Windows XP: Independent WinXP installation from WinME / 9x

Introduction

In this article I want to tell you how to install WinXP regardless of WinME / 9x, but that's not all !!! Back in this article I'll tell you what I did not see anymore, or where on the Internet, namely, how to later install these axes independently of one another after formatting one of them (in particular, when WinXP is installed on the NTFS file system) . Under the word independent installation, I understand that the boot files of both axes will be located in the partition where this axis is installed (Operating system or OS). To write this article, I was peppered with a lot of letters with such a question and a personal need to install WinXP regardless of WinME / 9x, as I relatively often format some discs. Further under XP it will be understood - WinXP, and under ME - WinME / 9x.

Preparatory work

For this operation, you will need the following:

1. A good program for partitioning the disk. FDISK here will not work, because it can not create more than one primary partition and can not work with the NTFS file system. Personally, I advise you PartitionMagic, which, in addition to the functions we need, has many other (no less useful) functions. In preparing the article, I used PartitionMagic 7.0

2. Easy to configure and access the computer boot manager. The boot manager supplied with WinXP is very difficult to configure for a normal user and you probably will not. I advise you to BootMenu ( http://www.cnt.ru/~0hacker/download/ bootmenu.rar ), an understandable help is attached to the archive with the program.

3. And of course the distributions themselves with OSes Smile happy

Before I start working, I still want to advise you to specify when installing PartitionMagic, then that it would copy its disk to its folder and its modules for working in DOS. These modules will greatly simplify your life when performing our task (and will surely help you in the future). You will need to create a bootable area on the floppy disk (but not a bootable floppy, since the DOS `version of the distribution of PM (PartitionMagic) simply does not enter this floppy). And then just copy the contents of the DOS folder to the floppy disk (it lies in the folder with PartitionMagic). Now when you need to download the DOS `version of PM, you will need to boot from the floppy and give the command: pqmagic.exe

Practice

Now, if you are ready, you can start an independent installation of WinXP and WinME / 9x.

Boot from our previously prepared diskette and run from it DOS`ovskuyu version of PM. Booting into PM you will need to create as few as two PRIMARY (Primary) sections. Let me remind you that there can be a maximum of four of them (the extended (Extended) section will be the fourth one (if created)). Personally, I broke it like this: the first primary partition (NTFS) was released under XP, the second primary partition under ME, the third under Linux Mandrake 7.0, and the fourth was the extended partition divided into four logical (for the web server, files, programs, etc). Next, make the active (Set Active ...) the partition on which you will install the OS in the beginning. I first made an active partition under XP.

Now I advise you to first install XP, and then IU, because there will be fewer problems (those who want to install ME first, and then XP, then read how to do this below).

Now run the XP installation and lean back in the chair! After installing XP, you can immediately install ME. Installed? If so, you probably noticed that the IU was rubbing the boot area of ​​XP and you probably grabbed your head thinking that the hour of installing XP was a cat-and-tail. Wait, because I knowingly advised you to download the BootMenu program (I hope you have already learned the reference to it). The following are our actions: Boot into CLEAN DOS, go to the folder with this program and give the command:

Bmi.com d0 54 WinXP = 0 WinME = 1

Although I hope you have read the information, I still give a little explanation to the team. D0 - indicates the hard drive on which all operations are performed (if you have one hard drive you must write this). 54 is the time through which the OS assigned by default will be loaded (it should be the first one in the command, in this case it's WinXP). The timeout is measured in ticks = 1/18 seconds (ie 54 = 3 seconds). Next comes the OS list. This list is given in a sequence in which it should be displayed on the screen, with the first OS in the list, the OS to be loaded by default after the time-out. I want to note that the numbers 0 and 1 indicate the number of the section (in this case, 0 is the first section, 1 is the second, etc.).

Now if you did everything correctly, then when the boot menu appears when you boot the computer, you have to load XP when pressing F1, and if you press F2 - ME.

After reading the above material, you ask: "Why did you need to create all these primary partitions and mess with BootMenu when you could just install the ME, and then XP, which will create its bootloader?". The answer is simple: what would you do if suddenly you had to format XP and put it for new. XP would put all of its boot files on the drive to ME, and then one day I would have you fall and you would have to format the disk with it and the XP boot area ??? That's when you would run around the room in the search to be able to boot into XP installed on NTFS. I think you understood the meaning, and if you did not understand, then read it again.

Now I want to talk about how to properly install XP from an already installed ME (for example, when you just formatted XP). Before installing XP, you must do the following: remove the ME loader from its partition (io.sys, command.com) so that XP does not find ME and do it !!! Section for XP is ACTIVE. Having done this you can safely install XP. After installing XP, you will need to boot into a clean DOS, restore the ME loader (for example, the C: \ WINDOWS \ COMMAND \ sys c: command, and then you will have to install BootMenu again.

That's basically all I wanted to tell. If you have any questions about this article, you can safely ask them in a specially dedicated topic of our forum. Also on our forum ( forum.web-hack.ru ) you can ask ANY questions about computers, and on the site of the forum ( www.web-hack.ru ) you will find a large number of articles and programs.