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Install Triple-Boot of Windows 7 + 2000 + 98 Me on Windows 7 computer (Win7 installed first)

Last reviewed: June 2011

Updated for EasyBCD version 2.1. Do not use these instructions with earlier versions of EasyBCD.

On this page:

Introduction

This guide shows how to correctly and safely create a natural triple-boot of Windows 7 plus Windows 2000 (2K) and Windows Millennium or Win98 on a computer with Windows 7 already installed. You can then run any of those three Windows by selecting one from a menu during bootup. No data loss will occur and a third-party boot utility is not used.

In this procedure you need to shrink the Windows 7 drive to make room for a Primary partition for Win98/Me on the first hard disk (and also for Windows 2K unless you install 2K on a second hard disk). Using a second disk simplifies the procedure but it's not necessary. The example shown here uses a single hard disk.

32 and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 Home Basic, Enterprise and Ultimate were used in testing so this will also work with Windows 7 Premium and Professional. The operating systems added were: Windows 2000 Professional SP4 and Windows Millennium or 98SE. The computers used were (1) a 32-bit Dell Optiplex with Pentium 4 (2.26GHz), 2.0 GB RAM, 160 GB ATA hard disk, and (2) AMD Athlon 64-bit (2.4GHz), 2.0 GB RAM, 1 TB SATA hard disk.

Following these instructions correctly should always succeed. However, any change to your computer should not even be considered unless your have a rescue plan. This guide also contains that rescue plan - just in case!

Only experienced computer users should attempt to create this triple-boot.

Users with 64-bit computer systems should note that they are unlikely to get 64-bit hardware drivers that work with Win98/Me. However, since all the x64 cpu's support x86 as well, you can dual-boot Win98/Me on a 64-bit computer provided you execute an extra few cold boots while the Win98/Me installation tries for compatibility - it finds a little, but not much. Some users will still find it worthwhile.

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Important Installation Notes

Full Installation CD/DVDs. The Windows you are adding cannot be installed from Recovery or Repair CDs or DVDs provided by some OEMs. You need the full installation or setup version to install a Windows.

EasyBCD. The highly-acclaimed EasyBCD is a free editing utility that allows any user to easily edit the Windows 7/Vista boot menu (the BCD or Boot Configuration Data). Some settings, not used here, are very advanced. EasyBCD works in Windows 7 and Vista, but also in Windows XP if you first install Microsoft's .NET 2.0 Framework (new window).

Hidden Active Partition. Many Windows 7 users will have a small Primary disk partition(s) that's marked active and is hidden (but is visible under Disk Management in Windows 7). This must be counted if you want to create a new Primary.

127 GB Partition Limitation in Windows 9x/Me and 2K. Windows 9x/Me must be installed on a Primary partition that starts before 127 GB from the beginning of the first hard disk. This physical limitation cannot be avoided. The Windows 2K partition must also occur before 127 GB from the start of a disk. It's fine to install 2K on a second disk.

Shrinking a Windows 7 or Vista drive. You should use Shrink in Windows' Disk Management to resize the Windows partition. If the free space achieved is inadequate, you can read Shrink the Windows 7 or Vista Partition for instructions on completing this task successfully. Use the free GParted Live CD to gain disk space only if you absolutely must - read the page Use GParted to Resize the Windows 7 or Vista Partition to learn how and, before you use GParted, read Repair Windows 7 Startup (below).

Formatting. All partitions should be created before you start installing any operating system (OS). The partition should be Formatted when installing that OS to ensure compatible file system versions. Avoid formatting Windows partitions with GParted or any other third-party partitioning utility.

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Make a Partition Active

The Win98/Me FAT32 Primary partition is automatically marked as Active when Win98/Me is installed. After Win98/Me installation, the originally Active NTFS partition must be made Active again. And Fdisk may prove difficult!

It's very important that you know how to do this BEFORE you install Win9x/Me. If in any doubt, read
http://www.thpc.info/how/make_active.html (new window)
now and select the method that best suits your situation. You must be prepared for this in advance.

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Install Windows 2K and 9x when Windows 7 is installed first

Installing other operating systems on your Windows 7 computer may invalidate your warrantee.

It's important to follow the instructions exactly as stated and you should have a properly working Windows.

Make your preparations

  1. Backup important data before making any changes to a partition. You can burn files to a CD, clone an image of your hard disk, copy files to a USB flash/pen/thumb drive, or use an USB external drive (a good choice)
  2. Plan your new partitions carefully before you start.
  3. Download Neosmart's EasyBCD 2.1 (free - it edits Win7/Vista boot loader).
    Optional: Download NeoSmart's free Windows 7 System Recovery Disk if your Win7 DVD is missing!
  4. Download any essential device drivers for your older Windows.
  5. If you intend using a second hard disk, make sure that disk is in place before you start - remember Win98/Me must still be on a Primary partition within the 127 GB limit on the first disk (Primary Master).
  6. Disconnect all unnecessary external devices before you start.

Make free space and create new partitions

This part is best completed BEFORE you start installing any other operating system.
Remember, you should never alter the starting position of a partition that contains an OS you wish to keep.

The single 160 GB disk usually used in testing initially had: System Reserved (100 MB, Primary, Hidden, NTFS), Windows 7 (150 GB, Primary, NTFS). The Windows 7 drive was shrunk leaving about 40 GB Unallocated space at the end of the disk (to the right). After repartitioning it had: System Reserved (100 MB, Primary, Hidden, NTFS), Win7 (110 GB, NTFS, Primary, NTFS), Win98/Me (2 GB, Primary, FAT32), 2K (6 GB, Logical, NTFS), Data (30 GB, Logical, NTFS).

Win98/Me must always be installed on a Primary partition on the first hard disk (Primary Master). You can install 2K on a Primary or Logical partition and on a second hard disk if you prefer but the 127 GB limit always applies to both 2K and Win98/Me.

Always note the size of each partition and also label each (this guide uses wn_7, w_Me, w_2K).

  1. Restart computer correctly (close all programs before you Restart computer).
  2. Open Disk Management in Windows 7 (right-click Computer, select Manage, click Disk Management).
    • Right-click your CD/DVD drive(s), select Change drive letter and paths..., and click Change.
      Change the drive letter to K (get it out of the way!).
    • Right-click the Windows 7 Volume (probably C:), and select Properties.
      In the General tab, enter wn_7 as the label for the Windows 7 volume, and click Apply.
    • Right-click the wn_7 volume, and click Shrink Volume.
      • In Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB: enter enough for Win98/Me and 2K.
        (make sure the Win9x/2K partitions start before the 127 GB limit for those OSs).
      • Click the Shrink button (it may take some time!).

      If Shrink does not give you sufficient Unallocated space, read Shrink the Windows 7 or Windows Vista Partition for instructions on how to complete this task successfully. Then return here.
       
    • If you need a fourth Primary partition, read Create a Fourth Primary partition (new window)
      - but remember, four Primaries means you cannot have any further partitions on that hard disk!
    • Right-click the Unallocated space and select New Simple Volume.... Click Next.
      • In Simple volume size in MB:, enter about 2000 (2 GB for Win98/Me). Click Next.
      • In File system, select FAT32 in the drop-down.
      • In Volume label, enter w_Me.
      • Tick to enable the Perform a quick format check box, and click Next.
      • Click Finish button.
    • In the same manner, create the other partitions using NTFS as the File system, and Label them
      (Disk Management will automatically create Logical partitions when those become necessary).
    • If you have a very large hard disk, you can create an extra Logical NTFS partition for data.
  3. Restart to Windows 7 two times.
    • Open Disk Management and check that the change made is correct.

Use the free GParted Live CD to gain adequate disk space only if you absolutely must - read the page Use GParted to Resize the Windows 7 or Vista Partition to learn how, and read Repair Windows 7 Startup (below) before you use GParted.

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Installing the Operating Systems in this Windows 7 Multi-Boot

These pages show how to install each operating system in this multi-boot and how to use EasyBCD 2.1 with each.

You can install the OSs in any order you wish but you should have already created all appropriate partitions. Installing an older OS first is suggested as this facilitates its easier removal if you decide not to continue with it.

The Windows 7 boot loader menu will boot Windows 9x/Me, Windows 2K and Windows 7.

Footnote:
EasyBCD 2.1 creates an NST folder on the root of the Windows 7 partition when it adds an operating system to the Windows 7 boot loader. This NST folder contains file(s) vital to booting added OSs. It must not be deleted.

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Fix System.ini Memory Problem in Windows 98/Me

Earlier Windows versions were not designed to cope with the large amounts of memory (RAM) used today and this may prevent a successful installation. You may overcome this problem by limiting the amount of RAM Win98/Me will try to use.

If the Win98/Me installation fails to continue normally after the first reboot, you should edit System.ini from DOS (or use your own method to edit System.ini).

  1. Edit C:\Windows\System.ini where C:\Windows is the Win98/Me directory.
    • Locate the bottom of the 386Enh section of System.ini.
      • Enter the following line at the bottom of the 386Enh section.
        MaxPhysPage=20000
        (that 20000 is a hexadecimal number and equals 512 MB of RAM).
    • Locate the VCACHE section of System.ini (or create [VCACHE] if it's not there).
      • Enter the following line at the bottom of the VCache section.
        maxfilecache=262144
        (that 262144 is bytes and equals 256 MB).
    • Save System.ini, and Exit
  2. Reboot and select Normal startup when asked.

The Win98/Me installation should now continue normally and Win98/Me should run without error.

THPC had to use this fix with the preferred Win98SE which then seemed to work fine. However Win Me was mostly used because of its improved memory management. Many installations of Win Me were perfect, none ever required this fix, and there were never any problems.

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Fix Large Hard Disk Problem on Some Computers

One report suggests that Win98/SE may boot only to Safe Mode (accessed by pressing F8 key during bootup). This could occur if LBA (Logical Bus Addressing) cannot function beyond 137 GB on a large hard disk. THPC has not encountered this problem but obviously it does occur occasionally.

If you encounter this you may need a 48-bit LBA fix for Win98/SE. The possible solutions include a BIOS update, or a Windows file update, or a Registry fix, or a new PCI controller card, or third-party software. You already are using a large disk with Win7 so a BIOS update should be unnecessary, and a new PCI card or costly(?) software can be avoided.

One option is to update the esdi_506.pdr file in the \windows\system\iosubsys folder (where \windows is the Win9x/Me installation folder). You need the correct version, so boot to Safe Mode in Win9x/Me, right-click that file in Windows Explorer, and look in the Version tab. Microsoft released an updated Esdi_506.pdr driver for Win98 and Win98SE which should fix this problem. Remember, you do need the correct update version.

Another option is to implement a Registry fix as suggested in feedback from Rich K (not tested by THPC but it's logical and worked well for him). Rich created the following xxx.REG file and imported it (right-click it and select Merge) into the Win98SE Registry. You should first locate the hdc Key in your Registry and Export it for possible replacement later, AND alter the hdc\000x in the following example to conform with your own findings. This is the .reg created by Rich for his own hard disk using Win98SE and merged while in Safe Mode:

----------- Copy below this line, make the changes, then save as 98lbafix.reg -----------

REGEDIT4

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\hdc\0002]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\hdc\0003]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\hdc\0004]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\hdc\0005]

----------- Copy above this line, make your changes, and save as 98lbafix.reg -----------

----------- To install this fix, you right-click the 98lbafix.reg file, and click Merge -----------
----------- To uninstall this fix, open Regedit, click Registry and click Import ..... -----------

 

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Repair Windows 7 Startup

You will not have any problem if you follow the instructions as stated above. However you might encounter some freak occurrence like a power failure during an installation. Windows 7 will boot again if you execute the following procedure.

  1. Bootup any Windows 7/Vista installation DVD or even from NeoSmart's free Windows 7 System Recovery Disk.
    It must be a 64-bit version if a 64-bit Windows 7 is installed.
    • Press a key when you see Press any key to boot from a CD or DVD.
    • Select your Language and then Time....
    • Select Repair your computer (bottom left of the Install now screen).
      An automatic check of your system will run.
    • Click Repair and restart
      Windows 7 should boot normally (very likely). If not, continue here.
  2. Bootup from the Windows 7 installation DVD again
    • Select Repair your computer again.
    • In System Recovery Options, select Windows 7, and click Next.
    • Click Startup Repair.
    • Click Finish when it's complete, and then Restart.
    • You must let CheckDisk run if requested.
      Windows 7 should boot normally.

If still stuck for a solution, boot again from the installation DVD, select Repair your computer, highlight Windows 7, get to a Command Prompt, use DIR command (DIR C: or DIR D: etc.) to identify drive letter allocations (sizes and Labels will help), and type in:
bootrec /FixMbr
bootrec /FixBoot
bootrec /RebuildBcd
X:\boot\bootsect.exe /nt60 C:
  (where X: is your DVD drive letter, and C: is the installation drive for Windows 7).
EXIT, and click Restart. Remove the DVD.

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