first install win98 then XP.

XP will then make a bootmenu for you. (As far as I know)

The other way around is nearly impossible.

Of course, you could also use a third-party boot manager which would allow you to boot from the second hard drive (i.e. Win98) without having to reinstall XP.

I did this a while back to make a dual-booting Win2K / Win98 system, with each O/S on a separare hard disk.

The utility I used was called "Masterbooter".

First, you will need to reformat your C: as FAT32, this is mandatory since Windows 98 does not understand NTFS and you must use either FAT or FAT32 in your first partition. Then you can install Windows 98, followed by Windows XP, and the later will automatically set up a dual-boot menu where you can choose which system to boot.

The decision about splitting your first drive in two partitions depends on what do you intend to do with the other partitions. Windows 98 and XP must reside in different partitions and Windows 98 must go on C: (yeah, I know it is possible to install it on another partition but this is troublesome so I won't talk about it here). Beyond that, there is no problem in using one of the 6 partitions that you already have in the second drive for Windows XP. It is only a matter of how much space do you have available in the other partitions. However, if you prefer to have both systems in your first drive, then you should create two partitions on it: C: for Windows 98 and D: for Windows XP.

One extra note: if you try to reformat the current C: partition you will likely have some trouble with the Windows 98 version of format, since it will not recognize the existing NTFS file system. In this case, use fdisk to delete the partition (there is an option on fdisk for deleting non-DOS partitions) and create it again.

Regards,

Originally posted by El Bob Web Supero Jr After having lack of sucess running my Sierra, Lucasarts and Tex Murphy games under XP, I have decided to dual boot my system.

Good idea.

Should I partion C:\ into two drives, putting XP on the second partion and leaving the second drive for my usual data, or should I use the first parition of the second drive for XP?

The first sounds better to me. That would make it your "OS drive" keeping your data isolated from it (which makes future OS installs easier to deal with...).

I have no experience in dual booting, despite advanced knowladge of computers, so if you anyone could shed some light, it would be of great help.

So long as you install Win9x first and leave enough empty drive space to install XP again, it should be easy.

Originally posted by Qbix XP will then make a bootmenu for you. (As far as I know)

It will.

The other way around is nearly impossible.

Not so much impossible as a major pain (and if you miss a step...even more headaches...)

Originally posted by guruman Of course, you could also use a third-party boot manager which would allow you to boot from the second hard drive (i.e. Win98) without having to reinstall XP.

That works, but then you tend to have "drive-letter swapping" issues. This is why (when I install XP) I always create a lot of tiny FAT16 partitions at install so the OS will choose a drive letter like N:\ so all other drive letters are consistent...whether I'm in Win9x or XP. (Then I delete the tiny partitions and give their space back to the Win9x and XP partitions.)