This section describes how to start up multiple operating systems and contains procedures for configuring your computer to do so.
Each operating system uses one or more file systems to organize data within volumes. Some operating systems can use the same file systems and some can not. For example, MS-DOS, Windows 95, and Windows NT can each use FAT volumes; Windows NT and Unix each use file systems that are unusable by the other. Operating systems that use the same file systems can share volumes, meaning that a user can access files on these volumes when running any of the operating systems.
Note
Create an Emergency Repair Disk for your Windows NT installation by using the Repair Disk utility (Rdisk.exe) in the %systemroot%\System32 folder before you install other operating systems on the computer. You should also have a Windows NT startup floppy disk that you know works to start your computer. For more information about these disks, see Chapter 20, "Preparing for and Performing Recovery."