October 2004
Intermediate to advanced
304 pages
7h 44m
English
Content preview from PC HacksBecome an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Hack #86. Configure a Multiboot System
Windows NT and later provide multiboot capabilities supporting DOS and Windows.
Windows NT, 2000, and XP natively support multiboot capabilities, on one or more disk drives. This capability allows you to retain DOS or an older version of Windows, install Windows NT, 2000, or XP, and be able to select between DOS/old Windows and the later operating system of your choice. Assuming you want to retain "good old DOS" or an older version of Windows, there is a requirement that the system (typically the first) partition of your hard drive already be formatted as FAT-16 or FAT-32 and have a working version of DOS (6.22 or 7.0 from Windows 95/98/Me) already installed, and optionally that Windows 95/98/Me is functional on that partition before installing NT, 2000, or XP.
Tip
Windows's multiboot process works by placing a special boot loader program called NTLDR in the boot sector of the hard drive's active/bootable partition. NTLDR reads and acts upon boot disk, partition, and operating system information found in a hidden configuration file named BOOT.INI. After reading BOOT.INI, NTLDR loads and executes the appropriate boot code for the operating system you have chosen.
To begin the NT/2000/XP installation, boot from a diskette (or CD-ROM) that includes CD-ROM support and start from a DOS prompt. Assuming your CD-ROM drive is drive D:, issue the following command:
D:\i386\winntYou may also boot from the NT/2000/XP installation CD, which starts installation ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access
More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly
O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.