Vista - Dual boot with Win98SE

I installed Vista on a second partition with 98SE and it (Vista) is working
well.

From the boot menu if I choose "Earlier version of Windows" i get an "ntldr
missing" message. Is there any way to get dual booting working? EasyBCD
shows the following info for the boot manager.

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=D:
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
resumeobject {50c73d50-e6b3-11da-bc73-d30cdb1ce216}
displayorder {ntldr}
{current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 6

Windows Legacy OS Loader
------------------------
identifier {ntldr}
device partition=D:
path \ntldr
description Earlier version of Windows

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Microsoft Windows
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {50c73d50-e6b3-11da-bc73-d30cdb1ce216}
nx OptIn

copy the ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini files (if there) from the win98
drive to the Vista drive (the one with the Vista boot file) Hidden files
so make sure you have file properties set to see them.


"Digitalis" <mulholld@htomail.com> wrote in message
news:84BCEB57-3A79-4F59-959E-423333D05722@microsoft.com...
>I installed Vista on a second partition with 98SE and it (Vista) is working
>well.
>
> From the boot menu if I choose "Earlier version of Windows" i get an
> "ntldr missing" message. Is there any way to get dual booting working?
> EasyBCD shows the following info for the boot manager.
>
> Windows Boot Manager
> --------------------
> identifier {bootmgr}
> device partition=D:
> description Windows Boot Manager
> locale en-US
> inherit {globalsettings}
> default {current}
> resumeobject {50c73d50-e6b3-11da-bc73-d30cdb1ce216}
> displayorder {ntldr}
> {current}
> toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
> timeout 6
>
> Windows Legacy OS Loader
> ------------------------
> identifier {ntldr}
> device partition=D:
> path \ntldr
> description Earlier version of Windows
>
> Windows Boot Loader
> -------------------
> identifier {current}
> device partition=C:
> path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
> description Microsoft Windows
> locale en-US
> inherit {bootloadersettings}
> osdevice partition=C:
> systemroot \Windows
> resumeobject {50c73d50-e6b3-11da-bc73-d30cdb1ce216}
> nx OptIn
>

You will probably need to adjust the entries in the boot.ini when you do

"Digitalis" <mulholld@htomail.com> wrote in message
news:84BCEB57-3A79-4F59-959E-423333D05722@microsoft.com...
>I installed Vista on a second partition with 98SE and it (Vista) is working
>well.
>
> From the boot menu if I choose "Earlier version of Windows" i get an
> "ntldr missing" message. Is there any way to get dual booting working?
> EasyBCD shows the following info for the boot manager.
>
> Windows Boot Manager
> --------------------
> identifier {bootmgr}
> device partition=D:
> description Windows Boot Manager
> locale en-US
> inherit {globalsettings}
> default {current}
> resumeobject {50c73d50-e6b3-11da-bc73-d30cdb1ce216}
> displayorder {ntldr}
> {current}
> toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
> timeout 6
>
> Windows Legacy OS Loader
> ------------------------
> identifier {ntldr}
> device partition=D:
> path \ntldr
> description Earlier version of Windows
>
> Windows Boot Loader
> -------------------
> identifier {current}
> device partition=C:
> path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
> description Microsoft Windows
> locale en-US
> inherit {bootloadersettings}
> osdevice partition=C:
> systemroot \Windows
> resumeobject {50c73d50-e6b3-11da-bc73-d30cdb1ce216}
> nx OptIn
>

John Barnes wrote:
> copy the ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini files (if there) from the win98
> drive to the Vista drive (the one with the Vista boot file) Hidden files
> so make sure you have file properties set to see them.
>


Those files do not exist in Win95/98/ME, so
there is no way to copy them!

Been a long time. If I remember, Io.sys, Msdos.sys, Config.sys and
Autoexec.bat. Doesn't look like Vista has a way of pointing to the startup
loader, at least thru VistaBootPro.
Leaves either installing a third party boot manager or getting the boot
loader from XP somehow. It does allow for booting 1 copy of win98 from it,
but a third party solution is probably the cleanest. Also could use the
swap at POST time if his BIOS offers that.

"John Boy" <John.Boy@Discussions.Microsoft.Com> wrote in message
news:uFWYTfroGHA.4032@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> John Barnes wrote:
>> copy the ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini files (if there) from the win98
>> drive to the Vista drive (the one with the Vista boot file) Hidden
>> files so make sure you have file properties set to see them.
>>
>
>
> Those files do not exist in Win95/98/ME, so there is no way to copy them!

Vista does not use boot.ini.

"John Barnes" <jbarnes@email.net> wrote in message
news:eRADFXroGHA.3964@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> You will probably need to adjust the entries in the boot.ini when you do
>
> "Digitalis" <mulholld@htomail.com> wrote in message
> news:84BCEB57-3A79-4F59-959E-423333D05722@microsoft.com...
>>I installed Vista on a second partition with 98SE and it (Vista) is
>>working well.
>>
>> From the boot menu if I choose "Earlier version of Windows" i get an
>> "ntldr missing" message. Is there any way to get dual booting working?
>> EasyBCD shows the following info for the boot manager.
>>
>> Windows Boot Manager
>> --------------------
>> identifier {bootmgr}
>> device partition=D:
>> description Windows Boot Manager
>> locale en-US
>> inherit {globalsettings}
>> default {current}
>> resumeobject {50c73d50-e6b3-11da-bc73-d30cdb1ce216}
>> displayorder {ntldr}
>> {current}
>> toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
>> timeout 6
>>
>> Windows Legacy OS Loader
>> ------------------------
>> identifier {ntldr}
>> device partition=D:
>> path \ntldr
>> description Earlier version of Windows
>>
>> Windows Boot Loader
>> -------------------
>> identifier {current}
>> device partition=C:
>> path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
>> description Microsoft Windows
>> locale en-US
>> inherit {bootloadersettings}
>> osdevice partition=C:
>> systemroot \Windows
>> resumeobject {50c73d50-e6b3-11da-bc73-d30cdb1ce216}
>> nx OptIn
>>
>
>

Vista Boot file has provision for pointing to legacy boot loader ntldr which
uses boot.ini to load the legacy system, so technically you are right, but
it is used to load the legacy system from Vista


"Colin Barnhorst" <colinbarharst(remove)@msn.com> wrote in message
news:uYG0a3roGHA.3808@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Vista does not use boot.ini.
>
> "John Barnes" <jbarnes@email.net> wrote in message
> news:eRADFXroGHA.3964@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> You will probably need to adjust the entries in the boot.ini when you do
>>
>> "Digitalis" <mulholld@htomail.com> wrote in message
>> news:84BCEB57-3A79-4F59-959E-423333D05722@microsoft.com...
>>>I installed Vista on a second partition with 98SE and it (Vista) is
>>>working well.
>>>
>>> From the boot menu if I choose "Earlier version of Windows" i get an
>>> "ntldr missing" message. Is there any way to get dual booting working?
>>> EasyBCD shows the following info for the boot manager.
>>>
>>> Windows Boot Manager
>>> --------------------
>>> identifier {bootmgr}
>>> device partition=D:
>>> description Windows Boot Manager
>>> locale en-US
>>> inherit {globalsettings}
>>> default {current}
>>> resumeobject {50c73d50-e6b3-11da-bc73-d30cdb1ce216}
>>> displayorder {ntldr}
>>> {current}
>>> toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
>>> timeout 6
>>>
>>> Windows Legacy OS Loader
>>> ------------------------
>>> identifier {ntldr}
>>> device partition=D:
>>> path \ntldr
>>> description Earlier version of Windows
>>>
>>> Windows Boot Loader
>>> -------------------
>>> identifier {current}
>>> device partition=C:
>>> path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
>>> description Microsoft Windows
>>> locale en-US
>>> inherit {bootloadersettings}
>>> osdevice partition=C:
>>> systemroot \Windows
>>> resumeobject {50c73d50-e6b3-11da-bc73-d30cdb1ce216}
>>> nx OptIn
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

On Sat, 8 Jul 2006 18:17:05 +0100, "Digitalis" <mulholld@htomail.com>
wrote:

>I installed Vista on a second partition with 98SE and it (Vista) is working
>well.
>
>From the boot menu if I choose "Earlier version of Windows" i get an "ntldr
>missing" message. Is there any way to get dual booting working?

Works here. You need to have the BOOTSECT.BAK that the Vista install
should have made, and put Ntldr and Ntdetect (from any NT OS - NT
4/2K/XP) in the boot directory along with it, and make a boot.ini:

05/19/2006 12:55 AM 444,796 bootmgr
07/01/2006 10:40 AM 133 boot.ini
10/03/2004 05:34 PM 47,564 NTDETECT.COM
10/03/2004 05:34 PM 250,032 ntldr
05/11/1998 08:01 PM 222,390 IO.SYS
05/11/1998 08:01 PM 9 MSDOS.SYS
06/29/2006 10:44 PM 512 BOOTSECT.BAK

In your boot.ini, you need something like this:

[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=C:\bootsect.bak="Win98" /win95dos
[operating systems]
C:\bootsect.bak="Win98" /win95dos

This points the boot manager to the Win98 bootector that Vista
thoughtfully copied to BOOTSECT.BAK. The drive letter is relative to
when the Vista bootloader first sees the drives. Mine says C: because
the bootloader and bootsector are on the first primary partition -
even though once Vista is running that partiton is called D:.

Loren

Very nice instructions.

"Loren Amelang" <loren@pacific.net> wrote in message
news:3000b2t92m47mhcppdh1ditk37gppathus@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 8 Jul 2006 18:17:05 +0100, "Digitalis" <mulholld@htomail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>I installed Vista on a second partition with 98SE and it (Vista) is
>>working
>>well.
>>
>>From the boot menu if I choose "Earlier version of Windows" i get an
>>"ntldr
>>missing" message. Is there any way to get dual booting working?
>
> Works here. You need to have the BOOTSECT.BAK that the Vista install
> should have made, and put Ntldr and Ntdetect (from any NT OS - NT
> 4/2K/XP) in the boot directory along with it, and make a boot.ini:
>
> 05/19/2006 12:55 AM 444,796 bootmgr
> 07/01/2006 10:40 AM 133 boot.ini
> 10/03/2004 05:34 PM 47,564 NTDETECT.COM
> 10/03/2004 05:34 PM 250,032 ntldr
> 05/11/1998 08:01 PM 222,390 IO.SYS
> 05/11/1998 08:01 PM 9 MSDOS.SYS
> 06/29/2006 10:44 PM 512 BOOTSECT.BAK
>
> In your boot.ini, you need something like this:
>
> [boot loader]
> timeout=5
> default=C:\bootsect.bak="Win98" /win95dos
> [operating systems]
> C:\bootsect.bak="Win98" /win95dos
>
> This points the boot manager to the Win98 bootector that Vista
> thoughtfully copied to BOOTSECT.BAK. The drive letter is relative to
> when the Vista bootloader first sees the drives. Mine says C: because
> the bootloader and bootsector are on the first primary partition -
> even though once Vista is running that partiton is called D:.
>
> Loren

There is another issue here that is less obvious. This scenario cannot
last. Win98 cannot correctly address more than 512MB. Such limited
hardware is not suitable for Vista, IMHO. It can be done but will never be
a reasonable configuration. It is better if the user starts thinking about
more ram and running Win98 as a guest in VPC on XP now and on Vista after
rtm.

"John Barnes" <jbarnes@email.net> wrote in message
news:OYCOv1roGHA.3812@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Been a long time. If I remember, Io.sys, Msdos.sys, Config.sys and
> Autoexec.bat. Doesn't look like Vista has a way of pointing to the
> startup loader, at least thru VistaBootPro.
> Leaves either installing a third party boot manager or getting the boot
> loader from XP somehow. It does allow for booting 1 copy of win98 from
> it, but a third party solution is probably the cleanest. Also could use
> the swap at POST time if his BIOS offers that.
>
> "John Boy" <John.Boy@Discussions.Microsoft.Com> wrote in message
> news:uFWYTfroGHA.4032@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> John Barnes wrote:
>>> copy the ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini files (if there) from the
>>> win98 drive to the Vista drive (the one with the Vista boot file)
>>> Hidden files so make sure you have file properties set to see them.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Those files do not exist in Win95/98/ME, so there is no way to copy them!
>
>