Multi-Booting with Windows in an Extended Partition

The PC Guide: includes excellent and relatively comprehensive primer on hard disks.
The Computer Boot Sequence: outstanding, in-depth, well-written tutorial explains technical details in understandable language.
Partitioning Primer: quick overview from www.ranish.com.
Planning your partitions: general advice on using partitions intelligently, even if you don't multiboot. (Note this is one guy's opinion, so think about his ideas but don't take it as gospel.)
Partitioning Strategies: radified.com's objective explanation of several reasons for partitioning.
FAT System Guide: very comprehensive and detailed explanation of the structure of FAT/FAT32 file systems. Nice, easy to read reference.
Mikkelsen Partition Utilities: great command-line tools for examining or repairing partition tables. Not for everyone, but can be quite handy when you need them--especially to recover lost partitions.
"The OS Files": good site from V-Com summarizing a wide array of OS's and installation requirements.
Configuring Multi-Boot Personal Computers: not a "how-to", but an excellent and comprehensive primer from Nick Rozanski. A few minor errors in really old stuff (such as definitions of FAT, FAT16, and breaking the 32MB limit), but overall excellent--especially in the parts that are relevant.
Dual Booting With Vista: also not a brainless "how-to", but a nice exploration by Brian Stewart of the new Vista MBR and multiboot files.
Boot Managers: nice summary of free boot managers.
Free Partition Imagers: nice summary of freeware disk and partitioning cloning and imaging software.
Guide to Norton Ghost: radified.com's comprehensive guide to using this popular partition imaging utility.
Introduction to cloning a Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP computer: Symantec's overview of cloning issues with Ghost.
How to use Sysprep with Ghost: sysprep can be used to reinitialize drive letters on cloned installations.
Powerquest: multiboot installation instructions: all instructions refer solely to OS's in primary partitions (not surprising since BootMagic has limited control of logical partitions).
V-Com System Commander: multiboot installation instructions: in primary partitions only since V-Com claims Microsoft OS's cannot boot from logical partitions (though we know better).
XOSL: A Test Project: detailed step-by-step instructions for a triple-boot system using one disk and XOSL (but beware of an obscure bug that may affect Win98).
XOSL: Booting from logical partition: another method of moving a Win9x OS to a logical partition and booting from there
The Trombettworks Multi-boot: complex example using Ranish Partition Manager and non-standard partition table manipulation to enable more than 4 primary partitions.
Multibooting instructions from Microsoft (using NT/2000/XP boot loader, of course): Multibooting in Windows XP Made Easy; How to Create a Multiple-Boot System in Windows XP; How to Multiple Boot Windows XP
More tips about the NT/2000/XP boot loader: Installing Win2000 after XP (from Doug Knox's excellent site); Installing Win98/ME after XP (also from Doug Knox, but only if C is FAT/FAT32); Dual-Booting Windows NT and DOS-Win95 When C Is NTFS; WinNT/Win95/DOS/Linux from the NT Boot Loader
Examples using the NT/2000/XP boot loader: WinNT/Win95/DOS/Linux
Inside the Dell Utility Partition: my own exploration of the inner workings of the specialized dualboot capability built into recent Dell computers.
Inside the Dell PC Restore Partition: my own exploration of the inner workings of Dell's specialized recovery partition.

last revised 06/15/2007 - Dan Goodell

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