ARCHIVED: How do I dual boot Windows 98 or Me and Windows NT 4.0?

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Note: UITS recommends that you use a current version of Windows on computers connected to the Indiana University network; see Recommended Windows operating systems at IU.

Note: For security and support reasons, UITS recommends using Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional, rather than NT Workstation 4.0, on Indiana University's network. Microsoft retired both mainstream and extended support for this version in June 2004, which means security updates are no longer being developed. For more information, see Microsoft's Windows Desktop Product Lifecycle Guidelines page at:

  http://support.microsoft.com/?LN=en-us&pr=lifecycle

To run both Windows 98 or Me and Windows NT 4.0, the boot partition must be FAT16. FAT16 is an outdated file system, but is the only file system that will function with both Windows 98/Me and NT. NT can run on FAT16, but the advanced features of NT are designed for NTFS. Windows 98/Me will also run on FAT16, but was designed for FAT32.

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 is not compatible with the FAT32 file system. It will recognize the disk partition, but will interpret it as a disk that cannot be formatted, and will be unable to communicate with the file system. In addition, the NTFS file system is incompatible with Windows 98/Me and will not be recognized by the operating system.

The best way to configure your system to support a dual boot is to use either an additional hard drive or a third-party disk partition program (e.g., Partition Magic or System Commander). This will allow you to have NTFS and FAT16 on the same hard drive.

To set up the dual boot, follow these steps:

Boot from the Windows 98/Me boot disk. This will allow you to format your hard drive for FAT16. You do not want to enable large disk support. From the A:\ prompt, enter:
```
  format C:
```
You must format each partition.

Note: If your hard drive is larger than 2 gigabytes, you need to partition it into multiple drives.
When you are finished formatting and partitioning the hard disk, you will be asked to restart the computer. At this point you will still need to boot from the floppy disk. The floppy will not put the CD-ROM drivers on your hard disk. Rather, it will map a drive (i.e., E:\) and return you to the A:\ prompt.
From the A:\ prompt, enter:
```
  E:
```
Then enter:
```
  setup
```
Windows 98/Me will walk you through the setup.
When you arrive at the Windows 98/Me desktop, click the Start button.
From the Start menu, select Programs, and then MS-DOS Prompt.
Enter the location of your NT CD-ROM (i.e., E:\), and then enter:
```
  cd i386
```
Then enter:
```
  winnt /b /w
```
Windows NT will walk you through the rest.

If you have neither an additional hard disk nor partitioning software, you must install Windows 98/Me in a folder other than C:\Windows. For instance, you might use win98/Me instead. After this, you may proceed to install Windows 98/Me. After you install the system, you may install NT on the same hard drive.