Multibooting with Windows XP
Published: October 25, 2001
Introduction
You can install two or more operating systems on your computer, and
then choose the one that you want to use each time you restart. This
is known as multibooting. You can configure your computer to start
Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, and either Windows 95 or
Windows 98.
Consider Disk Space, Type, and File System
Before using the multibooting feature, consider the tradeoffs: each
operating system uses valuable disk space, and file system
compatibility can be complex if you want to run Windows XP on one
partition and an earlier OS on another partition. In addition,
dynamic disk format introduced in Windows 2000 does not work with
earlier operating systems. However, multibooting capabilities are a
valuable feature providing the single-machine flexibility to run
multiple operating systems.
In the past, some users installed multiple operating systems as a
safeguard against problems with starting the computer. With Windows
XP, you have more and better options for system recovery. For
example, if you have a problem with a newly-installed device driver,
you can use safe mode, in which the operating system restarts with
default settings and the minimum number of drivers. Windows XP also
includes compatibility mode, so you no longer need to keep an older
operating system to run most of your older programs.
However, multibooting continues to be a useful feature if you are
using Windows XP but occasionally need to replicate older computing
environments. This article provides an overview of multibooting,
beginning with a summary of disk requirements followed by guidelines
for multibooting with Windows XP. It also addresses multibooting
issues for running Windows XP with earlier operating systems
including Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 9x, and MS-DOSŪ. Each
section includes a checklist summary for easy reference.
Does Your Disk Support Multibooting?
The following table shows the disk configurations on which you can
install more than one operating system.
Basic disk
This is the common name for the hard disk in your computer. You have
a basic disk unless you have converted it to dynamic disk. MS-DOS and
all Windows-based operating systems can access basic disks. A basic
disk can contain up to four primary partitions. A partition is a
section of the disk that functions as a separate unit. Each partition
can have a different file format and different drive letter, for
example, C: and D:. Each operating system must be on a separate
partition.
Single dynamic disk
If you have one hard disk and you have converted it to dynamic disk,
you can install only one operating system. You cannot multiboot.
To determine if you have a dynamic hard disk, click Start, click
Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, click
Administrative Tools.
Double-click Computer Management, and then click Disk Management. In
the right pane, your disk will be labeled as a basic or dynamic type.
Multiple dynamic disks
If you have two or more hard disks installed in your computer, each
dynamic disk can contain one installation of Windows XP Professional,
or Windows 2000. No other operating systems can start from a dynamic
disk. Windows XP Home Edition does not support dynamic disks.
One OS Per Partition
Before installing Windows XP and an earlier version on the same
machine, you must prepare your hard disk with different partitions.
When you install Windows on a new or reformatted hard disk, the Setup
program typically does not partition your hard disk automatically. To
create multiple partitions, choose Advanced Options during Setup and
follow the instructions to create and name multiple partitions. You
can also create partitions using Fdisk.
If you have already installed Windows, and you have only one
partition, you must reformat and partition your hard drive before you
can multiboot.
You can divide your hard disk into multiple partitions, and each
partition can function as a separate logical drive. For example,
logical drives C: and D: can both exist on the same hard disk, but
function as separate disks. You should install each operating system
on a different partition. Then install applications on the same
partition as the operating system with which you run them. If an
application is used with two different operating systems, install
copies on both partitions. Placing each operating system in a
separate partition ensures that it will not overwrite crucial files
used by the other OS.
A basic disk can contain up to four partitions. Each partition can be
formatted for use by a file system, such as FAT32 or NTFS.
Installing Windows 2000 and Windows XP
In general, you should always install the most recent OS last. In
this case, you should install Windows 2000 and then install Windows
XP.
Unique Computer Name
You can set up a computer so that it has multiple installations of
Windows XP and Windows 2000 Professional. However, you must use a
different computer name for each installation if the computer
participates in a Windows 2000 Server domain. Because a unique
security identifier (SID) is used for each installation of Windows XP
on a domain, the computer name for each installation must be
unique?even for multiple installations on the same computer.
Checklist Summary
To configure a computer containing Windows 2000 and Windows XP,
review the following guidelines:
- Install each operating system on a separate drive or disk
partition.
- Install Windows XP after you have installed Windows 2000.
- When you perform a new installation of Windows XP (as opposed to an
upgrade), by default, the installation is placed on a partition on
which no other operating system is located. You can specify a
partition during Setup.
- Don?t install Windows XP on a compressed drive unless the drive was
compressed with the NTFS file system compression feature.
- On any partition where you perform a new installation of Windows XP
(as opposed to an upgrade), you will need to re-install any programs,
such as word processing or e-mail software, after Setup is complete.
- Install the programs used by each operating system on the partition
with that system. If you want your programs to run with multiple
operating systems, you need to install separate copies of the
programs in each of the operating system partitions.
- If the computer is on a Windows 2000 Server domain, each
installation of Windows XP on that computer must have a different
computer name.
Installing Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows XP
Setting up a computer to run Windows XP as well as an earlier
operating system such as Windows NT Workstation 4.0 requires
addressing compatibility issues among different file systems: NTFS,
FAT, and FAT32.
Normally, NTFS is the recommended file system because it supports
important features, including the Active Directory service and domain-
based security. However, using NTFS as the only file system on a
computer that contains both Windows XP and Windows NT is not
recommended. On these computers, a FAT partition containing the
Windows NT 4.0 operating system ensures that when started with
Windows NT 4.0, the computer will have access to needed files. In
addition, if Windows NT is not installed on the system partition,
which is almost always the first partition on the disk, the system
partition should also be formatted with FAT.
Windows NT 4.0 cannot access files that have been stored using NTFS
features that did not exist when Windows NT 4.0 was released. For
example, a file that uses the new NTFS encryption feature won?t be
readable when the computer is started with Windows NT 4.0
Workstation, which was released before the encryption feature
existed.
Note: If you set up a computer so that it starts with Windows NT 3.51
or earlier on a FAT partition, and Windows XP on an NTFS partition,
when that computer starts with Windows NT 3.51, the NTFS partition
will not be visible.
Checklist Summary
To configure a computer containing Windows NT 4.0 and Windows XP,
review the following guidelines:
- As explained above, using NTFS as the only file system on a
computer containing both Windows XP and Windows NT is not
recommended.
- Make sure that Windows NT 4.0 has been updated with the latest
released Service Pack available for download before installing
Windows?XP.
- Install each operating system on a separate drive or disk
partition.
- When you perform a new installation of Windows XP (as opposed to an
upgrade), by default, the installation is placed on a partition on
which no other operating system is located. You can specify a
partition during Setup.
- Don?t install Windows XP on a compressed drive unless the drive was
compressed with the NTFS file system compression feature.
- On any partition where you perform a new installation of Windows XP
(as opposed to an upgrade), you will need to re-install any programs,
such as word processing or email software, after Setup is complete.
- Install the programs used by each operating system on the partition
with that system. If you want your programs to run with multiple
operating systems, you need to install separate copies of the
programs in each of the operating system partitions.
- If the computer is on a Windows NT Server or Windows 2000 Server
domain, each installation of Windows XP on that computer must have a
different computer name.
Installing Windows XP with MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows
Millennium Edition
As explained in the introduction, you must address file system
compatibility to ensure a multibooting configuration with these
earlier operating systems and Windows XP. Remember to install the
latest operating system last, otherwise important files may be
overwritten.
Checklist Summary
To configure a computer containing Windows XP and Windows 9x or MS-
DOS, review the following guidelines:
On computers that contain MS-DOS and Windows XP:
- MS-DOS must be installed on a basic disk on a partition formatted
with FAT. If MS-DOS is not installed on the system partition, which
is almost always the first partition on the disk, the system
partition must also be formatted with FAT.
- Windows XP must be installed last. Otherwise important files needed
for starting Windows XP could be overwritten.
On computers that contain Windows 95 and Windows XP:
- As in the case above, Windows 95 must be installed on a basic disk
on a partition formatted with FAT. (For Windows 95 OSR2, FAT32 may be
used.) If Windows 95 is not installed on the system partition, which
is almost always the first partition on the disk, the system
partition must also be formatted with FAT (or FAT32 for Windows 95
OSR2).
- Compressed DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volumes won't be available
while you are running Windows XP. It is not necessary to uncompress
DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volumes that you will access only with
Windows 95.
- Windows XP must be installed last. Otherwise important files needed
for starting Windows XP could be overwritten.
On computers that contain Windows 98 (or Windows Me) and Windows XP:
- As in the cases above, Windows 98 or Windows Me must be installed
on a basic disk on a partition formatted with FAT or FAT32. If
Windows 98 or Windows Me is not installed on the system partition,
which is almost always the first partition on the disk, the system
partition must also be formatted with FAT or FAT32.
- Compressed DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volumes won?t be available
while you are running Windows XP. It is not necessary to uncompress
DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volumes that you will access only with
Windows 98.
- Windows XP must be installed last. Otherwise important files needed
for starting Windows XP could be overwritten.
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