At some point in a computer operators lifetime, a need arises that many people do not even know is possible: Multiple OS's on a single computer.
Whether or not you:
No matter what your need, Multiple OS's could fill that void.
Here, I put together an example of installing:
You may choose what ever combination desired, but, take note: Read your license agreement that came with your operating system to ensure that you are allowed a multi-boot environment.
A few points to consider before beginning the adventure:
With the plan in hand, we can now begin:
Boot Using a Floppy1) Windows Me boot floppy: (Image 1.1)Setup your systems BIOS to boot from A:. How that is done is dependant on what system you have. That I cannot predict. Check your manual for that information. I use a Windows Me created boot floppy to run FDISK because:
I always start with CD-ROM support, so I picked option 2. |
2) No partitions are detected: Image 1.2)If no partitions are detected, such as with a new hard drive, the Windows Me boot disk is rather helpful in telling you this fact. At this point, do not be alarmed at the "virus warning" statement, as it is generic. At the "Command Prompt," in this example, A:, type fdisk. |
At this point, if you are unaware of how FDISK works, please check my Using FDISK Guide.
If you are aware of how to partition your hard drives using FDISK, please continue.
After Using FDISK3) Partition Information: (Image 1.3)In this example, I created:
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4) Extended DOS Partition Information: (Image 1.4)Here, this shows I created:
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5) Format the C:\ or first partition: (Image 1.5)After rebooting the system, you can now format the hard drive partitions. For what ever initial OS you wish to install, you must format the C:\ or first partition from the command prompt. If you are going directly to an OS with built in partitioning software, such as full, bootable versions of Win9x/Me, or Windows 2000 and XP of any type, you may skip this step. |
6) After formatting: (Image 1.6)After formatting, you may run setup of what ever OS you choose to install first. You can now continue on with what ever OS Install Guide you wish to view. In this example, it was Windows Me. |
7) Installing the OS: (Image 1.7)An important point to consider is to ensure that you are installing the OS where you want it to go. If you do not, you could over write a previous installation, effectively deleting that OS. |
For this Guide, I chose to install Windows XP Home as my "second" OS. I am not going to redo the complete guide here, but will touch on some important issues:
After the First OS install8) After Windows ME install: (Image 1.8)With the first partition already used, ensure that you install your second OS in the proper location. |
9) Format options: (Image 1.9)If you format your partition as NTFS, you will not be able to access it from another OS, other than NT/2000 and XP. This could be a good thing. If you still wish for the added security of NTFS, format it as such and place all of your "shared" data on another partition. Here, I chose FAT16, but I recommend NTFS. |
10) Windows boot menu: (Image 1.10)After completing Windows XP Home's install, a "boot menu" will appear, allowing you to choose which OS to run. |
11) ADVANCED TECHNIQUE - boot.ini: (Image 1.11)If you do not like the boot menu text, you can edit the "boot.ini" file, located on the "C:\" drive. Before doing so, you should back up the file to avoid one of those "simple" mistakes I have mentioned. :) In this example, I loaded the boot.ini file using Windows XP Home and notepad. You could change the previous Windows installation that is currently being displayed as "Microsoft Windows" to be something more descriptive, such as, "Windows Me." |
You can choose what ever OS Install Guide you wish, but I selected Red Hat Linux 7.2 next. As a result of that decision, the following technique was added to make things "easier."
After Windows XP Home install12) FDISK take 2: (Image 1.12)Red Hat could be a little tricky with partitioning. For that reason, I chose to go back and rerun FDISK and delete my "Linux" partition to allow easier automatic partitioning in Red Hat Linux setup. I selected option 3 here. |
13) Delete a logical drive: (Image 1.13)I wish to delete a logical drive in the extended partition, so I selected 3. |
14) Delete with FDISK: (Image 1.14)In this example, "E:" is the partition I wish to use for Linux, and delete with FDISK. |
15) Confirm the selection: (Image 1.15)I confirmed the selection by entering in the volume name and then choosing Y. If the volume name is blank you may just press ENTER. Exit FDISK. |
Again, you can choose what ever OS Install Guide you wish, but my choice was Red Hat Linux. Check out the Full Install Guide for Red Hat 8.0 because I am only going to hit on the high points with Red Hat 7.2 here:
After Re-running FDISK16) After Re-running FDISK: (Image 1.16)Here, I chose graphical mode for installing. |
17) Automatic partitioning: (Image 1.17)For automatic partitioning to work, you must not select the default in this menu. Select Keep all partitions and use existing free space. If you use the default options, your existing OS installations will be deleted. |
18) Automatic partitioning results: (Image 1.18)After automatic partitioning is completed, you will see something along these lines. Note: You can always partition your installation manually, but this will give you some idea of what is required for your particular configuration. |
19) Boot loader selection: (Image 1.19)For my Linux installs, I do not use any boot loader of any kind. They over write the Master Boot record and I would rather not have that happen. I choose to not install any boot loader here. If you do go this route, you MUST COMPLETE THE NEXT STEP! Otherwise, you Linux install will not be available to use. |
20) Create a Linux boot disk: (Image 1.20)After all packages have been installed, create a Linux boot disk. What this does for you is:
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I hope your Multi-Boot system works well for you!
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