Types of partitions would be very pertinent (except for DOS which would have the same rules apply for any version after 5), so could you narrow it down to exactly which versions of Windows 95 and OS/2?

Can you boot to Linux from a drive orverlay? If so, then you could probably install Linux and use GRUB/LILO to multiboot

You might try Masterbooter. It's fully functional but limited to four OS version is free. I really like its simplicity.

http://www.masterbooter.com/main/news.php?lang=en

I'm not sure about its overlay compatibility, though.

Specifically Windows 95 OSR2, OS/2 Warp 4, and DOS 6.22. After much trial and error, I found that the version of EZ-BIOS included with Maxtor Maxblast Plus II and System Commander 2000 work well together. I got everything up and running and then subsequently broke it all trying to install BeOS R5 😵

Right now I'm trying to get all OSes but DOS onto logical partitions. OS/2 and BeOS only seem to want to install within the first 1024 cylinders of the hard drive no matter what I try. so there's figuring out that too.

It really never crossed my mind to try Linux with GRUB/LILO...hmm.

tayyare wrote:

You might try Masterbooter. It's fully functional but limited to four OS version is free. I really like its simplicity.

http://www.masterbooter.com/main/news.php?lang=en

Bookmarked that one to check out later, thanks. Wish I would have discovered it earlier!

Once, I used a registered version (8 OSes instead of 4 in shareware version) to multiboot into:

- MS-DOS 6.22
- Free DOS
- MS-DOS 7.1
- Windows 95
- Windows 98
- Windows NT 4.0
- OS/2 Warp 3
- BeOS

in two 30GB HDDs, having four partitions on each. It has a very nice partitioning utility called efdisk which allows you to create 4 primary partition in any given disk. It has a very nice help doc, and some fixing tools (solving OS specific multiboot issues) at its site.

Since you are using one of the later versions of OS/2 that includes it (and because you only mentioned trying to multi-boot 3 operating systems) I was going to recommend keeping it simple and using the IBM boot manager, but then you mentioned BeOS and now I am unsure about your exact intentions.

The OS/2 boot manager will want that boot sector as a partition its own: no way around that. However, from there I should think you would have little trouble setting up DOS in your primary partition after that (which all versions of OS/2 should recognize), leaving the wildcard to this equation being whether you want Windows 95 installed on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. (the latter will require creating that partition in advance which will really shake up the steps involved; it may be easier to use third-party software in that case because while it is theoretically possible to use just the included IBM & MS software it does get complicated).

The other posters have good advice and are speaking from experience...using partition software other than what Microsoft and IBM offer out-of-the-box. I actually have a project similar to this in mind for my own system involving the aid of IBM boot manager with the intended result of DOS, OS/2 1.3 and Windows 95 sharing a FAT16 partition (all 3 are compatible with each other and which gets booted into first is easy to adjust), Windows 98 on FAT32 and Windows NT 3 on HPFS. However, I have to admit my work so far has been strictly-academic and involved extensive research while not yet having reached the application phase because right now I am having trouble getting all my drives to even work together.

BaronSFel001 wrote:

Since you are using one of the later versions of OS/2 that includes it (and because you only mentioned trying to multi-boot 3 operating systems) I was going to recommend keeping it simple and using the IBM boot manager, but then you mentioned BeOS and now I am unsure about your exact intentions.

The OS/2 boot manager will want that boot sector as a partition its own: no way around that. However, from there I should think you would have little trouble setting up DOS in your primary partition after that (which all versions of OS/2 should recognize), leaving the wildcard to this equation being whether you want Windows 95 installed on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. (the latter will require creating that partition in advance which will really shake up the steps involved; it may be easier to use third-party software in that case because while it is theoretically possible to use just the included IBM & MS software it does get complicated).

The other posters have good advice and are speaking from experience...using partition software other than what Microsoft and IBM offer out-of-the-box. I actually have a project similar to this in mind for my own system involving the aid of IBM boot manager with the intended result of DOS, OS/2 1.3 and Windows 95 sharing a FAT16 partition (all 3 are compatible with each other and which gets booted into first is easy to adjust), Windows 98 on FAT32 and Windows NT 3 on HPFS. However, I have to admit my work so far has been strictly-academic and involved extensive research while not yet having reached the application phase because right now I am having trouble getting all my drives to even work together.

I gave up on BeOS on this machine, I just don't think it will work. Instead I gave it a go on a PIII box of mine, neat little OS.

My goal for this whole project initially was just to put OS/2 on it for the learning experience, as I've never used it before. It morphed into a multboot project after I picked up the 60GB drive.

Only having to use the IBM boot manager would be ideal, and it was something I considered. The addition of Windows 95 OSR2 on a FAT32 partition REALLY throws a wildcard into the mix though, and I thought it would be too much trouble to even bother with the OS/2 boot manager at that point. Third party software just seems like the way to go for this project.

Right, the complication from Windows 95 is not necessarily that it will take up the first partition it sees (like DOS, Windows can be made to install to a drive other than C as long as its core boot data is left on C) but rather that it will force a format of your C drive if you want FAT32 and not allow any other choice. The way I was planning to get around this was first creating a second primary FAT16 partition, then using Boot Manager to hide the first partition so the next one can take over as C drive. With the first C drive hidden, the second C drive should boot and Windows 95 can install from scratch while at the same time convert the partition to FAT32.

So, while Windows NT has the Disk Manager for full partition reconfiguration throughout the hard drive, Boot Manager has the capacity to hide partitions; between both one could conceivably go to town within the limit of only being able to have 4 primary partitions (Boot Manager takes up one of them which practically leaves only 3). Both of our projects do not exceed that limit of 3 thus are theoretically doable, and I think it worth noting that Boot Manager is one of the primary reasons OS/2 is part of my plan: without the ability to hide a primary partition it would become very complicated to have Windows 95 and 98 on the same system (official word from Microsoft is that it is not even possible...but we know how much Bill loved to stretch facts especially back in the 90s).

In your case without NT Disk Administrator you would be left with these options: IBM Boot Manager does not support FAT32, but it can hide partitions and add new FAT16 as well as the HPFS format that is best for OS/2 (and early versions of Windows NT); Windows 95 cannot handle HPFS but is absolutely necessary for FAT32 whether upon first installation or using its conversion application (just make sure you do not convert whatever drive you have DOS on because that could render it kaput as an independent OS). You have all the tools you need so it would just be a matter of which order you do things in. This should help: http://www.warpdoctor.org/walter/articles/1998/aa091698.html

This is not knocking at all on third-party options, but you mentioned wanting a learning experience and I think both our projects qualify as endeavors if we can manage to make it happen using native software only.

BaronSFel001 wrote:

Right, the complication from Windows 95 is not necessarily that it will take up the first partition it sees (like DOS, Windows c […]
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Right, the complication from Windows 95 is not necessarily that it will take up the first partition it sees (like DOS, Windows can be made to install to a drive other than C as long as its core boot data is left on C) but rather that it will force a format of your C drive if you want FAT32 and not allow any other choice. The way I was planning to get around this was first creating a second primary FAT16 partition, then using Boot Manager to hide the first partition so the next one can take over as C drive. With the first C drive hidden, the second C drive should boot and Windows 95 can install from scratch while at the same time convert the partition to FAT32.

So, while Windows NT has the Disk Manager for full partition reconfiguration throughout the hard drive, Boot Manager has the capacity to hide partitions; between both one could conceivably go to town within the limit of only being able to have 4 primary partitions (Boot Manager takes up one of them which practically leaves only 3). Both of our projects do not exceed that limit of 3 thus are theoretically doable, and I think it worth noting that Boot Manager is one of the primary reasons OS/2 is part of my plan: without the ability to hide a primary partition it would become very complicated to have Windows 95 and 98 on the same system (official word from Microsoft is that it is not even possible...but we know how much Bill loved to stretch facts especially back in the 90s).

In your case without NT Disk Administrator you would be left with these options: IBM Boot Manager does not support FAT32, but it can hide partitions and add new FAT16 as well as the HPFS format that is best for OS/2 (and early versions of Windows NT); Windows 95 cannot handle HPFS but is absolutely necessary for FAT32 whether upon first installation or using its conversion application (just make sure you do not convert whatever drive you have DOS on because that could render it kaput as an independent OS). You have all the tools you need so it would just be a matter of which order you do things in. This should help: http://www.warpdoctor.org/walter/articles/1998/aa091698.html

This is not knocking at all on third-party options, but you mentioned wanting a learning experience and I think both our projects qualify as endeavors if we can manage to make it happen using native software only.

I'm going to mess around with IBM boot manager today on a faster machine that doesn't require a drive overlay and see what I can come up with. I've been reading that with updated Warp 4 boot disks it's possible to install OS/2 beyond the 1024 cylinder limit, as long as you install the boot manager in a primary and OS/2 itself in a logical.

I'm trying for this today:

1Primary - IBM boot manager
2Extended
3     Logical - OS/2 Warp 4, HPFS
4     Logical - Windows 95, FAT32

If I get that working, I'll try for DOS 6.22 as well, in a 2047MB FAT16 primary.