dual boot

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pedge
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Pedge

hey, I have a question about a dual boot system... I have seen a few posts
about this but none of these fit exactly what I am after... I have 2 HDs. on
the primary ide I have windows xp, and windows me on the secondary. the
reason why I kept that OS intact when I bought a new HD and windows xp was
because I have a lot of software that is not replaceable very easily....

so is there anyway (without formatting and creating new partitions) to have
an option on start-up as to which OS to load?
thanks
Pedge
 
Hi, Pedge.

So, how are you booting WinME now? With a third-party boot manager? Or by
changing the BIOS when you want to boot from the second HD? Or have you not
yet installed WinME?

The easy way to create a dual-boot installation is to install WinME first.
Then, when WinXP is installed, Setup finds WinME and automatically creates
the dual-boot menu.

The hard way is to install WinME AFTER WinXP has been installed. WinXP
knows how to handle WinME, but WinME knows NOTHING about how to handle
WinXP. For some guidance, see Doug Knox's web page:
How do I install Windows® 98/Me after I've installed XP?
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_9x.htm

In short, if your Drive C: is now formatted FAT32, it's not too hard; if C:
is NTFS, you have a bigger problem.

Remember, WinXP can easily mix and match FAT and NTFS drives. But Win9x/ME
can't read from, write to or even SEE an NTFS drive, so it certainly can't
boot from one. If your Drive C: is formatted FAT32, then just install WinME
from scratch, telling it to install on your secondary drive. (Its "system
files" must still go onto C:, but they are less than 500 KB; the rest of
WinME will go onto your secondary, or wherever you say.) This will mess up
WinXP's boot process, so you'll then have to Repair that, as Doug explains.

RC
 
the thing is that I had ME on my original HD. then I bought a second HD and
also bought XP... and without thinking I just installed XP on the new HD...
so I have both, but I haven't even tried to boot ME since then coz I have
XP... however I didn't format the old HD coz of all the software that was on
it...
I was just hoping there was an easy way to do it, like in the old days with
autoexec.bat and config.sys.
 
Hi, Pedge.

Chances are, all your old software will run fine under WinXP - but it will
have to actually be installed in WinXP. Having the executable files on your
HD is not enough; you will have to run each program's Install or Setup
program so that it can make the proper entries in WinXP's Registry.

There are a very few programs which will run under WinME but not WinXP, but
they are rare. If you find one, post the name here and someone will
probably recognize it and tell you how to get it running. Why do you think
your software won't run under WinXP? Have you tried them? My guess is,
you'll never miss WinME once you get over the hump of reinstalling the
programs in WinXP. And you can delete WinME's "boot folder" (probably
D:\Windows) and recover the disk space it occupies.

Autoexec.bat and config.sys are relics of the MS-DOS past. They do live on,
in a way, as autoexec.nt and config.nt, used only when necessary to
specially configure the Command Prompt; even that is seldom needed.

RC
 
If you moved your hard drive with Me installed to the secondary position,
you will need to use a 3rd party boot manager, like BootIt Next Generation,
www.bootitng.com or a similar product.

Alternatively, if your primary hard disk is FAT32 formatted, you can use the
procedure at

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_9x.htm

to reinstall Me, pointing it to the secondary drive. In this situation, you
may also have to reinstall many of your applications, since the Me drive
would be D, and the programs think they were installed on C:
 
its not that it wont run on xp - its that I cant be bothered to re-install
and set up everything... coz I had stuff like J2SE (to compile java), apache
and mysql servers, and loads of other stuff. its things I don't need enough
to re-install but would like to use on rare occasions.
 
Hi, Pedge.

I'm a user, not a developer, so I don't recognize those program names. If
you need to run WinME only "on rare occasions", you might just use a boot
floppy to get you into WinME on those occasions. To create such a MS-DOS
boot floppy from WinXP, right-click on the floppy in My Computer, choose
Format, and then Create an MS-DOS startup disk. Put your autoexec.bat and
config.sys on this boot floppy. And you will probably need to edit
A:\MSDOS.SYS to point to WinME's location.

Not quite as elegant as the dual-boot menu, but not as hard to set up,
either. ;^}

RC
 
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