I have XP on my primary hard drive, but I want to put 98 on my other hard drive. I know 98 can only be installed on the primary drive. I was thinking about switching my other hard drive to primary, then install 98 that way but I don't know anything about Windows bootloader. Does anyone know how I can do this so it will boot to either XP or Windows 98? XP is the OS I will use the most, I just want 98 on there for a few reasons.
Windows 98 and XP dual boot
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I have seen and read, a little, about a hardware device which attaches to the front of your PC case that lets you boot individual disks depending on which button you push on the front of your PC.
That sounds like a good invention. I search around to see if it is sold anywhere. Do you know anything about dual booting different Windows versions? I would put 98 on the same hard drive as XP(I have plenty of room), I just don't want to risk losing any information on my computer. But there is the question on how to dual boot, if I do it that way, too.
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We aim to please, you aim, too, please! 
Of course, since you have to power down the computer to select disks with this gizmo anyway, why not visit ComputerGate and buy a bunch of Hard Disk Carriers for $7.95/ea if you buy at least four of them. I have them in all my systems, Mobile HDD Rack. They even come with a hot swap utility, though it's pretty limited and somewhat buggy. OTOH, having all the drives in drawers makes swapping them around very easy, these are a MUST HAVE for the multi-computer hacker.
Well, I don't have $70-$80 right now(need a new clutch in my car), but it does seem like a nice device. Anyone have any ideas on doing it without extra hardware?? If i go ahead and install 98 on the other drive, will XP boot or will it be 98?
Alright, I got 98 installed on my other hard drive, no problem. I just don't have an option to boot which one. Does any know how to configure the boot.ini file in XP? I know how to get there to edit it, I just don't know what I am doing when I get there. This is what my boot.ini file looks like:
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
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hmm
i dont know the answer to that question, but i have a comment on the subject of dual boot....
let me relay something ive seen...
i had a friend that had 2 exactly identical machines in his house, and one was getting a bigger hard disk, so he took the hard disk out and put a new one in it. then he took the old drive, and put it straight into the other machine, without repartitioning it. both drives were already partitioned into a 16 gig c, and a 4 gig d...
when he got done, he had
a 16 gig c:, a 16 gig d: and a 4 e: and a 4 gig f: then his CD drives as g: and h:
what happened was this,
both disks already had a primary dos partition as c: on them...
both disks had a secondary dos partition on them as d:....
when mixed, they moved around a little....
the masters primary dos partition became c:
the slaves primary dos partition became d:
the masters secondary partition became e:
and the slaves secondary partition became f:
they are all accessable all the time...
if he flips his jumpers, it boots up as his sister's machine, LOL
if he flips them back, it boots up as his machine always did...
but i am not sure if he can hot swap....
he put a switch from a stereo that can do the actions required to re-jumper both drives at once, and he can do that same thing that that switch could do for you....
with a 2$ switch.....
now he is installing 98 se on the extra drive so he can provide a more stable environment in his windows operating system for when he wants his machine to run correctly, LOL
~BoB~
i dont know the answer to that question, but i have a comment on the subject of dual boot....
let me relay something ive seen...
i had a friend that had 2 exactly identical machines in his house, and one was getting a bigger hard disk, so he took the hard disk out and put a new one in it. then he took the old drive, and put it straight into the other machine, without repartitioning it. both drives were already partitioned into a 16 gig c, and a 4 gig d...
when he got done, he had
a 16 gig c:, a 16 gig d: and a 4 e: and a 4 gig f: then his CD drives as g: and h:
what happened was this,
both disks already had a primary dos partition as c: on them...
both disks had a secondary dos partition on them as d:....
when mixed, they moved around a little....
the masters primary dos partition became c:
the slaves primary dos partition became d:
the masters secondary partition became e:
and the slaves secondary partition became f:
they are all accessable all the time...
if he flips his jumpers, it boots up as his sister's machine, LOL
if he flips them back, it boots up as his machine always did...
but i am not sure if he can hot swap....
he put a switch from a stereo that can do the actions required to re-jumper both drives at once, and he can do that same thing that that switch could do for you....
with a 2$ switch.....
now he is installing 98 se on the extra drive so he can provide a more stable environment in his windows operating system for when he wants his machine to run correctly, LOL
~BoB~
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