well why not install a decent bootloader ?
like grub ?
then you simply boot os the from D

But what you describe can be done. More easely would be to put in a new hd as C and put you current as second. Then you install the os on C:\ and copy the needed data from D

If the second OS you want to boot is either Linux or DOS, you can also make a boot floppy. For Linux, it can actually boot from a non-primary partition/drive. For DOS, you can make a FAT16 or FAT32 partition (depending on your DOS version) and then boot the OS from a floppy and that partition will probably become your C: drive while DOS is running (and your NTFS or whatever partitions will be inaccessible)

I like Qbix bootmanager suggestion better.

Yeah, actually what I meant - at least for the Linux case - is that you can install the boot manager on a floppy instead of on your hard drive's MBR. That way, you don't have to worry about it screwing up your NTLDR. I find boot loaders/managers to be rather dangerous stuff.

Ah. Thank you for the clarification. 😎

For DOS I planned on a boot disk.
The other OS is win98SE. Yes I know technically WinXP should handle it but I don't trust it.
I have Paragon Partition Manager 6.0 that supposedly has a boot manager but I haven't found the darn thing yet.
I have been able to hid and deactivate/unhide reactivate the C: partition

So would I simply hide/deactivate the current C, lets call it C1.
Then I activate what was D and has now become C, let's call it C2.
I install C2 as I always have done and then I have to always go in and activate/deactivate hide/unhide as I go, right?

... am I on the right track?

Another question:
My last system was Win98SE with an Athloan 2000+ and 756 MB of RAM. I never had any problems and don't think I made any madifications. I have read many times that Win98SE can't handle over 512 MB of RAM etc etc etc...
where can i read up on this?
Thanks

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q253912/

Thanks Snover.
Ah.,.. so I did have that changed without knowing it...
Looks like it is an issue after installation.
Thanks for that.
Still of two minds about how to proceed wither with a second HDD or to just do the hide/deactivate trick...

Hey Guys,
Thanks for the information I have read about 20 different description sof
doing dual booting but can't find any that discuss it the way I want to do it:

"So would I simply hide/deactivate the current C, lets call it C1.
Then I activate what was D and has now become C, let's call it C2.
I install C2 as I always have done and then I have to always go in and activate/deactivate hide/unhide as I go, right?

... am I on the right track? "
Any thoughts?

Carrera wrote:

Hey Guys, Thanks for the information I have read about 20 different description sof doing dual booting but can't find any that […]
Show full quote

Hey Guys,
Thanks for the information I have read about 20 different description sof
doing dual booting but can't find any that discuss it the way I want to do it:

"So would I simply hide/deactivate the current C, lets call it C1.
Then I activate what was D and has now become C, let's call it C2.
I install C2 as I always have done and then I have to always go in and activate/deactivate hide/unhide as I go, right?

I have used a commercial boot loader for the last 10 years which will handle anything you throw at it. Yep, it does cost around $70, but has a partition manager so that you can install anything. Makes it easy to hide/unhide partitions depending on the operating system being booted so that everyone is happy at the 'drive letters' and partitions that are visible. The current version of the product is from V-Com, it is called System Commander 8 and here is a link to its capabilities.

I have no association with the V-Com company other than owning some of its products.

Hope this helps,

dvwjr

Well at least I feel a little less confused. Thanks for that.
The thing is, for better or for worse I bought the Paragon software because it claimed I could install multiple OSes but there is NO documentation on how to go about it!
Through the myriad of pages I have read it sounds like hiding/deactivating partitions is all I have to do but am not sure and just want confirmation.
This is already the second partitiona manager I have bought and would like to avoid byuing yet another one if I can...

Am getting closer. The theory looks right so far but must test... I still wonder why there isn't more documentation on this...

This is the closest I have gotten to finding something that meets my requirements.
http://www.freepctech.com/pc/001/dual_boot_guide.shtml
What I am thinking I need to do is hide/deactivate my WinXP installation partition. Install Win98SE. When I am done with Win98SE I hide it.
There is often a lot of writing about needing to convert NTFS back and forth to FAT32 but from what I can tell it is basically so you can access your data across OSes and frankly I don't need or want that.
Am I off my rocker?
Thanks!

Is this still an outstanding issue. Its just that I was looking for ways to do this a while back, and found a really nice way on the net somewhere. I can describe it for you, if you like.

On of my main requirements was that both OSes saw themselves as being on C:

I have installed windows 98se onto the same partition as my 2k system and on my sons xp machine and there is no conflict at all.
The trick is to put in a subdirectory like..
C:\win98\windows etc

It also involves editing msdos.sys and editing the registry of the win98 system to reflect the new location.
I built my installation inside Virtual PC then copied it onto my real hd and changed boot.ini so I could select it.
The only real pain is that it must be on a fat32 partition.
If you need any more info then let me know.

I didn't want to risk interaction between two OS's on the same partition. The way my system is set up, the two sit on different partitions within a single drive

The German computer mag ct has VMware trial on it for free so will try that.
I am starting to lean back towards adding a new drive and simply in/deactivating it in the BIOS. That seems the safest way to ensure that the OS only sees one C: all the time...

I know a really reliable way with two partitions on one drive, if you're interested

@Glidos:I am very interested.Can you,please,teach me,step by step (as I know nothing of computers)what must be done?
My thanks in advance.
Best regards,