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ECS is installed; Now how do I install XP?

Started by BookWorm, 2011.01.05, 01:54:20

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BookWorm

My hard drive is now set up like this:

Boot Manager
C:81920Mb unformated. Windows XP goes here.
D:8192Mb ECS 2.0 installed and working.

XP setup says there is not an XP compatible partition on the disk. How do I install XP to drive C:? Both are currently set "Bootable". ECS does not have the option of setting the partition "Installable". It won't let me set anything but the boot manager "Startable" even if the boot manager is removed.

warpcafe

Hi BookWorm,

your question is about one of the few topics where more than 1 way is "correct". You will see that the mileage varies and there is no single correct way of doing it. I will describe my way of doing it, then make room for others to explain how they do it. Please note that it's more than a year ago when I last installed a Win OS. (That was XP Pro in a dual-boot environment though)

First: I don't like the boot manager that comes with OS/2 or eCS. This is a long term hate relationship. I found that among all the possible boot managers, the OS/2 thing would be the last one I would use. My preferred one is Air-Boot since it is easy to configure, stable (even when Windoze has corrupted the boot sectors ;) ), requires no disk space and is extremely flexible in defining which OS has access or visibility of the other OS's partitions.
(Air-Boot is freeware, available at http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/h-search.php?sh=1&button=Search&key=air-bootv105&stype=all&sort=type_name&dir=%2F)

Here's how I do it:
(Note: This is not suitable for you since it starts with installing XP on a "blank" HDD... anyway...)
1) Install XP and make it create a partition of the desired size, reboot until ready-to-use from HDD
2) Install eCS, make it create a new bootable+installable partition of the desired size, install
3) Install Air-Boot and configure both OS's partition visibility so they only "see" their own stuff

This worked for me for years and I'm very happy with it. It would even allow me to install Linux in addition (or whatever OS) and be able to specifiy which of these OS can access which other partitions. I could even create a "shared" partition which is non-bootable and all OS's have access to (as long as they have a filesystem driver that recognizes the partition).

I chose this approach because:
The most stupid/egoistic OS is the first one to be installed (step 1). By "egositic" I mean that XP is not "aware" that there are other operating systems under the sun - as we see by the way it uses the hard disk during install. "Stupid" means that it doesn't recognize other partitions and file formats which will most likely make it fail when there is something else than what Microsoft expects a hard disk to contain during install (anything else than Microsoft stuff that is). So let's just make XP believe everything is fine ...by installing the other OSs later ;)
When eCS is installed (step 2), it has activated its own bootable partition, making XP basically "vanish". It's still there but can't be booted. Now we need a boot manager and this is where step 3 happens. Of course, the whole shebang is feasible with the eCS|OS/2 bootmanager as well... but like I said above, AirBoot has so much advantages over it that I personally will never ever again use the OS/2 BM.

Hope this helps.
Now here come the others' suggestions... and I guess Ivan will be on of the first to comment on how to solve your problem the smart way and in no time. :)

Cheers,
Thomas
"It is not worth an intelligent man's time to be in the majority.
By definition, there are already enough people to do that"
- G.H. Hardy

ivan

Thank you Thomas for the introduction and I agree that XP is a pain to install with any other OS.  Your method is the best way if you are starting from scratch with a blank disk but I assume BookWorm wants to keep the eCS install intact.

Now down to BookWorm's problem.

First up the partition that is intended for XP needs to be deleted and left as free space.  That way XP install will se it and allow you to create a partition and then format it (if you want to be able to transfer files between XP and eCS then format it as FAT32).

XP will complain about bootmanager and disable it which means you will have to re-enable it afterwards (boot from the eCS CD and go to the command line, then use the tool to remove bootmanager and then reinstall it and add the partitions to it, or use dfsee on a bootable floppy or CD to do the same thing).

When you hav everything up and running then start XP and go to the control panel select administrative tools -> computer management -> disk management and remove the drive letter from the eCS partition to stop XP complaining and offering to format it.

Now I'll shut up and let others give their way.

ivan

BookWorm

Actually, I solved the problem by deleting everything but the boot manager, then I installed XP, then reinstalled ECS, then reinstalled the boot manager. Everything is working fine now.

RobertM

Quote from: BookWorm on 2011.01.05, 17:34:01
Actually, I solved the problem by deleting everything but the boot manager, then I installed XP, then reinstalled ECS, then reinstalled the boot manager. Everything is working fine now.

Depending on the version of XP, that's the best method. Some versions will not install if they find OS/2. Others will offer to remove OS/2. Others will simply tell you they need to (and continuing to do so or exiting will be your only option). The remainder will install as outlined by Ivan below.


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