Windows 95 on a New Computer?

[DuckTape]

Hello folks.

If I have a PC (with one CPU) with a "newer" motherboard such as the Asus A7S333, should I be able to run Windows 95 on one hard drive, and Windows XP on another hard drive?

How about at the same time?

Thanks much!
DuckTape

 

[Toejam31]

If I have a PC (with one CPU) with a "newer" motherboard such as the Asus A7S333, should I be able to run Windows 95 on one hard drive, and Windows XP on another hard drive?

Yes. And you have severals methods to choose from when installing two or more operating systems. You can multi-boot, and use the Windows boot menu to select the OS and partition to run, or you can use a boot manager (such as System Commander, Ranish Partition Manager, or the PQBoot in Partition Magic ... just to mention three) to select the OS, or you can just choose the bootable drive in the BIOS, and work from there.

How about at the same time?

You can use a program like <A HREF="http://www.vmware.com/download/" target="_new">VMWare</A> to run multiple operating systems at the same time as "Usage Virtual Machines".

Toey

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[DuckTape]

Thanks for your reply, Toey.

<< You can use a program like VMWare to run multiple operating systems at the same time as "Usage Virtual Machines". >>

So, if I want to have Windows XP operating on one hard drive, and Windows 95 operating on the other hard drive at the same time, then I am going to need a special program suh as one of the above, correct?

Thanks again!
DuckTape

 

[Toejam31]

You got it in one, Ducktape!

See ya!

Toey

<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>
________________________________________

<A HREF="http://www.btvillarin.com/phpBB/index.php" target="_new"><b><font color=purple>BTVILLARIN.com</font color=purple></b></A> - <i><font color=orange>A better place to be</font color=orange></i>.

 

[Zoron]

The only caution I'd advise you on is the fact that Windows 95 won't support the newest hardware available. Most hardware vendors don't even write drivers for Windows 95 anymore... video and sound cards come to mind. You'd be much better off with 98SE.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

 

[DuckTape]

Hello folks.

Regarding a PC with two hard drives (which may have two different operating systems on them) -- When the main hard drive is booted up and its operating system is running, is the second hard drive accessible for storage purposes (without requiring any special software)?

Thanks much!
DuckTape

 

[Zoron]

You shouldn't need any special software... however there are things to be aware of.

If the main hard drive is formatted FAT32 and has Windows 95/98/ME installed you will only be able to use the second hard drive as storage if it is FAT16/32. If the main drive has Windows 2000/XP it will be able to see and use both hard drives whether they are FAT or NTFS. Windows 95/98/ME doesn't recognize NTFS partitions, nor can they be installed on them.

So basically... if you want all drives to be accessible from all your OSes, your best bet is to use FAT32. That way your 95/98/ME will be able to read and use those partitions.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

 

[Toejam31]

Extra info:

Be very careful and diligent about running programs that might affect both operating systems and hard drives when multi-booting, especially if all the HDD partitions are FAT32, and as such, both system partitions that contain an OS are visible, regardless of which OS you choose to be bootable. It's a plus (and very nice) to be able to see everything, but ...

For instance, don't run a disk utility with repair features from within Win9x that can affect the system partition on the second disk that contains another operating system. And vice versa. Another, more minor example ... booting into Win2K\XP with the second hard drive, installing a game, and then rebooting into Win9x on the first hard drive and trying to run the game by double-clicking on the main application .exe file in Windows Explorer. That's a big no-no. Programs must be registered to run, and for most applications, if you want the same program to run within both operating systems, you'll need to install it twice.

Storage, yes. Transferring files of a personal nature, fine. Still, both of these best done across partitions that <i>don't</i> contain an OS, which is why it might be a good idea to have at least two partitions per hard drive, just for shifting around files of this nature.

You wouldn't believe how many times I've had a call from a user because they were tired and temporarily forgot which OS they were running (just for a moment) and caused some major damage because both hard drives were visible from within either OS. It's because of this that I really recommend you give some serious consideration as to whether or not multi-booting is a necessary scenario in your future. But if you really want it ... be careful.

Toey

<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>
________________________________________

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[bronibbear]

Windows 95 won't work on your computer! It is simply to fast for it, you'll constantly get "protection errors" that lock your computer up before it gets into windows. There're patches you can download that may fix the problem to some extent but you're still much better off with Win98se. It has all the best features of Win95 like real DOS and much better support for USB which was only just coming out when Win95 was released thus very poor support as far as this OS is concerned.

I run XP and Win98se together with a dual boot Win98 in one folder and WinXP in another. You must install Win98 first as if you try WinXP first it will format your hardrive in NTFS which Win98 can’t work on! With your hardisk formatted with FAT32 and Win98 installed start the WinXP installation in Win98 choosing new installation NOT! upgrade. Your computer will restart after performing a few compatibility tests and precede installing XP in a different subdirectory.

When finished your computer should restart pausing for 30 seconds with an option screen giving you a choice between booting WinXP or Win98. Often however (for reasons I don't understand) the dual boot doesn't work properly. If your computer boots straight into WinXP restart and boot from the Win98 startup disk or CD reinstall Win98 again making sure it goes under the same subdirectory you originally installed Win98 under and your dual boot should work next time you restart.