Multi-Boot Experience
||→Related Downloads>>>System Commander 2000 Pro 5.04
System Commander 2000 Update 5.06
system Commander Deluxe 4.03
By now, there are many types of operating systems, such as the DOS series, Windows series, Unix series, and some niche ones like BeOS. Therefore, those who like to try something new or need it for work and study must install at least 2 OSes on their own machines, thus multi-booting comes into being.
To perform multi-booting, one must use multi-boot system boot software. Some software is built into the OS itself, such as Linux's lilo, Windows' NTloader. There are also third-party boot software, like V communications,.inc's System Commander series, PowerQuest Corporration's BootMagic, etc., which are all good choices.
For general PC users, Windows is the most commonly used OS. So the following will talk about the author's experiences and lessons regarding multi-booting with Windows.
### 1. Using Windows' Built-in Boot Software
Many players proficient in 95/98 know that they can coexist with DOS 6.22 and earlier versions. Through the boot menu of 98/95, a dual-boot can be achieved. As long as DOS is installed first, then 95/98 in that order, and during the installation of 95/98, select to retain the previous operating system, there will be an option "Previous operating system" in the boot menu. (If the boot menu is not visible, just press F8 during startup, or edit the MSDOS.SYS file and add a line: bootmenu=1.) However, if you want to additionally install DOS on an already installed 95/98 hard drive, you must use a third-party boot software or reinstall 95/98 after installing DOS.
Since Windows 2000 (Windows NT) came out, M$ has included an NTloader in the system, which can well solve multi-booting. Generally speaking, as long as you install the systems in the order of DOS->95/98->Linux->win2K from low to high version, a multi-boot environment can be perfectly and automatically established by the system. win2K can automatically identify the old system during installation.
It is worth mentioning that the NTloader of win2K allows you to install several win2Ks on the machine, whether they are the same version or different versions. That is to say, you can install pro, server, Advance Server on your hard drive at the same time, or install multiple Pros, or multiple Servers/Advance Servers, and even, if you want, install N Pros, M Servers, O Adservers, without worrying about being unable to boot or system files being mixed up.
As for whether there is an upper limit for NTloader, I don't know, and I don't have the time and energy to conduct such experiments.
Some comrades find that if you install 2000 first, and then directly install DOS/98/95 without using a third-party boot software, the boot menu of NT-loader disappears, and the machine directly enters DOS/98/95, and 2000 cannot be started. Is the system file of 2000 damaged? The answer is no. The reason is that the NTloader is damaged by the later-installed DOS/98/95. The repair is very simple. Take out your 2000 installation disc (if there are multiple versions of 2000 on your machine, any version's installation disc is okay), during installation, press "R" to select "repair installation", then the installation process will copy files like a complete installation, and then restart. You will find that during the restart, the boot menu of NTloader will flash by. Here, there are 2 methods:
1. Keep pressing the up/down arrow keys during startup to cancel the extremely short display time of the boot menu defaulted by 2000 during installation. You will see that the option at the bottom is Windows 2000 Install/Upgrade, and the options above are your original ones. In fact, by this time, your NTloader has been repaired. You can completely not continue the repair installation process. The subsequent repair process is just to repair the system files of 2000, that is, the files in the winnt directory. So you can choose the normal 2000 startup option, enter 2000, then delete the $win_nt$.~sl and $win_nt$.~BT directories copied by the 2000 installation process on the hard drive, and then modify the boot.ini file, delete the Windows 2000 Install/Upgrade option, and change the default boot menu display time and default boot system to what you want.
2. You can continue the subsequent repair process after restarting until the end. But you must remind everyone to pay attention that the subsequent system file repair process will report that XXXXX file is not copied to the system folder by the installation process during system installation. Do you want to repair it? At this time, unless no software or SP is installed in your 2000 system, otherwise do not choose to repair, press ESC to ignore, because many software will add their own files to the system folder. If you repair (actually delete), these software will not be able to run.
There is also a small problem with NTloader to tell everyone. If you install a Chinese version of 2000 first, and then install an English version of 2000, you will find that the display language of NTloader becomes English (the language is consistent with the later-installed system), and there will be some garbled characters. Although it does not affect startup, it is uncomfortable to look at. You can use the Chinese version of 2000 repair installation according to the above method.
But there is a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone method, which is very simple and effective. You don't need to delete any files or modify any boot.ini. What is it?
Tell everyone, as long as you install SP2 in the Chinese version of 2000. Whether SP1 can do it, I haven't tried it?
The advantage of NTloader is that it can achieve multi-system booting regardless of whether there is a Fat/Fat32 Primary Partition on the startup hard drive. However, if there is no Fat/Fat32 Primary Partition, it is impossible to boot the DOS/98/95 system, because they do not support the NTFS format. Since the boot files of DOS/98/95 must be on C: that is, the activated primary partition (although they can be installed on other disks through system files), if your 2000 wants to use NTFS, you must not install it on C:, that is, C: must be left for Fat/Fat32 for the installation and startup of DOS/98/95. It doesn't matter if other drives besides C: use NTFS. At most, 98/95 can't access it directly, but with some other software, you can still read the files in NTFS.
### 2. Using Third-Party Multi-System Boot Boot Software
Currently, BootMagic and System Commander are more popular. They have a limitation that they must be installed in the Fat/Fat32 Primary Partition (whether activated or not) of the first hard drive (if you have multiple hard drives). One of the advantages of using such software is that you can set to hide the partitions where other operating systems are located when booting a certain system, so as not to damage them and maintain the safety of system files.
Since this article is not an instruction manual for third-party boot software, only the author's usage experience will be talked about.
If the files of the third-party multi-system boot boot software are damaged, resulting in the machine being unable to boot; or if you format the hard drive where they are located without first uninstalling them, resulting in the machine being unable to boot, you can use the boot disk of 98/95/DOS to start the machine, and then use fdisk/mbr to rewrite the partition table of the hard drive, which can solve the problem. I have found that System Commander is relatively robust. Even if you directly format the hard drive where it is located, the machine can still start. It just reports an error during startup saying that System Commander cannot be started, and then lists the primary partitions of the hard drive, allowing you to choose which partition to start from.
Secondly, BootMagic is just a boot boot software and must be used with PQmagic, while System Commander includes the entire hard drive partition operation function. However, if System Commander wants to perform partition operations and add new systems through it, it must require that there is a 95/98/ME system on the hard drive, otherwise it cannot be done.
BootMagic can be installed in the Windows environment (including 95/98/ME/2000), providing a configuration interface under Windows. But there may be some problems when installing in 2000, including that the uninstall cannot be completed smoothly and the installed BootMagic cannot be loaded during startup (I have encountered both).
System Commander must be installed in real DOS mode, that is, it cannot be installed in 2000/ME/98 systems. It must be installed after booting with a 98/DOS boot disk. This is an obstacle for users who are not familiar with DOS.
The biggest feature of System Commander (the author thinks) is: there is "Boot from A:" in the boot options, that is, you don't need to modify the BIOS. Even if the first boot is HDD-0, you can still boot from the floppy disk through System Commander, which is very convenient. Bootmagic does not have this function.
Using a third-party boot software can realize the coexistence of multiple 98-type operating systems, which is what NTLoader cannot do, because NT-loader does not change the disk used for activation during startup, and the third-party boot software achieves this purpose by activating the startup partition in real time.
Since the author has used System Commander more and has a good impression of it, it is recommended that everyone use it. It should be noted that the low-version System Commander does not support ME, and the latest version is System Commander 2000 5.05
----------------------
The above are all the author's experiences and experiences in multi-booting. There may be many errors, and I hope everyone can correct them. If it can be helpful to some people, I will be very happy.
||→Related Downloads>>>System Commander 2000 Pro 5.04
System Commander 2000 Update 5.06
system Commander Deluxe 4.03
By now, there are many types of operating systems, such as the DOS series, Windows series, Unix series, and some niche ones like BeOS. Therefore, those who like to try something new or need it for work and study must install at least 2 OSes on their own machines, thus multi-booting comes into being.
To perform multi-booting, one must use multi-boot system boot software. Some software is built into the OS itself, such as Linux's lilo, Windows' NTloader. There are also third-party boot software, like V communications,.inc's System Commander series, PowerQuest Corporration's BootMagic, etc., which are all good choices.
For general PC users, Windows is the most commonly used OS. So the following will talk about the author's experiences and lessons regarding multi-booting with Windows.
### 1. Using Windows' Built-in Boot Software
Many players proficient in 95/98 know that they can coexist with DOS 6.22 and earlier versions. Through the boot menu of 98/95, a dual-boot can be achieved. As long as DOS is installed first, then 95/98 in that order, and during the installation of 95/98, select to retain the previous operating system, there will be an option "Previous operating system" in the boot menu. (If the boot menu is not visible, just press F8 during startup, or edit the MSDOS.SYS file and add a line: bootmenu=1.) However, if you want to additionally install DOS on an already installed 95/98 hard drive, you must use a third-party boot software or reinstall 95/98 after installing DOS.
Since Windows 2000 (Windows NT) came out, M$ has included an NTloader in the system, which can well solve multi-booting. Generally speaking, as long as you install the systems in the order of DOS->95/98->Linux->win2K from low to high version, a multi-boot environment can be perfectly and automatically established by the system. win2K can automatically identify the old system during installation.
It is worth mentioning that the NTloader of win2K allows you to install several win2Ks on the machine, whether they are the same version or different versions. That is to say, you can install pro, server, Advance Server on your hard drive at the same time, or install multiple Pros, or multiple Servers/Advance Servers, and even, if you want, install N Pros, M Servers, O Adservers, without worrying about being unable to boot or system files being mixed up.
As for whether there is an upper limit for NTloader, I don't know, and I don't have the time and energy to conduct such experiments.
Some comrades find that if you install 2000 first, and then directly install DOS/98/95 without using a third-party boot software, the boot menu of NT-loader disappears, and the machine directly enters DOS/98/95, and 2000 cannot be started. Is the system file of 2000 damaged? The answer is no. The reason is that the NTloader is damaged by the later-installed DOS/98/95. The repair is very simple. Take out your 2000 installation disc (if there are multiple versions of 2000 on your machine, any version's installation disc is okay), during installation, press "R" to select "repair installation", then the installation process will copy files like a complete installation, and then restart. You will find that during the restart, the boot menu of NTloader will flash by. Here, there are 2 methods:
1. Keep pressing the up/down arrow keys during startup to cancel the extremely short display time of the boot menu defaulted by 2000 during installation. You will see that the option at the bottom is Windows 2000 Install/Upgrade, and the options above are your original ones. In fact, by this time, your NTloader has been repaired. You can completely not continue the repair installation process. The subsequent repair process is just to repair the system files of 2000, that is, the files in the winnt directory. So you can choose the normal 2000 startup option, enter 2000, then delete the $win_nt$.~sl and $win_nt$.~BT directories copied by the 2000 installation process on the hard drive, and then modify the boot.ini file, delete the Windows 2000 Install/Upgrade option, and change the default boot menu display time and default boot system to what you want.
2. You can continue the subsequent repair process after restarting until the end. But you must remind everyone to pay attention that the subsequent system file repair process will report that XXXXX file is not copied to the system folder by the installation process during system installation. Do you want to repair it? At this time, unless no software or SP is installed in your 2000 system, otherwise do not choose to repair, press ESC to ignore, because many software will add their own files to the system folder. If you repair (actually delete), these software will not be able to run.
There is also a small problem with NTloader to tell everyone. If you install a Chinese version of 2000 first, and then install an English version of 2000, you will find that the display language of NTloader becomes English (the language is consistent with the later-installed system), and there will be some garbled characters. Although it does not affect startup, it is uncomfortable to look at. You can use the Chinese version of 2000 repair installation according to the above method.
But there is a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone method, which is very simple and effective. You don't need to delete any files or modify any boot.ini. What is it?
Tell everyone, as long as you install SP2 in the Chinese version of 2000. Whether SP1 can do it, I haven't tried it?
The advantage of NTloader is that it can achieve multi-system booting regardless of whether there is a Fat/Fat32 Primary Partition on the startup hard drive. However, if there is no Fat/Fat32 Primary Partition, it is impossible to boot the DOS/98/95 system, because they do not support the NTFS format. Since the boot files of DOS/98/95 must be on C: that is, the activated primary partition (although they can be installed on other disks through system files), if your 2000 wants to use NTFS, you must not install it on C:, that is, C: must be left for Fat/Fat32 for the installation and startup of DOS/98/95. It doesn't matter if other drives besides C: use NTFS. At most, 98/95 can't access it directly, but with some other software, you can still read the files in NTFS.
### 2. Using Third-Party Multi-System Boot Boot Software
Currently, BootMagic and System Commander are more popular. They have a limitation that they must be installed in the Fat/Fat32 Primary Partition (whether activated or not) of the first hard drive (if you have multiple hard drives). One of the advantages of using such software is that you can set to hide the partitions where other operating systems are located when booting a certain system, so as not to damage them and maintain the safety of system files.
Since this article is not an instruction manual for third-party boot software, only the author's usage experience will be talked about.
If the files of the third-party multi-system boot boot software are damaged, resulting in the machine being unable to boot; or if you format the hard drive where they are located without first uninstalling them, resulting in the machine being unable to boot, you can use the boot disk of 98/95/DOS to start the machine, and then use fdisk/mbr to rewrite the partition table of the hard drive, which can solve the problem. I have found that System Commander is relatively robust. Even if you directly format the hard drive where it is located, the machine can still start. It just reports an error during startup saying that System Commander cannot be started, and then lists the primary partitions of the hard drive, allowing you to choose which partition to start from.
Secondly, BootMagic is just a boot boot software and must be used with PQmagic, while System Commander includes the entire hard drive partition operation function. However, if System Commander wants to perform partition operations and add new systems through it, it must require that there is a 95/98/ME system on the hard drive, otherwise it cannot be done.
BootMagic can be installed in the Windows environment (including 95/98/ME/2000), providing a configuration interface under Windows. But there may be some problems when installing in 2000, including that the uninstall cannot be completed smoothly and the installed BootMagic cannot be loaded during startup (I have encountered both).
System Commander must be installed in real DOS mode, that is, it cannot be installed in 2000/ME/98 systems. It must be installed after booting with a 98/DOS boot disk. This is an obstacle for users who are not familiar with DOS.
The biggest feature of System Commander (the author thinks) is: there is "Boot from A:" in the boot options, that is, you don't need to modify the BIOS. Even if the first boot is HDD-0, you can still boot from the floppy disk through System Commander, which is very convenient. Bootmagic does not have this function.
Using a third-party boot software can realize the coexistence of multiple 98-type operating systems, which is what NTLoader cannot do, because NT-loader does not change the disk used for activation during startup, and the third-party boot software achieves this purpose by activating the startup partition in real time.
Since the author has used System Commander more and has a good impression of it, it is recommended that everyone use it. It should be noted that the low-version System Commander does not support ME, and the latest version is System Commander 2000 5.05
----------------------
The above are all the author's experiences and experiences in multi-booting. There may be many errors, and I hope everyone can correct them. If it can be helpful to some people, I will be very happy.
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http://dosdiy.bluepc.com.cn/
http://dosdiy.ys168.com/
EMAIL: lydong@china.com.cn lydong@yeah.net
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