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Setting Up a Multi-Boot PC

There are situations where many of us would like to have more than one operating system on our computer, often for stability or backwards compatibility. It is almost impossible to find an OS that does well with today's applications and at the same time is able to run applications from Operating Systems used 5 or more years ago. And some of us just want to be familiar with the various operating systems out there but don't have the money to spend on multiple computers.

A PC with a choice of more than one operating system is called a multi-boot system. Here we are going to discuss how you can have Windows 98, Windows 2000/XP, and Linux/BSD on a single machine, and pick your preference each time you boot up.

To start, prepare the drive by creating partitions for each operating system. You should also consider creating a shared data directory formatted as FAT32 so that all of your operating systems can recognize it. Below is a sample for a typical 40 GB drive:

Also make sure that the first partition is marked as "C: "as the bootable drive. Now you are ready to install the first OS. You must install your operating systems in this order:

1. Windows 98
2. Windows XP or Windows 2000
3. Linux / BSD

Windows 2000 or Windows XP will install its own boot manager when it sees an existing Windows 98 on your system. Make sure when installing Windows XP/2000 over Windows 98 that you choose NOT to upgrade when the program prompts you but to install it to its own partition.

Install Linux last. Make sure that you install the Linux boot loader in the master boot record. Verify that the Linux boot manager offers the Windows 98 partition as one of its choices, because that's where the Windows XP/2000 put its own boot manager. Once done with your Linux installation, reboot the system. You should now see Linux/BSD's boot manager first, with a choice to boot to Linux or Windows. When Windows is chosen, you will then be prompted to choose between Windows XP/2000 and Windows 98.

It's normal for this process to take some trial and error, but it's not that hard and once you have mastered it, you will be the King (or Queen) of Tri-boot Systems.