Often, the biggest conflict between Windows 98 and Windows NT is not an incompatibility issue but a simple misunderstanding. On a dual-boot system, an application installed under one operating system may be visible under the other (because all of its files are visible on the hard drive), but it will not run on the second operating system. This is usually not because of incompatibility but because the installation needs to be repeated on the second operating system.
Annoying? Yes, but there’s a good reason for this annoyance. When an application is installed under either operating system, the installation program does more than simply create a directory and copy some files. Sometimes, the installation program also copies .DLL or other special files that are installed in the operating system’s \SYSTEM directory. Each operating system has its own \SYSTEM directories, and the contents are not cross-compatible; they cannot be consolidated. Additionally, most application installation programs make entries to the operating system’s registry. These entries are also separate and not cross-compatible.
NOTE
Some simple applications, which require no setup at all, can be executed on either operating system without installation. In such cases, the applications are usually self-contained and do not rely on DLLs or registry entries.
A dual-installation does not require duplicate directories and duplicate files, except for any files that are copied to each operating system’s \SYSTEM directory. What is required is to make duplicate registry entries (and you don’t want to try to do these by hand, because it just isn’t worth the trouble).
Fortunately, the solution is relatively simple. If, for example, you are installing Microsoft Visual C++ and you wish to use it for both Windows 98 and Windows NT on a dual-boot system, follow these steps:
After installation, if the application fails to execute on one of the operating systems, check the application documentation to see if there are some special requirements or system incompatibilities. Then try the installation a second time.