XP/98 dual Boot Partition size

[Hammer1]

Im currently running 98SE, I have a new 40GB hd on the way to me . I plan to install a dual boot setup with 98SE and XP. I found alot of good info from the FAQ pages, like the fact that I wont have to install all programs twice. But what Im short on is how large to make the two partitions. do they both need to be the same size? A how to guide on this subject would be great, but I am obviously not the guy to write it

thanks

 

[Zipp]

They don't have to be the same size Hammer and here's a MS link with some info on dual booting.


Link

 

[SUOrangeman]

And who told you that you don't have to install programs twice? If you want your programs to work exactly as you want/expect them to, I can almost gaurantee that you will install them twice.

So, ask yourself this: If I am dual-booting, why am I installing this app twice? Chances are that you will only use one of these OSes 90% of the time. You'll only use the other OS when something doesn't work on the main one. Use the lesser-used OS to try out new apps and drivers while you main OS remains pristine.

Make C: about 1GB FAT32 but don't install \Windows nor \WINNT to it. You will thank me later (I hope). Make at least one other partition for each OS.

-SUO

 

[Hammer1]

<< And who told you that you don't have to install programs twice? >>


I said:

<< I wont have to install all programs twice >>


I got that info here AnandTech FAQ
I was showing my appreciation for the effort that went into the FAQ.


<< Make C: about 1GB FAT32 but don't install \Windows nor \WINNT to it. You will thank me later (I hope). Make at least one other partition for each OS. >>


hey, tell me why I should make C: about 1GB FAT32 and Ill thank you right now. Here, Ill thank you in advance - Thanks!

I plan to run W98, until I get every thing running smoothly on XP, all drivers updated etc. And maybe keep it on for some old games if they don?t run on XP. Otherwise XP will be the main OP. I?m currently running my system on 8 gig of space. So I could give W98 an 8 gig partition, duplicate my current install and devote the rest to XP, except the 1 GB mystery partition , of course.
Thanks for the advice

 

[Hammer1]

Thanks Zipp, thats a good lead

 

[SUOrangeman]

I think I answered this via e-mail, but I'll share anyway!

...

The C: partition that I am suggesting will give you some flexibility when booting more than one operating system.

First, if you want to "naturally" (the Microsoft way) dual-boot Win98 and WinXP, both OSes need to see the same C: drive, as both will put their boot files there. NOTE: You don't HAVE to install Win98 nor WinXP to the C: drive. You will likely get a prompt during the install that defaults to "C:\Windows" as the destination install directory. You can just as easily make that "D:\Windows" or anything else you want.

Secondly, you can put DOS-based tools like fdisk and scandisk there, just in case neither OS wants to properly boot later in life.

Third, I *purposely* don't want my OSes seeing each other. In case I get clumsy, I don't want one OS to destroy itself and then another. Therefore, each OS I run gets at least on partition to itself. With WinXP and Win98, I could just make one NTFS partition (won't be naturally seen by Win98) and one FAT32 partition (I can chose to not make it visible in WinXP). If I install one of the OSes onto C:, then that OS's files will always be visible and subject to potential damage from the other OS. I'm just protecting myself from myself.

Finally, I can make good use of the C: drive space for swap space (use the same disk space for both OSes, temp files, and Internet cache. Again, if these types of files are confined to C:, they won't mess up something else later.

-SUO

 

[Hammer1]

yep, got the email. Thanks