The Multi-Boot Configuration Handbook

Web Supplement
by Rod Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com

About the Book

My third book, The Multi-Boot Configuration Handbook, covers topics of interest to anybody wanting to run more than one OS on a single x86 PC. The book starts with basic information on PC architecture, including the BIOS, the hardware, and the history of the PC and how it influences multi-OS configurations. It proceeds from there to practical advice on partitioning, OS installation, data exchange, cross-platform utilities, networking, and modern hardware. I've written this book with the goal of helping those who are new to multi-OS configurations or who have multi-OS setups but who want to optimize them to get the best possible configurations. If you want to add Linux to your stable of OSs, and wonder which Linux to install, you may want to check my Linux distributions web page.

This book's included CD-ROM contains a large number of useful programs, including:

• A DOS version of PowerQuest's PartitionMagic and BootMagic. (This is the 4.0 version; a more recent 6.0 release is now available.)
• A demo version of the VMware emulator for Windows NT and Linux.
• Versions of the LaTeX page layout program for OS/2, Windows, and BeOS. (Most UNIX implementations, including Linux, come with LaTeX.)
• The InfoZip zip utility for DOS, OS/2, BeOS, and Windows.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader and other PDF readers for various OSs.
• A variety of free and shareware filesystem drivers to allow OSs to access each others' partitions.
• A complete copy of the FreeDOS clone of DOS.
• Implementations of the GCC C compiler for DOS, OS/2, and Windows (GCC comes with free UNIX variants like Linux and FreeBSD).
• A variety of miscellaneous utilities useful in cross-OS configurations.
• The contents of the book in a PDF file.

Buy the book from Fatbrain.com or Amazon.com

According to Amazon.com, people who bought this book also bought Red Hat Linux Network Management Tools, Internet Core Protocols: The Definitive Guide, Oracle 8i: The Complete Reference, and Professional Linux Deployment.

Here's a list of the book's chapters:

Part I. Overview
1. The Trials and Triumphs of a Multi-OS Computer
2. Operating Systems Available for x86 Hardware in 2000
   
   Part II. The Boot Process
3. The x86 BIOS: Its Limits and Capabilities
4. Boot Loaders Simple and Complex
   
   Part III. Partitioning & Partition Management
5. Hard Disk Partition Basics
6. Tools for Disk Partitioning
7. Tips for Optimizing System Performance
8. Modifying Partitions After the Fact
   
   Part IV. Operating System Installation
9. The OS Installation Checklist
10. Tips for Specific OSs
11. Finding Help
    
    Part V. Data Exchange
12. Filesystems for Assorted OSes
13. Tools for Accessing Foreign Filesystems
14. Application Data File Formats
    
    Part VI. Common Configurations and Tools
15. Cross-Platform Utilities
16. Cross-Platform Applications
17. Modifying GUI Look and Feel
18. OSes Within OSes: Emulators
    
    Part VII. Network Access
19. TCP/IP Networking
20. File and Printer Sharing
    
    Part VIII. Hardware Considerations
21. Ensuring Adequate Resources
22. Finding Drivers
23. Performing Hardware Upgrades

In the weeks and months to come, I'll update this site with any errata or additional information that may be useful as developments in the OS world warrant.

I am making every attempt to keep these web pages viewable from any web browser. Of course, not all browsers support all features used by these pages, but I've tried to make such items harmless to these browsers. These pages have been checked using weblint, as well as with a variety of browsers. If you encounter a problem accessing these pages from your browser, please notify me.

Copyright © 2000 by Rod Smith, rodsmith@rodsbooks.com

Return to my main web page.