The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51 and 4.0
- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0
SUMMARY
This article explains how to set up Windows NT to dual boot with MS-DOS on
a computer that was originally installed as Windows NT only. In order to
dual boot, the system partition must be a file allocation table (FAT)
partition and not a Windows NT file system (NTFS) partition.
MORE INFORMATION
- Start the computer from an MS-DOS floppy disk that contains the sys.com
you file. Sys the boot drive to MS-DOS using the following sys command:
A:\>sys a: c:
You should receive a system transferred message when this is complete.
NOTE: This will disable the Windows NT boot loader and now the computer
will boot MS-DOS when booting from the computer's hard disk drive. You will
have to repair the Windows NT boot loader after completing the procedures
explained below.
- Reboot the system from the computer's hard disk drive to an MS-DOS
command prompt and install MS-DOS on the system if it is not already
installed.
- After completely installing MS-DOS onto the system and rebooting as
necessary, restart your system using your Windows NT Setup disks.
During Setup, select R to repair Windows NT.
NOTE: You only need to repair the Windows NT boot sector. You should not
choose to inspect the registry files, the Windows NT system files, or the
Windows NT boot environment during this procedure.
- Once you have repaired the Windows NT boot sector will need to
manually edit the Boot.ini file to include an option to boot to MS-DOS.
The Boot.ini file is a read-only, hidden, system file located in the
root directory of the boot drive. The following line should be added to
the Boot.ini file under the operating systems section:
c:\="Microsoft DOS".
The next time you reboot the computer, you should have an option to choose
Microsoft DOS on the Windows NT start menu.
The procedure above can also be used to enable dual booting between Windows
NT and Windows 95. To dual boot Windows 95, boot the system to MS-DOS and
install Windows 95. Windows 95 installation is Windows NT-aware and will
not overwrite NT boot loader information when installed in this manner.
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