How to set up dual-booting

We believe it is important to first mention that dual-booting is almost never supported by a computer manufacturer or the operating system developer. Consequently, dual-booting is an "at your own risk" situation. To proceed, make your selection from the list below and follow the instructions.

Dual-boot Windows 95 with Windows 98

Windows 95 with Windows 98 can be dual-boot, but without any utilities, you must manually change the msdos.sys to point to the appropriate drive or partition. Also, if drive space (disk compression) is used, drvspace must be copied as well.

Process of dual-booting Windows 98 with Windows 95

1. We recommend at least two partitions be created, one partition for Windows 95 and the other for Windows 98.
2. If you have an OEM version of Windows 98, install it first, as it searches for pre-existing operating systems. If you have a retail version of Windows 98, install it or Windows 95 first.
3. Once one of the operating systems is installed, boot the computer from a bootable floppy diskette. At the MS-DOS prompt, install the secondary operating system onto the secondary partition. It should be noted that you do not want to install Windows 95/98 from Windows; its installation must be initiated from MS-DOS.
4. Once both operating systems are installed on the computer, it boots to the last installed operating system. To boot to the alternate operating system, edit the msdos.sys file and change the WinDir= and the WinBootDir to the appropriate drive letter. If you find yourself needing to boot between the operating systems often, it may be easier to create different msdos.sys files and then use a batch file to switch between them.

• Msdos.sys help and information.
• Batch file help and information.

Dual-boot Windows 95/98 with Windows NT/2000

Dual-booting between Windows 95/98 and Windows NT is effortless as these two operating systems work fine if placed on different partitions.

To dual-boot between Windows 95/98 and Windows NT, we recommend two partitions be created and that Windows 95 or Windows 98 be installed first onto the computer. Below is the steps we would recommend to follow in dual-booting these operating systems.

Process of dual-booting Windows 95/98 with Windows NT 4.0

1. We recommend at least two partitions be created, one partition for Windows 95/98 and the other for Windows NT/2000.

Additionally, it is important to consider if you plan on utilizing NTFS (NTFS file system). NTFS adds security, but if you need to access this drive from Windows 95/98, you may want to consider using FAT16 or FAT32 if you are installing Windows 2000.

2. When both operating systems are installed on the computer, with Windows 95/98 installed on one of the partitions, boot to an MS-DOS prompt. Then, load the CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory) drivers, for instance from a Windows bootable disk.
3. Once at the prompt, enter into the below directory.

X:\WINNT>

The X: being the letter of your CD-ROM drive.

4. Once at this prompt, we recommend you do a diskless installation. To do this, type: winnt /b at the prompt.

For additional information about Windows NT switches, see our Windows NT switches guide.

5. After the installation is complete and the computer reboots, you should notice the Windows NT menu has the option for both Windows 9x and Windows NT 4.0.

Dual-booting Windows 95 with Windows Me

Windows Me detects if any Windows operating system already exists on the computer before the installation, so it is important that you create two partitions, one for each OS (operating system). Install Windows Me first, and then install Windows 95. Below is the steps we would recommend be done.

Process of dual-booting Windows 95 with Windows Me

1. We recommend at least two partitions be created, one partition for Windows 95 and the other for Windows 98.
2. Once the two partitions are created, reboot the computer with the Windows Me CD (compact disc) inserted, and install Windows Me onto one of the partitions.
3. Once installed, boot to an MS-DOS prompt or bootable diskette and install Windows 95 onto the secondary partition.

Dual-booting Windows 98 with Windows Me

Because both Windows 98 OEM and Windows Me look for pre-existing operating systems, Windows 98 retail must be used. If you do not have a retail version of Windows 98, unfortunately, it's not possible to dual-boot Windows 98 with Windows Me.

Below are the steps we would recommend be done to dual-boot between Windows 98 retail and Windows Me.

Process of dual-booting Windows 98 with Windows Me

1. We recommend at least two partitions be created, one partition for Windows 98 and the other for Windows Me.
2. Once the two partitions are created, reboot the computer with the Windows Me CD inserted, and install Windows Me onto one of the partitions.
3. Once Windows Me is installed onto the computer, boot to the Windows 98 CD and install Windows 98 onto the alternate partition.