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Multibooting with Windows 2000 and Windows XP

Introduction

A computer can be configured to let you choose between two or more operating systems each time you restart the computer. For example, you could set up a server to run Windows® 2000 Server most of the time but allow it to sometimes run Windows NT® Server 4.0 in order to support an older application. With multibooting, you can choose which operating system to run or specify a default OS if no selection is made during the restart process.

Before using the multibooting feature, consider the tradeoffs: each operating system uses valuable disk space, and file system compatibility can be complex if you want to run Windows 2000 on one partition and Windows NT Server 4.0 or an earlier OS on another partition. In addition, dynamic disk format introduced in Windows 2000 does not work with earlier operating systems. However, multibooting capabilities are a valuable feature providing the single-machine flexibility not only to run earlier operating systems but also experience the advances in the next version of the operating system, named Windows XP for the client version and currently codenamed "Whistler" Server for the server versionwww.tartoos.com.

Note: It is no longer necessary to maintain multiple operating systems as a safeguard against problems with starting the computer. With Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Whistler you have other options for system recovery. For example, if you have a problem with a newly-installed device driver, you can use safe mode, in which the operating system restarts with default settings and the minimum number of drivers.

This page provides an overview of multibooting beginning with a summary of disk requirements followed by guidelines for multibooting with Windows 2000 and Windows XP. It also addresses multibooting issues for running Windows 2000 with earlier operating systems including Windows NT 4.0, Windows 9x, and MS-DOS®. Each section includes a checklist summary for easy referencewww.tartoos.com.

Does Your Disk Support Multibooting?

The following table shows the disk configurations on which you can install more than one operating system.

Disk configuration	Requirements for multiple operating systems
Basic disk or disks	You can install multiple operating systems, including Windows NT 4.0 and earlier operating systems, on a basic disk. Each operating system must be on a separate partition or logical drive on the disk. A partition or logical drive is a section of the disk that functions as a separate unit. Different partitions often have different drive letters, for example, C: and D:.
Single dynamic disk	You can install only one operating system.
Multiple dynamic disks	Each dynamic disk can contain one installation of Windows XP, Whistler, or Windows 2000. No other operating systems can start from a dynamic disk.
Master boot record (MBR) disk on an Itanium-based computer	You cannot start operating systems from an MBR disk on an Itanium-based computer. You must use a GPT disk for this purpose.
GUID partition table (GPT) disk on an Itanium-based computer	You can install one or more operating systems on a GPT disk on an Itanium-based computer. The guidelines in this table for basic and dynamic disks apply to GPT disks on Itanium-based computers. If you are an early adopter of Itanium-based computers, see your hardware documentation for more details.

Computers Containing Multiple Windows 2000 or Windows XP Partitions

Before installing Windows 2000 and Windows XP on the same machine, you need to prepare your system with different partitions (a process that divides a hard disk into separate sections that can be formatted for use by a file system. Partitions typically have different drive letters such as C or D).

One OS per partition
It’s important to install each operating system on a different partition and install the applications used with each operating system on the same partition as the OS. If an application is used with two different operating systems, install it on two partitions. Placing each operating system in a separate partition ensures that it will not overwrite crucial files used by the other OS.

Install Latest OS Last
In general, you should install the most recent OS last—after you have installed all other operating systems on the target computer. In this case, you should install Windows 2000 and then install Windows XP.

Unique Computer Name
You can set up a server so that it has multiple installations of Windows 2000 (using any Windows 2000 product) or Windows XP (or any Whistler product) on multiple partitions. However, you must use a different computer name for each installation if the computer participates in a Windows 2000 domain. Because a unique security identifier (SID) is used for each installation of Windows 2000 on a domain, the computer name for each installation must be unique—even for multiple installations on the same computer.www.tartoos.com

Multiple Operating Systems and the Encrypting File System
If you set up a server so that it contains Windows 2000 Server and Whistler Server, or contains multiple Whistler Server partitions, and you want to use the encrypting file system (EFS) on the computer, you must take certain steps. These steps make encrypted files readable between the different installations. One approach is to ensure that all the installations are in the same domain and that the user of these installations has a roaming profile. Another approach is to export the user's file encryption certificate and associated private key from one installation and import it into the other installations.www.tartoos.com

Checklist Summary
To configure a computer containing Windows 2000 and Windows XP or Whistler Server, review the following guidelines:

§ Install each operating system on a separate drive or disk partition.

§ Install Windows XP or Whistler Server after you have installed Windows 2000.

§ When you perform a new installation of Windows 2000 Server or Whistler Server (as opposed to an upgrade), by default, the installation is placed on a partition on which no other operating system is located. You can specify a different partition during Setup.

§ If installing Whistler on a partition, you can choose any product in the Whistler product family. For example, you could install Whistler Server in one location and Whistler Advanced Server in another.

§ Don’t install Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Whistler on a compressed drive unless the drive was compressed with the NTFS file system compression feature.

§ On any partition where you perform a new installation of Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Whistler (as opposed to an upgrade), you will need to re-install any programs, such as word processing or e-mail software, after Setup is complete.

§ Install the programs used by each operating system on the partition with that system. If you want your programs to run with multiple operating systems, you need to install separate copies of the programs in each of the operating system partitions.

§ If the computer is on a Windows 2000 or Whistler domain, each installation of Windows 2000 , Windows XP or Whistler on that computer must have a different computer name.

Computers Containing Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 or Windows XP

Setting up a computer to run Windows 2000 or Windows XP as well as an earlier operating system such as Windows NT Server 4.0 requires addressing compatibility issues among different file systems: NTFS, FAT, and FAT32.

Normally, NTFS is the recommended file system because it supports important features, including the Active Directory™ service and domain-based security. However, using NTFS as the only file system on a computer that contains both Whistler and Windows NT is not recommended. On these computers, a FAT or FAT32 partition containing the Windows NT 4.0 operating system ensures that when started with Windows NT 4.0, the computer will have access to needed files. In addition, if Windows NT is not installed on the system partition, which is almost always the first partition on the disk, it is recommended that the system partition also be formatted with FAT. This is because earlier operating systems, with one exception, can't access a partition if it uses the latest version of NTFS. The one exception is Windows NT version 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later, which has access to partitions with the latest version of NTFS, but with some limitations.

Even the latest Service Pack does not provide access to files using the new features in NTFS. Windows NT 4.0 cannot access files that have been stored using NTFS features that did not exist when Windows NT 4.0 was released. For example, a file that uses the new encryption feature won’t be readable when the computer is started with Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows NT Server 4.0 or Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Edition, which were released before the encryption feature existed. For more information see the following Help topic:

Note: If you set up a computer so that it starts with Windows NT 3.51 or earlier on a FAT partition, and Windows 2000 Server on an NTFS partition, when that computer starts with Windows NT 3.51, the NTFS partition will not be visible.

Checklist Summarywww.tartoos.com
To configure a computer containing Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 or Windows XP, review the following guidelines:

§ As explained above, using NTFS as the only file system on a computer containing both Windows 2000 and Windows NT is not recommended.

§ Make sure that Windows NT 4.0 has been updated with the latest released Service Pack available for download before installing Windows 2000.

§ Install each operating system on a separate drive or disk partition.

§ When you perform a new installation of Windows 2000 Server (as opposed to an upgrade), by default, the installation is placed on a partition on which no other operating system is located. You can specify a different partition during Setup.

§ Don’t install Windows 2000 on a compressed drive unless the drive was compressed with the NTFS file system compression feature.

§ On any partition where you perform a new installation of Windows 2000 (as opposed to an upgrade), you will need to re-install any programs, such as word processing or email software, after Setup is complete.

§ If the computer is on a Windows NT or Windows 2000 domain, each installation of Windows NT 4.0 Server or Windows 2000 Server on that computer must have a different computer name.

Computers Containing MS-DOS or Windows 9x and Windows 2000

As explained above you need to address file system compatibility to ensure a multibooting configuration with these earlier operating systems and Windows 2000. Remember to install the latest operating system last otherwise important files may be overwritten. Note: The following multibooting configurations for earlier operating systems also apply to Windows XP and Whistler Server; therefore, when multibooting with earlier operating systems you can substitute the following references to Windows 2000 with Windows XP or Whistler Server.

Checklist Summary
To configure a computer containing Windows 2000 and Windows 9x or MS-DOS, review the following guidelines:

On computers that contain MS-DOS and Windows 2000:

§ MS-DOS must be installed on a basic disk on a partition formatted with FAT. If MS-DOS is not installed on the system partition, which is almost always the first partition on the disk, the system partition must also be formatted with FAT.

§ Windows 2000 must be installed last. Otherwise important files needed for starting Windows 2000 could be overwritten.

On computers that contain Windows 95 and Windows 2000:

§ As in the case above, Windows 95 must be installed on a basic disk on a partition formatted with FAT. (For Windows 95 OSR2, FAT32 may be used.) If Windows 95 is not installed on the system partition, which is almost always the first partition on the disk, the system partition must also be formatted with FAT (or FAT32 for Windows 95 OSR2).

§ Compressed DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volumes won’t be available while you are running Windows 2000. It is not necessary to uncompress DriveSpace or DoubleSpace volumes that you will access only with Windows 95.

§ Windows 2000 must be installed last. Otherwise important files needed for starting Windows 2000 could be overwritten.

On computers that contain Windows 98 (or Windows ME) and Windows 2000:www.tartoos.com

§ As in the cases above, Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition (ME) must be installed on a basic disk on a partition formatted with FAT or FAT32. If Windows 98 or Windows ME is not installed on the system partition, which is almost always the first partition on the disk, the system partition must also be formatted with FAT or FAT32.