Partitioning Hard drive...

Hello keepers of wisdom...

I have read quite a few 'posts' concerning the
ability of members to partition their hard drive,
thus having the option of choice between either
Windows 98 or Windows XP...

Is this a complicated procedure...and if not, can
you tell me how...I'd be so grateful...SOLVER

If you want to keep your current OS, you need to buy partitioning software like Partition Magic.

The other alternative is to buy a second hard drive and use that for the second OS. (OS=Operating system - e.g. - Windows XP or Windows 98)

Here's a pretty good tutorial that I think will help:
http://fdisk.radified.com/

Note especially that if you change partitions with fdisk, it will erase everything in the partitions you delete before you repartition. So if you only have a C drive, it will erase everything on your computer.

If you only have a C drive, another option is to add a second hard drive if you have room and a spare IDE connector in your computer. The only potential downside to this approach is it will shift your CD drive from the D drive to the E drive, which might cause problems with any installed programs that run anything off a CD (like games). Of course, this will also happen if you use something like Partion Magic to repartion your existing hard drive.

A third option is to use a hard drive tray and a second hard drive. This is a gadget that you install in a 5.25" external drive bay. The hard drives install in inserts that you just slide in, sort of like a giant floppy. This makes it very quick and easy to swap hard drives. So you could keep your old hard drive and data, install XP on the second, and just swap them out as needed.

Here's some info on hard drive trays, there are several other brands.
http://www.kingwin.com/pdut_Cat.asp?CateID=25

Albert

It's very easy actually. There are 2 ways of doing this:

1) Create a separate partition on your current hard drive using Partition Magic, then just install Windows 98 or XP on it as you normally would ,making sure you install it on the new partition. Windows will take care of the rest, so when you start your computer, it'll ask you which one you'd like to start with.

2) Buy a second hard drive just for Windows 98 or XP, install Windows on the new drive and windows will take care of the rest. Same deal; just boot your computer and it'll ask you which windows you want to start with.

It's not that bad at all. =)

Is Partition Magic a software tool, and if so, where does one obtain it? Thanks.

tuesday next

Never mind - I see it's a Symantec product. Pretty pricey if you ask me.

tuesday next

You can still pick up earlier versions for very reasonable prices.

I've found it to one of the most useful and powerful pieces of software I've ever purchased.

How often do you repartition your hard drive? I would think you would use this utility (program?) once and that would be it. Am I missing something?

tuesday next

There are times when it is handy to resize a partition. Or copy a partition to another hard drive. Or merge several partitions. Or reformat a partition that has been infected with a virus. Or change the underlying file format of a partition.

While I don't use Partition Magic on a daily basis (other than making use of the partitions it makes), there is no more powerful tool when it comes time to do some serious disk management.

Greetings MrLipid and TuesdayNext...

I am hoping that by installing 'Partition Magic'
I shall be able to continue to play my XP games
but if I desire I can reach back and install one
of the games that requires WIN 98...please don't
tell me I'm wrong...
Partition Magic is now on sale for $29.95 which
seemed reasonable for the effort...SOLVER

Thanks Mr.Lipid for the info - sounds insteresting.

Hi Solver: I'm waiting with you to find that answer. That would make the problem of needing an older system to play older games on the same computer SOLVEreD

tuesday next

Hi Solver & TuesdayNext,

If you get a second Hard drive you could install XP on that and it will automatically detect the other drive with Windows 98 and set up the dual boot (this is the way I set up my system and it runs perfectly, just make sure 98 SE is installed before installing XP). My second drive is 80 gig and after installing XP and got the dual boot setup I then partitioned the hard drive directly through XP (3 partitions 20/30/30/) no need for programs like Partition Magic, etc. Hope this helps.

Bill

Bill, What if you're starting with a computer with XP already on it. That's the computer I would want to know if 98SE could be installed on - not the other way around. Unless you mean install 98SE on the second hard drive and then pop the drive into one of the open slots on the front of the computer. If that were the case, how would you install 98SE onto that second hard drive??? Hate to sound stupic but I'm clueless.

tuesday next

Most computer cases have extra Internal slots to handle another hard drive without sacrificing the open slot on the front of your computer. When you install and format a new hard drive, it has its' own drive letter (e.g. Drive C is your main drive and a new one would be Drive D, then any other CD-ROM and such would follow suit).

And yes, you CAN install Win98SE as you normally would and it will dual-boot regardless. Just pop the Win98 SE disc into the drive, reboot, the CD-ROM SHOULD boot on its' own, and when it asks you where to install it, just select Drive D. And that's all you have to do. It's all normal from that point. =)

Not unless you have the boot order in your computer's BIOS set to boot from the CD drive before booting from the hard drive. Otherwise it will just boot off the XP hard drive.

I spoke to Dell on the phone yesterday about buying a second hard drive. When I told him I wanted to use it for a second OS he brought up an interesting point (to me, anyway). What if 98SE is not compatible with all the drivers that are set for XP: video/audio, monitor, printer, etc?

tuesday next

Shouldn't make any difference. The drivers for XP reside on the XP hard drive and the drivers for 98SE reside on the 98SE hard drive. Never the twain shall meet and all that.

A bigger problem is whether there are 98SE drivers. I can imagine a situation where the hardware is too new for 98SE and there are no drivers.

Mr. Lipid - I think that was what I was trying to say. What drivers are you talking about if not video, audio, etc???

tuesday next

What I was attempting to say was that if the hardware is too new and the manufacturers of the hardware no longer produce 98SE drivers, there is no point in installing a separate hard drive with 98SE. The video, audio, printer, scanner, mouse, etc. won't work. Not because of the XP drivers but because there are no 98SE drivers available.

Before going any further, it might be an idea to track down all the websites of all the hardware manufacturers whose hardware is in your XP system and see if they are still producing 98SE drivers for the hardware you have. If they aren't, the game is over.

Nvidia still has 98 drivers for all their vid cards, just checked the site.

Yup, you need to make sure you have all the needed drivers before you install any Operating System. Let's see, you'll need video card drivers, sound card drivers, printer drivers, maybe modem drivers, maybe ethernet (NIC) card drivers, motherboard chip set drivers, etc. It's hard for me to imagine that these aren't available for Win98, except maybe the motherboard chipset drivers. Motherboard chipset drivers are easy to overlook, but make a big difference. They include things like IDE bus mastering drivers. Your computer *should* work without them, but they DO make a difference.

Albert

Albert - How do I know what chipset drivers my XP computer has? Thanks.

tuesday next

While nVidia does indeed have a 98SE driver on its site, it's not a driver I've been able to get to work on my 98SE box, even with an nVidia FX5700LE card.

Worth noting that one can go HERE and select drivers from virtually the entire history of nVidia. Valuable resource.

You could go HERE and take a look at the Everest Home Edition. I'm using the older AIDA version and it is amazing. You'll learn more than you ever knew there was to know about your system.

Wow!

tuesday next

Sorry TuesdayNext, I was busy yesterday and didn't check in. What Mr. Lipid said. You need to know what kind of motherboard you have, unless it's a brand name computer like Dell. Then you might get by with knowing the model number of the computer. Then go to the manufacturer's web site (motherboard or system as needed) and look for downloads in their tech support section. It should be pretty straight forward.

Albert