Installing Windows XP on a Computer with Other Operating Systems
tip - Use third-party utilities to manage partitions
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Although you can install multiple copies of Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, you can have only one copy of Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me on a multiboot system that is managed by the Windows XP boot manager. If you want to be able to choose from two or more Windows versions from the Windows 95/98/Me product line in addition to Windows XP, you need to use a third-party boot manager program. PowerQuest’s highly regarded PartitionMagic (http://www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic) includes a capable utility called BootMagic. (Be sure to check com-patibility carefully; PartitionMagic version 6.0 and earlier will not work properly with Windows XP.) If you want an alternate boot manager and don’t need partition management software, BootIt NG from Terabyte Unlimited (http://www.terabyteunlimited.com) is compatible with Windows XP.
To add Windows XP to a system where an existing version of Windows is already installed, first make sure that you have an available partition (or unformatted disk space) separate from the partition that contains the system files for your current Windows version.
There is one (and only one) circumstance in which it is desirable to install a fresh copy of Windows XP on a partition that already contains Windows system files. This option is relevant only if you have a single disk partition available and you’re unable to start your existing installation of Windows XP even after using all the repair techniques described in Chapter 25, "Recovering After a Computer Crash." In that case, you might choose to boot from your Windows XP CD and perform a clean install in a new folder on the same partition. After Setup is complete, you should be able to access your data files through the new Windows XP installation. Use this option as a last resort, and thenonly to recover data so that you can restore it after fixing the underlying problem, wiping the hard drive clean, and reinstalling Windows XP.
The target partition can be a separate partition on the same physical disk, or it can be on a different hard disk. If your system contains a single disk with a single partition used as drive C, you cannot safely create a multiboot system unless you add a new disk or use third-party software such as PartitionMagic to shrink the existing partition and create a new partition from the free space. The new partition does not need to be empty; however, it should not contain system files for another Windows installation.
Follow these steps to set up Windows XP on a multiboot system:
After starting your current Windows version, insert the Windows XP CD.
From the Welcome To Microsoft Windows XP menu, choose Install Windows XP.
If the Welcome menu doesn’t appear, CD AutoPlay is probably disabled on your computer. In that case, open the Run dialog box and then type d:\i386 \Winnt32.exe (substitute the correct letter of your CD-ROM drive for d).
From the first Windows Setup dialog box, select New Installation (Advanced) from the Installation Type list. Click Next to continue.
When prompted, accept the End User License Agreement (EULA) and enter the 25-character product key.
In the Setup Options dialog box, click the Advanced Options button.
In the Advanced Options dialog box, select I Want To Choose The Install Drive Letter And Partition During Setup, as shown.
caution
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This option is crucial to a successful multiboot installation! If you get distracted and forget to select this option, the Setup program will automatically upgrade your existing Windows installation and you will lose your current operating system.
Click through the remaining steps of the wizard and allow the computer to restart. At that point, you will start in text-mode Setup, where you can specify the disk and partition on which you want to install Windows XP.
The Setup program automatically handles details of adding the newly installed operating system to the startup menu.
Avoiding Dual-Boot Disasters
We can’t say it strongly enough: Do not install two or more versions of Windows on a single partition! Doing so can cause serious problems with applications, many of which reside in the \Program Files folder on the boot partition (the partition where the operating system is installed).
Many programs use different versions of executable files and dynamic link libraries for Windows 95/98/Me and Windows NT/2000/XP. If you try to share such a program between two Windows versions, it won’t work properly in at least one Windows version. In addition, you may experience these problems:
Program preferences, options, and settings you’ve chosen in one operating system don’t show up when you use the other operating system because each stores its own registry entries.
If you uninstall an application, its entries still show up on the Start menu, on the Add/Remove Programs list, and throughout the registry of the other operating system—yet the program files are gone.
You might encounter still other problems with multiple operating systems on a single partition. And if you call Microsoft Product Support Services for help with such problems, you’ll be told—politely, to be sure—that you need to reformat your drive and start over. Microsoft does not support such installations. That alone should be a clear indication that it’s not a good idea!
Although we recommend that you use separate partitions for each operating system, there’s no reason you can’t share data on a common drive that’s available to all operating systems. In fact, you might want to change the target folder location of your My Documents folder in each operating system so that it points to the same folder.
Controlling Setup with Switches
When using the Winnt32.exe command to start the Windows Setup program, you can modify the program’s behavior with a number of command-line switches. Table 2-1 lists the most useful of these switches.
Table 2-1. Command-Line Setup Switches for Winnt32.exe
Switch What It Does
/checkupgradeonly Runs the Upgrade Advisor without installing Windows XP
/cmd:command_line Specifies a command to be carried out after the graphical portion of Setup has completed; often used to install applications as part of the Windows XP Setup
/cmdcons Adds the Recovery Console to the Windows XP startup menu (see "Adding the Recovery Console.")
/copydir:folder_name Creates a subfolder within the Windows XP folder and copies the contents of the specified folder there; useful if you need to make drivers available for later installation
/copysource:folder_name Creates a temporary subfolder within the Windows XP folder; this subfolder is deleted when Setup finishes
/makelocalsource Instructs Setup to copy installation source files to your local hard disk; use this option if the CD will be unavailable during installation
/noreboot Eliminates forced reboot after file-copying phase of Setup; useful if you need to execute another command before restarting
/s:sourcepath Specifies source location of Windows XP Setup files, typically on a server; repeat this switch up to eight times to specify multiple servers
/syspart:drive_letter Allows you to copy Setup files to a hard disk, mark the disk as active, move it to another machine, and restart to continue Setup on the new computer; must be used with /tempdrive and can be run only on Windows NT/2000/XP machines
/tempdrive:drive_letter Used in conjunction with /syspart to specify the primary partition to be used for storing Windows XP Setup files and installing a new copy of Windows XP; an upgrade installation will be placed on the partition from which Winnt32.exe is run
/udf:ID[,UDB_file] Identifies a Uniqueness Database (UDB) file that modifies an answer file (see "Using Answer Files for Automated Installation.")
/unattend[seconds ][:answer_file ] Used in conjunction with an unattended Setup, as described in the next section; optional [seconds ] parameter is only required on Windows NT4 upgrades, and the file name can be omitted if the default name Unattend.txt is used |
