Wolfgang Bornath wrote:
> Felix Miata schrieb am Thu, 16 Oct 2003 12:17:57 -0400:
> > Run Windows and Linux from same boot partition = Dualboot
> > Run Windows and Linux different partitions on the same PC = Multiboot
> Huh? I thought the difference between dualboot and multiboot was the
> number of systems? Dualboot= 2 different systems, multiboot = more than
> 2 different systems.
Yes, dual does mean 2 - 2 exactly. But, multi means more than 1. So, the
two terms can easily be confused when the actual count is two. The
difference is multiboot uses some type of boot manager that is capable
of switching among two *or more*, while dualboot is crude, normally
incapable of more than two.
AFAIK, IBM first made the distinction back before Torvalds' kernel was
first used for GPL operating systems, sometime around 1987 I think,
certainly by 1990.
> How can you run Win and Linux from the same boot partition?
AFAIK, that's what win4lin is for. I've never trusted doze to share
space with any other OS, and don't know how it works.
What you can do is run doze (DOS 7+) and DOS (pre-v7) from the same FAT
partition, or DOS and older OS/2 versions from the same FAT partition.
> I have several systems on my pc and each system is on it's own
> partition(s). All are started by LILO in MBR. What kind of "boot" is
> that, a dualboot or a multiboot? And if that is what you call
> multiboot, how does dualboot work?
Dual means exactly two. You're using multiboot if you see a startup
menu, such as LILO, which offers more than one partition to choose to
boot from.
For DOS/doze or DOS/OS2 dualboot, you use an active system switcher
utility to switch active kernel and startup files just prior to using
the other system to reboot from. Dunno how win4lin works, but prolly
something functionally similar.
> I've been running Linux now for several years but never heard that
> distinction. But I'm always happy to learn.
Find an ancient OS/2 installation manual to read. See also URL below.
--
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...."
Proverbs 9:10 NIV
Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409
Felix Miata *** http://members.ij.net/mrmazda/partitioningindex.html
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