windows 98 and xp

[novice]

Help!! Windows xp is hiding!! 98 is the only one that boots up on startup. And I'm unable to reinstall because 'they' say that application is already running. Can any of you computer whizzes out there help me? Thanks

[Wiggo]

In what order did you install these Operating Systems and/or did you rerun the 98 installation again after the dual boot?.
These two can only co-exist if 98 is installed 1st followed by XP.
What application is still running? :?:
<center>:cheers:</center>

[novice]

Windows 98 was installed first and is currently running. I should mention that before the option to run xp disappeared on startup I was getting a message that said "missing or corrupt hal.dll" When I attempted to reinstall the option disappeared although I know the files still exist. Thank you

[Darthtanion]

Since you installed Win9x first, you should be all right with the dual boot system. Put your WinXP disk into the CD drive and then boot from there. It should take you to the WinXP Setup screen. On the initial screen, you'll want to choose the partition where WinXP resides and then tell it to begin the setup. The next screen should give you an option to repair the existing install of XP. It will basically overwrite the major system files and bring it back to life (in theory at least).

I can't guarantee that this will work as I've never tried it on a dual boot system, but it should give you some usage of the XP operating system.

Something to consider, though...
When I started receiving this type of error message, I ended up formatting the drive and reinstalling XP from scratch.

Good luck! :)

[novice]

Thank you. I tried all of the above. After loading XP CD the error message 'a copy of the application is already running appears'. I clicked 'ok', and attempted to proceed, but then before long another error message appeared-- the dreaded 'illegal operation'. I think I'm well out of my league here but is there any way I can access Win xp files from Win 98? I'd like to uninstall and then reinstall.
Darthanion, you mentioned formatting the drive, how is this done and will it affect win 98? Thanks again

[Darthtanion]

Formatting will remove all data on the drive. It is a means of starting fresh and will require the installation of the operating system again.

Since you have Win9x installed, just create a Startup disk and then boot from it. Once everything loads, you type this:
format c:

You will get a message letting you know that all information on this drive will be lost. It also asks for a confirmation Y or N to tell it whether you want to continue. Remember to have all important data backed up before doing this though.

Concerning the reading of WinXP files from Win9x, that depends on how you formatted the partition that XP was installed onto. If it was formatted as a FAT32 device, then you will be able to get the access the data from Win9x, but if it was formatted as NTFS, then Win9x will not be able to see it at all.

Now for a quick question, and please don't take offense to it being so basic, but I want to make sure we're going in the right direction...

Are you installing the WinXP operating system on a separate partition or drive?

[novice]

I don't take offense at your question because as my nickname suggests I'm a novice in this wonderful world of computers.
It appears that Win xp was formatted as NTFS since Fat32 Disk Converter was not used. What now? I LOVE XP and I have some moderately important files on that system but I could live without it if I had to.
I don't feel that formatting the C drive would work for me as I would have too many files to back up and my son would run away from home if I lost any of his 'vital' programs. Thanks for your interest and time.

[Shepps]

Do you know ne one with a XP (NTFS) comp, with isn't under warenty, cus you could plug you hard disk drive into their comp as a slave drive, then that comp's OS would be able to see your files n stuff. you could then copy over all the files onto the other HD and then format the ur HD.

[novice]

Okay Shepps junior tweaker I'll ask my bro what OS he has. Toodle Loo