I'm thinking about creating a triple-boot system. Right now I have WIndows 98, and would like to get XP and a form of Linux installed on it. Anybody know how i would do so? Is it just a simple matter of installing XP on a seperate partition? Are there any conflicts (with drivers, especially, that i'm concerned about).

My rig is:
PII 266 MHz
192 MB PC100 RAM (may be PC133, not sure)
6 GB and 4 GB hard drives
ATI Rage 128

Ain't she a beaut? I wasn't sure if this would even run XP, so I wanted to install it as a dual boot so that I could easily revert to Windows 98 if I decided it was too sluggish. I'd rather not format my C: drive--is it possible to install one OS on the C, and another OS on the D? WIll it cause boot problems?

Any help would be great.

[This message has been edited by SD_RAKISHI (edited August 23, 2004).]

your processor is too slow and you most likely don't have enough ram

------------------
LONG LIVE DREAMCAST!!!

I dont think that rig can even run XP

------------------
mir·ow ( V ) Pronunciation Key (meer-oh)
Someone or something that possesses unfathomable awesomeness

266 mhz is cutting it pretty close for xp. anything under 300 mhz I would have apprehensions about installing xp on. You might do better win win2k b/c it lacks all the extra fluff and bloat that xp has, so you may get better performance. I don't know for sure, though.

your rig is fairly acceptable for win98, though. I would just stick with that until you get a new rig, or upgrade, or do something.

Linux with a lightweight WM like Icewm would run great on that.

------------------
I have found that you can transform your character solely by the power of belief: as you believe yourself to be, so you shall become over time.

[This message has been edited by Pagewizard_YKS (edited August 21, 2004).]

I had problems running XP on a P3 450. My advice would be to forget it, unless you are REALLY bored.

------------------
Founder of the Massassi Brute Squad (MBS)

B'tduz: A popular dwarfish game which consists of standing a few feet apart and throwing large rocks at one another's head.

"Yes, it's a bloody flying alligator setting fire to my city!" - His Grace His Excellency the Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes.

Morituri Nolumus Mori

Argh I posted twice, but it won't let me delete post... This was supposed to go at the end of it:
-------------------
My rig is:
PII 266 MHz
192 MB PC100 RAM (may be PC133, not sure)
6 GB and 4 GB hard drives
ATI Rage 128

Ain't she a beaut? I wasn't sure if this would even run XP, so I wanted to install it as a dual boot so that I could easily revert to Windows 98 if I decided it was too sluggish. I'd rather not format my C: drive--is it possible to install one OS on the C, and another OS on the D? WIll it cause boot problems?

Any help would be great.
---------------
Hrm I guess my only question is if i can install two Os on two different HDs... And yeah, I figured it would be too slow, but I'd like to try it out...


------------------
SPOOKY TACO FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!

windows likes to install to the c drive by default, so you will probably have trouble if yo utry to install elsewhere.

Also, get a new rig. That one was great back in 1998, but times are different now.



------------------
I have found that you can transform your character solely by the power of belief: as you believe yourself to be, so you shall become over time.

Fixed

------------------
There is no signature

I managed to get XP Pro on my old Gateway 166 Pentium. Had to add 32mb of ram, but it works... just very, very slowly

------------------
ZGPC

If you do install XP, you wont have much space left for anything else.

------------------
╔═════════════╦══════════════════╗
║ TheJkWhoSaysNi║ -----@% (Snail racing. ) .║
╠═════════════╩══════════════════╣
║Warning: This post may contain traces of nut║
╚════════════════════════════════╝

XP will probably take over 4 gigs on those Hard drives, then another gig for virtual space. In other words, no space at all for you.

Also, your system will crawl. And I mean CRAWL. It'll be useless for everything except reading email. Even IE would probably be too intensive for it.

------------------
"The future is not determined by a throw of the dice, but is determined by the conscious decisions of you and me."
I am addicted to ellipses!!! AHHH!!! ...
Make Sorrowind Worthwhile... join it! http://sorrowind.net

alright, alright, i got the part about being slow...

My questions right now:
How much space is optimum for Windows XP? I'm planning to install ALL of my programs and other files on another drive, and right now i have a 2.5 GB partition just for XP. Is that enough? (Also, how much space is needed for Win98 and Linux? I've seperated 1.5 and 2 GB, respectively, for now)

How will installing programs work? If i install a program on XP, when i boot up Windows98, will it show there, or will i have to install it TWICE on XP and 98?

Thanks for the help!

alright, alright, i got the part about being slow...

My questions right now:
How much space is optimum for Windows XP? I'm planning to install ALL of my programs and other files on another drive, and right now i have a 2.5 GB partition just for XP. Is that enough? (Also, how much space is needed for Win98 and Linux? I've seperated 1.5 and 2 GB, respectively, for now)

How will installing programs work? If i install a program on XP, when i boot up Windows98, will it show there, or will i have to install it TWICE on XP and 98?

Thanks for the help!

2.5gb will be fine for XP - page file might be another matter, however. You might just be able to get away with about 200mb for it.

You can simply install it on the seperate partition, and XP will most likely install drivers for everything you've got.

Stick XP into performance mode and itll cut out all the visual junk. It'll work, but it will still be sluggish. I run XP Pro on a 350 and it works great, but it has twice the memory you've got.

As far as programs goes, you'll have to install seperate copies for each operating system. XP and 98 will not read anything from each other at all as far as software goes.

One more point - if you're asked to format the drive you're installing XP to, make sure you pick FAT32 as the file system. Otherwise Win98 will not read it.

------------------
What would you trade for a soul?

okay, thanks a bunch!

------------------
SPOOKY TACO FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!

I was thinking about installing Linux too... I know there are several different "distributions" of it. I'm just looking for a free one that will run on my ultra-slow rig... any suggestions? Also, do I install it on FAT32, or is there some kind of special Linux file system?

Also, when installing programs, can i install them in the same directory? Could I install Office into E:\Program Files\Office under XP, then in the same directory over 98, overwriting the files? The files will be the same, but it's in the registry of both OSes.. Would that work?

[This message has been edited by SD_RAKISHI (edited August 23, 2004).]

the linux file system is usually ex2, sometimes ex3.

The linux setup will format your drive in ex2 for you before you install. I recommend installing linux on a separate drive.

Be careful about bootloaders, though-- I've broken many a winxp install by rushing through the bootloader config. If you want to be safe, use a floppy to boot off of.



------------------
I have found that you can transform your character solely by the power of belief: as you believe yourself to be, so you shall become over time.

Linux Filesystems:

• Ext2: Standard, fast, and simple linux filesystem.
• Ext3: Developed by Redhat, it is the journeled version of ext2. You can convert between ext2 and ext3 freely. Ext3 is slower than ext2, but it has journeling meaning it keeps a journel of your files which makes data recovery much easier. Ext3 is considered the most stable journeled filesystem around.
• Hans Reiser Filesystem version 3 (reiserfs): A high performance journeled filesystem. Especially fast with small files.
• Hans Reiser Filesystem version 4 (reiser4): Still in development. A complete rewrite sinse version 3, this filesystem is extremly ambitious. It aims to be an "atomic" filesystem, meaning that it is virtually impossible for a file to be corruped -- a file is either copied completly or not at all. It has some other advanced features such as an extensible plugin architecture. I used this filesystem for a while, and I didn't find it to be as fast as some people claimed it to be, but it is still pretty early in development, and is far from stable.
• XFS: A high performance journeled filesystem. Especially fast with large files. Has very good recovery tools. Some reported data loss with earlier versions of this filesystem, but I suspect that those problems have been fixed sinse then.
• JFS: IBM's "journeled" filesystem. I know little about this one.

------------------
Your humble opinion is wrong.

For you bootloader, I recommend GRUB. It is by far the most flexable bootloader around. Be sure to replace the (hd0,0) and (hd0) with whatever partitions you are using. (hd0) means the first harddrive, and (hd0,0) means the first hard drive, first partition. It starts at zero and goes up from there. For example, /dev/hdb3 would translate to (hd1,2). I do it this way:

• Install Grub
• Start the Grub command line with the command "grub"
• type "root (hd0,0) to specify where your boot partition is
• type setup (hd0) to install grub on your Master Boot Record. (MBR)

Simple as that. Grub is installed. No need to create a config file, but you can if you want. Reboot your computer and do this:

To boot into Linux:

• At the grub prompt, type the following. Press the tab button for auto-completion.
• kernel (hd0,0)/{INSERT THE NAME OF YOUR KERNEL IMAGE HERE}
• boot

To boot into Windows:

• rootnoverify (hd0,3) (Wherever the hell you have Windows installed)
• chainloader (hd0,3)+1
• boot

If you need to 'trick' windows into thinking it is using a device that it is really not, you can use GRUB's 'map' command:

• map (hd0) (hd1)
• map (hd1) (hd0)

Another example:

• map (hd0,0) (hd0,2)
• map (hd0,2) (hd0,0)

------------------
Your humble opinion is wrong.

[This message has been edited by Mystic0 (edited August 23, 2004).]

http://www.linuxiso.org/

Best place to learn about different distros and download them. You will need a CD burning utility such as nero to burn the images.

I personally like Gentoo, because it gives me the most flexablitiy and has the best package manager out there (portage). You may want to go with something easier, however, such as Manrake or Knoppix. Knoppix is a live-cd, meaning that it doesn't necessarily install itself on you harddrive (but it can), but instead loads itself into memory and makes an excellant demo disc.

------------------
Your humble opinion is wrong.

hrm.. so with Linux, I won't be able to read my FAT drives, and under Windows XP/98, I won't be able to read my Linux drive?

------------------
SPOOKY TACO FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!

Hrmm... is there any way to get Linux on ISOs less than 256 MB? I'm on a 56k, so the only one I would be able to get them is using the T1 at work... and I only have a 256 MB USB key to support it... I'm currently thinking about the Mandrake version... is that a good one for newbies at Linux?

------------------
SPOOKY TACO FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. He mentions "linux" somewhere in his posts and Mystic0 comes rushing in with 3 posts of all linux stuff. It is if he has trained eyes or scripts designed to flag him down.

------------------
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.

Yes, mandrake is good for newbies. However, if you are looking for a small file I suggest you get this file:

http://www.linuxiso.org/download.php/594/boot.iso

You will need to copy and paste the address into the address bar for it to work. It is for SUSE Linux. I havn't used it personally, but I hear that it is very proffesional and complete. (Ask GBK, he uses it, or at least did)

It is only 23 megs, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. The way it works is that it downloads the files from the SUSE website as you install it, so you only get the files you need.

------------------
Your humble opinion is wrong.

[This message has been edited by Mystic0 (edited August 23, 2004).]

------------------
Your humble opinion is wrong.

Linux can read and write FAT partitions.
Linux can read but not write to NTFS partitions.

Windows cannot read or write linux partitions, but some externel tools for windows can.

------------------
Your humble opinion is wrong.

Well with those stats it would be easier to sell your computer for like 20 bucks and get a new one.

------------------
"The first thing she said when she got in the car was, Mom i aint a virgin anymore. I slapped the hell out her. I spend all this money for you to go to college and your still saying AINT?!!!?!!" -last comic standing
My Personal Site | Remnant Temple Part A | A work in progress

Haha... well I'm just a 16-year old kid without a job or cash. It's just a hand-me-down rig that I have downstairs that i use for late-night homework or internet. I've just decided I might as well play around with the thing and learn about multiple OSes...

Don't throw away your old rig, there are plenty of resource-friendly enviorments for linux such as Blackbox and Fluxbox.

------------------
Your humble opinion is wrong.

right, with a little more ram, and a fat HD, it would make a great server.

Download apache, get broadband, and start hosting your own http pages.

------------------
I have found that you can transform your character solely by the power of belief: as you believe yourself to be, so you shall become over time.