping the xp disk and repartition/format to fat32 not ntfs.

Give a person a fish, they eat for a day. Suggest they internet search and they learn a skill for a lifetime.

Hi wanderer!
No, I get no choice!
You say, If not then i have to repair install.
And if i want 98 to be able to see the xp drive, i need to do a new install wiping the xp disk and repartition/format to fat32 not ntfs.
I will go for the wiping the xp disk and repartition/format to fat32. But how do i go about wiping the XP disk clean? For I was going to use the 98 disk (seperate disk) which as the Master. Could I use Partition Magic 8 to do this job? Installing it on the 98 disk? I know how to use it and thought it would be a little easier. It sounds like a good idea to wipe the XP clean, for i didn't want an extra partition on that disk.

You would boot the xp cd via the bios and install will start. Choose the xp drive and delete the partitions then recreate. Complete install and you will have your multiboot.

No need for PM or anything else.

Do you know how to set boot order in your bios? If you don't feel comfortable with bios setting you can use a 98 or ME boot diskette with cdrom support. Boot up on the diskette, go to the cd drive letter, cd to i386 on the xp cd and type winnt to start install.

best of luck!

Give a person a fish, they eat for a day. Suggest they internet search and they learn a skill for a lifetime.

Hi wanderer!
Yes i know how to get into BIOS. I have Everesthome and think it is F2 key on startup, but you said boot the xp cd via the bios and install will start. Choose the xp drive and delete the partitions then recreate. Complete install and you will have your multiboot.

You asked me if i know how to set boot order in your bios. I remember that the boot order must be set to start from either the CD-ROM drive or the Floppy inside the Bios, but i'm a little stuck here as far as wipping the disk clean and re-installing. One other thing should I leave the TWO drives connected and just work on the XP drive?
Thanks for your response

leave both drives connected

install gives you the choice of deleting the xp installation. Just take your time and read each screen. You don't want to repair. Install will identify what is on what drive for you.

Give a person a fish, they eat for a day. Suggest they internet search and they learn a skill for a lifetime.

google xp install how to

I have seen screen by screen how tos on the web

Give a person a fish, they eat for a day. Suggest they internet search and they learn a skill for a lifetime.

If you want to be able to access XP files/folders from 98, XP will have to be installed using the FAT32 file system. If you're willing to do a clean install of XP, format & partition the D drive. Keep the XP partition relatively small...I usually go with 20GB. Format as FAT32. When you're finished, boot into 98, then pop in the XP CD...it will autostart & ask if you want to upgrade. Do NOT choose Upgrade (Recommended), choose New Installation (Advanced) & make sure it installs on the 20GB FAT32 partition that you just created. The dual boot feature will automatically be installed. The rest of the procedure is just the normal WinXP installation process....

Hi jam!
Yes, I am willing to do a clean install of XP hd. But maybe there is one thing that you overlooked that I am running 2 physicals drives the First is a 40gb w/win98 as the Master & the Second a 160gb slave. You say I have to install FAT32 file system on the XP hd(160gb). Where an earlier time I had this same setup on a partitioned hd (one drive) of 98 and XP. The win98 was the active primary and the XP was NTFS Logical. This was done with Partition Magic 8 and there was no limit on the partition size. But I don't want to use PM if I can avoid it.

The 160gb hd is partitioned and XP sitting there on D: partition, but invisible when I launch Win98. What if I Re-format the 160 hd & install XP, as you recommended, NOT to upgrade, and choose New Installation (Advanced). And you say "The dual boot feature will automatically be installed". If there is a limit for the FAT32 some say 37gb and this is hazy. Why not the NTFS? I set the jumpers on both hd to be compatible, otherwise I would not see the D: when i startup win98.

Win98 cannot read NTFS...but WinXP can read either NTFS or FAT32. If not being able to read the NTFS partition(s) from Win98 isn't a problem, then just partition the 2nd HDD & format as NTFS.

Personally, I use FAT32 whenever setting up a dual boot system. M$ has put an artificial limit on FAT32 partitions of 32GB when formatting with the XP CD...this was done to "force" users to go with NTFS for larger partitions. Ultimately, M$ wants everyone to use their proprietary file system (NTFS). NTFS is more secure, supports larger HDDs & files sizes larger than 4GB, & has a fixed cluster size of 4k, but if something goes wrong, it's a b!tch to fix. FAT32 is much easier to repair because if necessary, you *may* be able to fix it from DOS.

http://cquirke.mvps.org/ntfs.htm

http://partition.radified.com/

Here's what I would do....

- leave the HDD with Win98 as-is
- back up any important files you have on the 160GB HDD, then partition it & format as FAT32. The 1st partition should be between 20-30GB, split up the remaining 130-140GB however you like. I strongly suggest you use the HDD manufacturer's software to setup your HDD, not M$'s software.
- once the 160GB is prepared, just do as I recommended:

"....boot into 98, then pop in the XP CD...it will autostart & ask if you want to upgrade. Do NOT choose Upgrade (Recommended), choose New Installation (Advanced) & make sure it installs on the 20GB FAT32 partition that you just created. The dual boot feature will automatically be installed. The rest of the procedure is just the normal WinXP installation process...."

Hi jam!
That's what I will do: partition and format the 160 drive as FAT32. and leave the 40gb Win98 as is. Will give it a try. Could you check back in about 2 days will leave a post it all goes well. Thanks so much for your help.