Avoiding Dual-Boot Disasters with Windows XP

We can’t say it strongly enough: Do not install two or more versions of Windows on a single partition! Doing so can cause serious problems with applications, many of which reside in the \Program Files folder on the boot partition (the partition where the operating system is installed).

Many programs use different versions of executable files and dynamic link libraries for Windows 95/98/Me and Windows NT/2000/XP. If you try to share such a program between two Windows versions, it won’t work properly in at least one Windows version.

In addition, you may experience these problems:

● Program preferences, options, and settings you’ve chosen in one operating system don’t show up when you use the other operating system because each stores its own registry entries.

● If you uninstall an application, its entries still show up on the Start menu, on the Add/ Remove Programs list, and throughout the registry of the other operating system—yet the program files are gone.

You might encounter still other problems with multiple operating systems on a single partition. And if you call Microsoft Product Support Services for help with such problems, you’ll be told—politely, to be sure—that you need to reformat your drive and start over. Microsoft does not support such installations. That alone should be a clear indication that it’s not a good idea!

Although we recommend that you use separate partitions for each operating system, there’s no reason you can’t share data on a common drive that’s available to all operating systems. In fact, you might want to change the target folder location of your My Documents folder in each operating system so that it points to the same folder.