How can you put two Operating Systems on two hard drives like WinXP on hard drive 1 and Windows 98 on hard drive 2?

Answer

Here is a step by step way of doing it:

Reformatting and Repairing the Hard Disk You may need to reformat and repartition your hard disk if: You have only one volume.

You have to install each operating system on a separate volume of your computer so that each installation can retain its own files and configuration information. The boot volume is not formatted with the correct file system: If you want create a multiple-boot system by using Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me along with Microsoft Windows XP, you have to format the boot volume by using FAT16 because Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me do not support the NTFS file system. If you want to install Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me with Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, you can format the boot volume by using FAT16 because Windows NT 4.0 does not support the FAT32 file system. If you want to create a multiple-boot system using Windows 98 or Windows Me with Windows 2000, or Windows XP, you can format the boot volume by using FAT32.NOTE: If you format a Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP volume with any file system other than NTFS, you will lose all NTFS-specific features. This includes some Windows XP features such as file system security, Encrypting File System (EFS) settings, disk quotas, and Remote Storage. Likewise, Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me do not recognize an NTFS partition and identify it as unknown. Therefore, if you format a Windows 98 or Windows Me partition as FAT, and a Windows XP partition as NTFS, any files on the NTFS partition will not be available or visible if you try to access them while running Windows 98 or Windows Me.

Precautions Before creating a multiple-boot configuration with Windows XP and another operating system, review the following precautions: Before attempting to create a multiple-boot system, be sure to back up your current system and all data files. Each operating system must be installed on a separate volume. Microsoft does not support installing multiple operating systems on the same volume. If you have only one volume on your computer, you have to reformat and repartition your hard disk to contain multiple volumes before you begin creating a multiple-boot configuration, unless you are simply installing another copy of Windows XP. Do not install Windows XP on a compressed drive that was not compressed using the NTFS compression utility. You have to use a different computer name for each operating system if the computer is on a Windows 2000 or Windows XP secure domain. Install the operating systems in the following order: MS-DOS Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me Windows NT Windows 2000 Windows XP

To Create a Multiple-Boot System with Windows XP and MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me NOTE: You cannot install both Windows 95 and Windows 98 in a multiple-boot configuration. Windows 98 is intended as an upgrade to Windows 95 and it will try to use the same boot file.

You have to install Windows XP only after installing MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me to prevent these operating systems from overwriting the Windows XP boot sector and the Windows XP startup files.

To create a multiple-boot system with Windows XP and MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me: Ensure that your hard disk is formatted with the correct file system. Install the multiple operating systems into separate volumes, in the following order: MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, and then Windows XP. Do one of the following: If you want a multiple-boot system with MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me along with Windows XP, install MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me, and then install Windows XP. If you want a dual-boot system with only Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me, install Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me, and then install Windows XP. Install each operating system according to the standard installation procedure.

Specifying the Default Operating System for Startup If you have more than one operating system on your computer, you can set the operating system that you want to use as the default one for when you start your computer: Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System. On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. Under System startup, in the Default operating system list, click the operating system that you want to start when you turn on or restart your computer. Select the Display list of operating systems for check box, and then type the number of seconds for which you want the list displayed before the default operating system starts automatically.

To manually edit the boot options file, click Edit. Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not modify the boot options file (Boot.ini), because doing so may render your computer unusable.

• The above answer is in good detail and I appreciate it, but one thing I want to add is that you should always install win98 first and then win XP or win2000. If you install win XP or win2000 first you will not be able to upgrade it. Never take a risk: install win98 on your primary active drive first, then install win XP on the next drive .

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