(See embedded comments. I have been running a mixed NT/XP/Linux system 
for some time now.)

-mj-

Victor Odhner wrote:
> Thanks once again for all the advice about my
> power supply and mother board.  The power supply
> fixed everything but my CD-RW problem, and I
> *love* my new ASUS motherboard - runs twice as
> fast as the 2002 EliteGroup board, and I like
> the BIOS too.  But even though I've changed *all*
> my hardware except the CPU and memory, my CD-RW
> still causes Win98 to blue-screen.
> 
> Since xcdroast burns CDs for me just fine under
> Linux, and since I'm hearing good things about
> Wine and Crossover Office, and since I'm now
> the only user of my main PC, I've reached the
> point where I can make Linux my primary system.
> 
> But I can not let go of Windows quite yet.
> Since I need a complete re-install of Windows
> to fix my ASPI driver problem, or whatever it is,
> and since Win98 does not support my 80GB hard
> disk very well, it's time for me to fire Win98
> and install XP Pro.  (I have a license available,
> so that's not a very hard choice.)
> 
> And for XP, I will use NTFS at least for the
> core installation.
> 
> OK, so I have some questions about boot setups
> and filesystem compatibility.
> 
> Q1:  Will XP let me leave my FAT32 volumes
> as they are?  Or will it insist on converting
> all or nothing?
XP will leave them alone.
> 
> Q2:  Do I need to take my Linux volumes offline
> while installing XP, to avoid their being
> assimilated?
No, but it would probably be a good idea to be very careful as you 
install XP and take any custom or advanced options offered to make sure 
that you control what partition XP is installed on.
> 
> Q3:  Will Linux be able to cruise my NTFS
> volumes normally?
Not too well. Some distros as delivered can READ xp, with others you 
have to download from the NTFS project site & re-compile the kernel 
before you can read NTFS. Do NOT plan on writing to a NTFS partition. 
Linux does not yet know how to write reliably to NTFS--at least the last 
I heard.
> 
> Q4:  Can XP see Linux volumes?  (Please don't
> throw any rotten fruit at me for that stupid
> question.)
No.
Well, it sees the partitions, but that's all. Partition Magic 8 does 
know about Linux partitions.
> 
> I also look forward to a complete rebuild of my
> RH8.0 Linux world, using a new distro TBD.
> But reorganizing my file systems on the Linux
> side will be a breeze:  no registry.
> 
> I have become very good with grub, so I will
> have no problem re-adjusting my dual-boot
> configuration after XP has done its thing.
> 
> On this subject, I welcome any comments,
> serious or frivolous.   ;-)
> 
> Vic
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