Upgrade dual boot

I run WIn98 and W2K on my PC (different partitions) and like to upgrade Win98 to XP Pro. How can I do this without losing the dual boot set up?
I assume a fresh install is the best option?

XP. like 2k has a boot manager... Boot from the XP cd and select the partition you wish to install on... if you are going to overwrite your 98 partition with XP I would advise you to delete and recreate and format the old 98 partition so that XP does a clean install.

2K and XP will then dual boot.

If you want to keep your 98 install and go triple boot - then you just need to create another partition to install xp onto.

So I can format c: (Win98), install XP and the W2K will still be recognized?

Yup
Boot from the XP disk, after the initial setup has run it will ask you where to put it, give you the option to delete and create partitions and when you have finally decided, it will format the chosen partition if you want to.

hmmm just had a thought

C: is where 2k keeps its boot information to allow the current dual boot. I am not altogether sure if you delete the c: partition whether xp will pick it all up again properly.

To err on the side of caution, I would just delete the 98 files first so that xp doesn't try and upgrade the 98 registry (bad news) to xp.

Unless someone else knows better?

Quote:

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Originally posted by NooNoo
hmmm just had a thought

C: is where 2k keeps its boot information to allow the current dual boot. I am not altogether sure if you delete the c: partition whether xp will pick it all up again properly.

To err on the side of caution, I would just delete the 98 files first so that xp doesn't try and upgrade the 98 registry (bad news) to xp.

Unless someone else knows better?

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I almost crapped myself when I saw your post before this one. Yeah, I think this is more acurate advice. :)

Boot to 2k (this in on D:, right), delete any directories and such from the former install of Windows 98 on C: (program files, and what not). Of the files in the root of C:, there should be a Boot.ini, NTLDR, and NTDetect.com. You may want to edit the Boot.ini and remove the entry for 98, but leave these three files present on the C: partition. I don't think there are any other file that need to be left behind, but I could be wrong. After that, reboot and you should go right into 2k again. If all goes well, you can then reboot off of the XP CD, and install to the C:...

Thanks, I will give this a try.

Can I safely choose NTFS if I install XP with the dual boot files left on the originally FAT32 c:\ partition?

Did you mean format or convert?

Format =No
Convert=Yes (but backup anyway)

Sorry, I meant convert.

Thanks for the help, it worked without any problem.

:cool:

Wise words, it took some preparation and time, but then the result was satisfying.