Only 2 Partitions on Dual Boot System

[JWK]

Is it true that on a dual boot system, any applications must be put on the partition of the operating system that will use them. This is what it says on the Microsoft website.

If so, this means that you can only have 2 partitions on a dual boot system as the operating systems can only read data on their own partitions.

Surely this is not true, as long as you install each program from within the operating system you want to use that program in, it will all work.

 

[jc14all]

Here is the deal. NTFS can read FAT32, but FAT32 cannot directly access NTFS. So, with that up front, if you dual boot W2k/XP with W98/Me then whatever program you install through NTFS can be installed on the FAT32 partition and work find. Not true for FAT32 because in the FAT32 partition you won't even see the NTFS partition.

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[Toejam31]

Is it true that on a dual boot system, any applications must be put on the partition of the operating system that will use them. This is what it says on the Microsoft website

Yes and no. For instance, you can't dual-boot Win98 and WinXP, install a program on the partition that contains WinXP, and then run the program from <i>within</i> Win98, simply because it is visible on the other partition. Operating systems and the programs installed in them must be kept separate. Two operating systems ... two Registrys ... a copy of the program you want to use in each one.

However, this does NOT mean that every program you choose to run MUST be within the system partition.

You can actually have up to four partitions per hard drive when running Windows.

Two examples:

Two hard drives, with two partitions on each.

Hard drive 0 contains Win2K on the primary partition.
Hard drive 1 contains WinXP on the primary partition.
All partitions are NTFS.

I install Norton Anti-Virus in the Win2K system partition.

If I wish to use the program while running WinXP ... I must install the program again in WinXP. I cannot boot into WinXP on hard drive 1, access hard drive 0, find the .exe of the Anti-Virus program in Program Files, and run it. This is because there are no entries for the program in the WinXP Registry.

Trying to access a program in this manner can cause anything from Master Boot Record corruption, to bad sectors in the file system.

Instead, to run the program in WinXP, I'll have to install it again.

And that's how it works. It is a cardinal rule that you do not access programs across platforms when dual or multi-booting operating systems.

Example 2:

Hard drives are set up as mentioned above.

For this example, let's assume my drive letters are:

(C and (E-- Hard drive 0.
(D and (F-- Hard drive 1.
CD-ROM - (G

Two partitions per drive.

I boot into WinXP, which is on the system partition on the slaved drive (D. I decide to install Castle Wolfenstein, but I'd prefer to place it on another partition.

I have decided that personal files and extra programs I'd like to use in WinXP will go on the (F partition, since both partitions are on the same drive. Helps keep things organized.

I create a folder on (F called Games.

I install Castle Wolfenstein, and during the installation, choose to place it into a subfolder called F:\Games\Return To Castle Wolfenstein.

This game will now run just fine in WinXP, as this was the operating system that was running during the game installation. However ... you should <i>not</i> try to play it in Win2K, such as by creating a shortcut to the .exe on the desktop.

Interestingly enough, you can now boot into Win2K, and have a choice of whether to install the game into the primary partition that contains Win2K, or the second partition on hard drive 0, or install the program again into the very same partition with the Game folder you created in the first place.

However, because some programs cannot be updated with patches twice in a row, the last option is the weakest, and the most likely to cause problems. For instance, if I install Castle Wolfenstein twice in the same Games folder, with the same file path, and then patch the game from within WinXP, the patch won't work from within Win2K, as the game is already updated.

So ... my recommendation is to install a program twice, if you wish to run it in two operating systems, with a different folder or partitions chosen for each program installation ... if you need it for each operating system, or wish the program to be accessible in each operating system.

Does that make sense? LOL!

Toejam31

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[JWK]

That's great,

I couldn't believe that if I install XP on 'C', Win2000 on 'D' and a program on 'E'(whilst using XP) that it wouldn't work as it needed to be on 'C', XP's partition.

Well, you've answered a cople of my questions really comprehensively. I am really in your debt.

Thanks very much & please drop me a private message if there is anything I can do for you.

James

 

[Scotty35]

Toey is right, take it from me I found out the hard way again. I normally name my partitions like thisP= Partition)

Hard drive1: P1> "Win98", P2> "W98_programs", P3> "Data"
Hard drive2: P1> "XPpro", P2> "XP_programs", P3> "Swap file" (not necessary)
Hard drive3: P1> "Backups" > mass storage and backups.

This way I know which programs partition I am saving to and using, the data such as documents and music etc can be used by both o/s's. It is a bit of work keeping every thing in order but definately worth the trouble.

Thats the way I like it anyway



*<A HREF="http://forums.btvillarin.com/" target="_new"> I dare you to click this link, go on click it!</A>

 

[Bardic]

There are some cases where you can install stuff in the same folder and have it work.

I have a computer here that has

C drive is Win98
D drive is WinXP

I installed Mcafee Antivirus in WinXP to d:\program files\Mcafee

Then I installed in Win98 to d:\program files\Mcafee

If I update one, and then go into the other, it is already updated and runs just fine. Some programs will work, and some won't. Black and White saves character info in the registry, so if you were to do this, you would either have a seperate character for each OS, or you would hose one as soon as you played with the other.

Office would probably work just fine, you'll just have to mess around and see which ones have little quirks.

 

[Scotty35]

Yeah, I have run programs from both but I do not want the problems I had with attempting to do it with Partition Magic Pro7 again. That was a nightmare, so I just loaded software to both OS's which is not a big deal.

I have removed the Dual OS now as I am happy with XP Pro and have no need for Win98 anymore, all my driver issues with older hardware are now resolved .

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[Shoshanaxp]

I boot into WinXP, which is on the system partition on the slaved drive (D. I

I don't know the date of this thread, but if yu are still here, I'd like to ask a question about my similar computer, with XP on a partitioned D/ drive. I have a second hard disk with data files on th E/ drive. Win 98 was the inital installation and I can assess it with Safe Mode now. WinXp has become locked, maybe due to trying to install ,NET Framework without enough HD MGs left.

I want to try and sav the files, although Win Xp won't boot up. Ths partition on boot attempt shows about 2 dozen or so .sys drivers, and then a promp to use ESC to exit the STMP.

I have use of a second PC also running Win XP. I want to connect the first PC (with the frozen HD) to the second computer to see if I can extract some of the files to make th HD readable again. Then I could run a program like Tree-size to remove files. In your opinion, is the HD with the XP operating (the original HD) the problem or the new HD with file storage. I thought threre was plenty of room on th OS drive as the image in proprties showed half the drive as empty.
Is that the HD that is frozen? If so, do I need to remove it from the computer case and connect it to the second computer?

Thanks for any response and sharing your wisdom and knowledge.

Is it true that on a dual boot system, any applications must be put on the partition of the operating system that will use them. This is what it says on the Microsoft website

Yes and no. For instance, you can't dual-boot Win98 and WinXP, install a program on the partition that contains WinXP, and then run the program from <i>within</i> Win98, simply because it is visible on the other partition. Operating systems and the programs installed in them must be kept separate. Two operating systems ... two Registrys ... a copy of the program you want to use in each one.

However, this does NOT mean that every program you choose to run MUST be within the system partition.

You can actually have up to four partitions per hard drive when running Windows.

Two examples:

Two hard drives, with two partitions on each.

Hard drive 0 contains Win2K on the primary partition.
Hard drive 1 contains WinXP on the primary partition.
All partitions are NTFS.

I install Norton Anti-Virus in the Win2K system partition.

If I wish to use the program while running WinXP ... I must install the program again in WinXP. I cannot boot into WinXP on hard drive 1, access hard drive 0, find the .exe of the Anti-Virus program in Program Files, and run it. This is because there are no entries for the program in the WinXP Registry.

Trying to access a program in this manner can cause anything from Master Boot Record corruption, to bad sectors in the file system.

Instead, to run the program in WinXP, I'll have to install it again.

And that's how it works. It is a cardinal rule that you do not access programs across platforms when dual or multi-booting operating systems.

Example 2:

Hard drives are set up as mentioned above.

For this example, let's assume my drive letters are:

(C and (E-- Hard drive 0.
(D and (F-- Hard drive 1.
CD-ROM - (G

Two partitions per drive.

I boot into WinXP, which is on the system partition on the slaved drive (D. I decide to install Castle Wolfenstein, but I'd prefer to place it on another partition.

I have decided that personal files and extra programs I'd like to use in WinXP will go on the (F partition, since both partitions are on the same drive. Helps keep things organized.

I create a folder on (F called Games.

I install Castle Wolfenstein, and during the installation, choose to place it into a subfolder called F:\Games\Return To Castle Wolfenstein.

This game will now run just fine in WinXP, as this was the operating system that was running during the game installation. However ... you should <i>not</i> try to play it in Win2K, such as by creating a shortcut to the .exe on the desktop.

Interestingly enough, you can now boot into Win2K, and have a choice of whether to install the game into the primary partition that contains Win2K, or the second partition on hard drive 0, or install the program again into the very same partition with the Game folder you created in the first place.

However, because some programs cannot be updated with patches twice in a row, the last option is the weakest, and the most likely to cause problems. For instance, if I install Castle Wolfenstein twice in the same Games folder, with the same file path, and then patch the game from within WinXP, the patch won't work from within Win2K, as the game is already updated.

So ... my recommendation is to install a program twice, if you wish to run it in two operating systems, with a different folder or partitions chosen for each program installation ... if you need it for each operating system, or wish the program to be accessible in each operating system.

Does that make sense? LOL!

Toejam31

<font color=red>First Rig:</font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=17935" target="_new"><font color=green>Toejam31's Devastating Dalek Destroyer</font color=green></A>
<font color=red>Second Rig:</font color=red> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=15942" target="_new"><font color=green>Toey's Dynamite DDR Duron</font color=green></A>
__________________________________________________________

<font color=purple>"Some push the envelope. Some just lick it. And some can't find the flap."</font color=purple>