>> Les Schaffer wrote:
>> [snip] finally, a note to max swicky and
>> like-minded folks: one nice thing about an alternate OS install
>> is the support for multiple OS's on a system. It is very
>> """""easy""""" (is that enough quotes?) to boot to either
>> Windows or Linux once the initial boot phase is complete.
> I heard that Windows 98 sabotages Linux's dual boot. It seems
> that Windows 98 moves disk records around that Linux depends on
> to dual boot.
> I don't know for a fact yet if the above is true.
shhhhhh..... that's why i put """"easy"""" in lots of quotes.
indeed, MicroSoft has deemed it advisable to, in effect, wipe out the Master Boot Record (MBR) when it (re)installs itself onto a drive. this is very easy to fix however, by anyone who can follow some directions.
the reason why i wouldnt highlight this issue, however, is that the usual installation route is Windows --> Windows + Alternate OS. In that case, Linux, for example, can install what is essentially a multi-boot system onto the MBR, all the while protecting the needs of your first OS (in this case, Win9x).
in other words, a Linux install on top of an existing Windows install creates no problesms. Its only when you re-install a Windows system that you have to re-do the MBR to accomodate both OS'es. But already by this time you have learned a little of the alternate OS way of life, and dealing with Microsoft silliness is much much easier on the nerves. i did a couple win98 installs over win95/linux systems the other day, and restored the MBR's as if in a deep sleep. you just learn to recognize Microsoft's ways, and adapt.
-- ____ Les Schaffer godzilla at netmeg.net ___| --->> Engineering R&D <<--- Theoretical & Applied Mechanics | Designspring, Inc. Center for Radiophysics & Space Research | Westport, CT USA Cornell Univ. schaffer at tam.cornell.edu | les at designspring.com