Need information re VPC deployment for WIN98 legacy applications

I am not a PC wiz and seek help, in laymen terms, on the following issue:

I have a new lap-top. P-4 1.7GHz, 512 MB memory & 60GB HD under XP Pro. I
have partitioned the HD into several logical drives. Some are NTFS and some
FAT32. Almost no applications yet installed on this machine.

I want to run 2 of my legacy applications which used to work perfecctly
under WIN98 + a DOS program which also ran under win98. I tried to install on
the new machune, but failed (even to install). I tried the XP compatibility
wizard, yet to no avail. I am therefore considering MS Virtual PC.
Questions:

1. I prepared a primary, non-active FAT32 partition for WIN98 (not yet
installed), alongside the active primary partition (NTFS) which hosts my XP
OS. Is this needed at all if I will install VPC or shall I delete this
partition?

2. I will run most of my work under XP Pro, and will use the virtual
machine, daily, only for the 2-3 legacy applications mentioned above. Do I
need only one VM (for WIN98 & the lagacies)? Can I run all other applications
on the XP in the host machine or will I have to create another VM for XP as
well?

Shall appreciate any assistance on this. TNX.

 

Virtual PC does not usually write directly to the hard disk in the sense
you're obviously thinking about from what you say above; It generally writes
to a large file, which contains an emulation of a hard disk. As such, you
don't need to create a FAT32 partition on your physical computer's hard disk
for the virtual PC, but some people prefer to keep the virtual PC hard disk
file on a dedicated NTFS partition.

You need only the one Windows 98 Virtual Machine. From the perspective of
the host machine, virtual PC is just another, somewhat resource hungry,
application. So you can conduct the majority of your business in XP on the
host system as you would normally, and just start up the virtual PC guest as
needed when you want to use the one or two programs contained within it.

I hope that helps.

--

 

Thank Rob for your fast reply. It's very helpful. I also surfed to your site
and found the ideas & tips very interesting and helpful.
Yet, before trying the real thing, let me verify I understand it correctly
(I am still shivering at the idea of jumping into the VN arena).
1. I delete the special partition prepared for WIN98.
2. I install MS VPC2004 as a regular application under XP, and the
installation will guide throughout the process.
3. I may install the VPC into a dedicated logical drive(partition).
Is all this correct?

TNX in advance for your assistance.

:

 

This is all correct - but steps 1 and 3 are purely optional and up to
your disgression.
--
Cheers,
Benjamin Armstrong
===============================
Virtual machine Program Manager

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
You assume all risk for your use.

 

You don't need any partition dedicated to Win98 in any way to do what you
propose. It is easier to deal with the virtual hard disk file on an NTFS
drive because there is not the FAT32 file size restriction of 4GB to work
around. Once you start the virtual machine the first time just do what you
would do on a physical machine for installing Win98, but do it all to the
virtual machine. Use fdisk to prep the virtual hard drive and then format
it with the same Win98 setup floppy. Then install the OS and your apps.
When you see warnings within the virtual machine window about your hard
being formatted and that you will lose all data, it only applies to the
virtual hard drive and not the host machine's hard drive.

 

Thanks, Ben and Colin for your advice. But ops! I was afraid I will encounter
a problem that I didn't think of.

You said I'll need the setup floppy. But my new laptop doesn't a floppy
drive. The only input devices (besides KBRD & mouse) are a DVD RW and USB
slots.

Can I start the WIN98 installation from the CD without the setup diskette?
Or do I have to copy the WIN98 install floppy to a USB memory device and set
up my BIOS boot sequence to start from the USB removable device? Which of
these 2 options is correct?

TNX again for your support

 

You can download a virtual floppy disk and simply drag it onto the
virtual floppy disk icon on the vm window. (see www.bootdisk.com or Steve
Jain's site).

 

Yes, you can use the Windows 98 CD to boot up and do the installation.
Simply select "Boot from CD ROM" at the first prompt, then select "Start
Computer with CD-ROM Support" at the next prompt. It will bring you to
a floppy drive letter (A:\) where you can do FDISK and create your
partition (or set the one created in the Windows 98 Setup as active).
Then simply press CTRL-ALT-Delete to reboot again.

 

Thanks to all of you: Bill, Wardell & Patrick for your latest suggestions,
and to Rob, Ben and Colin who jumped in first with their knowledgable
answers. I really appreciate all your assistance on this matter. Now I will
go out to acquire the product and do the real work. And if I'll encounter
any problem (God forbid), be assured I shall be back to you. Many TNX.

 

Helllo, I have one additional question.

My sole consideration to install VPC is to enable me to continue using some
of my legacy WIN95/WIN98 & DOS applications under an XP host.

Question: Where should I insatll those WIN98/95/DOS programs? In the VM on a
virtual disk? Or may I direct the installation to a REAL partition (lpgical
drive) on the host (XP) that I prepared for hosting all my application
programs?

Can you give me a hint? Thanks in advance.

 

The simplest method is to just install the apps as you would on a
standalone machine running W98.