Do I need to have dos on my system to partition for Win98, NT, linux??

[smp]

I don't even know where to start.. I need to format my disk to make way for a triple boot setup.. I might be too much of a newbie for this.. where do I start?? (for dummies... )
thanks.... oh please please please.. I don't want to run a crappy buggy 98 for the rest of my life..
ps.. I have a kick ass brand new system and it's goin to waste..

 

[jsm]

Here is what I believe you should do (though others may have a different opinion).

1. Install Win9x.
2. Install WinNT (2000, whatever).
3. Install Linux distro.

I am going to assume you are new to Linux. Since you are not the master of setting up grub or lilo (boot loaders), I would recommend making a boot floppy to boot into Linux. If you are using a newer version of Mandrake or Red Hat, there are options to configure a floppy disk to be bootable when you perform the initial install. Of course, you could use Lilo or Grub, but you are going to be somewhat familiar with either Linuxconf or know how to properly edit your boot manager's configuration file.

Also, you could use NT's boot manager (which is pretty easy to edit), but in your case, I would probably opt for using a Linux boot floppy. NT's boot manager will see Win9x and will be configured on it's own - with no intervention from you, to boot into either MS based operating system.

 

[smp]

THanks.. I'm just gonna resort to begging my buddy to come over.. i don't know anything..