Can I load WINDOWS 98 and XP on the same computer?

Infopackets Reader Derek C. asks, "How can I load and run WINDOWS 98 and XP on the same computer? "

My response:

As far as I can remember, Microsoft does not recommend running two different version of Windows on the same hard drive partition (IE: C drive for Windows 98 and C drive for Windows XP) because files end up over writing themselves. I personally experienced this -- and WinXP even warns against this during install.

The only way to overcome this was to create a new hard drive partition (D drive) by slicing my existing C drive into two separate pieces (a C and a D drive on the same physical hard drive). Unfortunately, when you partition your hard drive, you will lose all data unless you use a utility like Partition Magic which can manipulate your partitions without losing the data. It's not guaranteed 100% -- I mean, I have experienced the program to fail and therefore the entire hard drive was lost -- but I have also used it in the past and it does work. The lesson to learn is to backup all data that is vital before playing with the hard drive.

I hope this helps you in your decision.