xp/sco 5.0.7 dual boot issues


 
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Operating Systems SCO xp/sco 5.0.7 dual boot issues
# 1  
Old 04-12-2007
xp/sco 5.0.7 dual boot issues

Hello those more knowledgeable than I:

I have been trying to get xp and SCO to coexist on the same system. I have tried several different ways to make both work, here's the list:

-install xp, image it, move the partition to the end of drive, verify it boots, image again,

-boot off of SCO cd, install SCO, fdisk'ing to put SCO at beginning of drive, making partition active, complete install, reboot,

-boot SCO, edit /etc/default/boot for bootos loader, reboot,

-at BOOT: prompt bootos xp, get the SYS 0VF (i think) error when trying to get to xp.

ALSO Tried using SYSTEM COMMANDER: Smilie

--installed xp, syscom, moved partition, rebooted,
--syscom comes up, goto partitioning, os wizard(all defaults), tried changing settings but didn't work, reboot,
--at this point, syscom has unix boot selection along with xp, a:, and cdrom,
--choose cdrom to boot SCO cd, do the same installation, reboot,
--again, get the SYS 0VF error,
--reboot with syscom cd, reinstall syscom, XP loads, but there is no option for SCO. . .
--somehow get SCO option on syscom, choose it, syscom header comes up, but just beeps, no booting.

Ok, I think the SYS 0VF has to do with the MBR, is there a fix? a fix that makes everything work?

Is the bootos howto on the SCO cd accurate? Is bootos still viable? Is there something better?

I have tried every boot manager I could find. Help would be appreciated as I have been thrown into maintaining old SCO apps without any SCO experience.
# 2  
Old 04-12-2007
Make sure that both the unix boot partition and the xp partition start before cylinger 1023 on the hard drive.
Try installing both, then running fdisk before shutting down and making the partition that you want to boot next 'active'. If either OS will not shut down properly when the partition is not active, make a windows 98, or DOS 6.? boot diskette with fdisk.exe on it, and use it between hd boots to set the chosen partition active.

Buy a second hard drive and a hotswap hard drive tray, and then physically swap drives.

Assuming you have the enterprise version of 5.0.7, as opposed to the 'host' version, just get a second machine (a P3 with 256mb of memory and a 20gb disk is probably enough,) and then network them. Then use a terminal emulation program on the XP so that you need only one keyboard and monitor.
# 3  
Old 04-12-2007
Computer Rudimentary question--possibly where I am going wrong

Rudimentary question,
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgt
Make sure that both the unix boot partition and the xp partition start before cylinger 1023 on the hard drive.
but, how would I make both see the same partition that's <1023 cylinders? (@30megs) . . . I've worked with Microsoft products for a long time, linux and bsd distros for the last year or so, but never together on the same installation.

The problem I think I'm running into is the SCO fdisk and how to get both XP and SCO to boot off of that first 1023 cylinders. What formatting should be used for the boot partition? Should the boot partition be made active.

The way I normally install the system is image xp onto the hardrive, move the partition, and reboot to make sure xp boots. I then install SCO, and during the hardrive initialization process, have unix use the rest of the disk.

My goal is ease of use for a shop floor technician to use both old licensed SCO apps and our current supply of Windows apps. So, the bootos function of SCO would be best for the dual boot purpose.

BTW---I Like SCO--two days of being paid to learn it even makes it more appealing.

Thanks for your assistance
# 4  
Old 04-13-2007
doesn't sco give you a dos partition

Can't you leave a space for a dos system in the walk through version of the SCO installation. I think its the fdisk/divvy option and it will give you pretty good control over the installation disk. I believe this will leave you with a FAT32 drive I think, never tried though.

But I would have to agree with a previous poster that a fairly old machine with a PII or PIII with 256MB of RAM would be perfect even for the Enterprise Edition.
# 5  
Old 04-17-2007
A little more info . . .

. . . the reason for dual-booting is due to the fact that the workstation is connected to an external serial CMM box controlling a measurement testing station. The required update for the windows software is for xp only. The SCO apps are no longer supported but the results spit out by these apps are still required by our customers.

Two machines just wouldn't work in this situation. Also, the workstations are being used by shop floor employees so asking them do anything more than point and click is asking for trouble.

Something I have tried is using the bootos command in SCO. After I have both OS's installed, at the SCO boot prompt, I type bootos xp. XP is set up as the alias for the partition. But, again, I get the CYL OVF error when it tries to access that partition. Fdisking to make the partition active, would be too much for shop floor employees to do and since I have tried it, may or may not work.

In previous posting, I said SYS OVF error in reference to the mbr. It was actually CYL OVF, or 0VF (zero). I am not sure how to resolve this error without reinstalling SCO. And in the bootos situation, no idea at all.

Thanks for the guidance and input.
# 6  
Old 04-17-2007
If you must

Add a second hard drive to the system, large enough to hold /u for unix and D: for XP.
Check the CMOS settings for the primary drive and determine how many megabytes are available before you reach cylinder 1023. Change the geometry to suit using LBA or LARGE in order to achieve the required amount.
You will probably need about 2gb for each OS.
This should not be a problem, I checked my own 20gb disk and it has 2400 cylinders, so that it would have about 8gb before cylinder 1023.
Install XP on a partition that is only 4gb.
Install SCO on whatever remains on the primary drive, only /stand needs end before cylinder 1023.
If there is not enough room left for the SCO apps and data then partition the second hd with fdisk to provide one unix partition and one NTFS partition
On the XP side use the second hard disk as drive D and then when you install any applications, install them on D not C.
Make the unix partition active.
Then you should be able to type XP at the 'boot:' prompt and have XP run.
# 7  
Old 04-18-2007
Well, I am successful . . .

. . . and thanks for your opinions and guidance. Now, how I did it:

I've been in contact w/ v-com (system commander's tech support). They were still clueless, with one exception. The one guy that's been there awhile remembered that both OS's had to start below 8192mb, or 8gigs. Well, I reimaged my machine and gave XP the first 6gigs, installed SCO, fdisk'ing to make the partition about the same size as the XP partition, rather than using rest of disk. (reason is, XP needs more space than SCO, will format other partitions later) After SCO completed, I was sort of amazed, syscom was originally installed on the XP part, but as usual was overwritten. SCO booted and I got to the BOOT: prompt and typed bootos ? which gave me two partitions to choose, then I chose bootos 3 corresponding to the NT/OS2 partition. The screen flickered off then on and XP's splash screen came up. It ran a checkdisk and needed to reboot, did the same process again, it came up just fine, everything worked. . . Booted to SCO, everything I set there up worked.

I bet it all comes back to that 1024 cylinder thing. The machine I am using is a 3 year gateway workstation, Pentium4, 1gigmem, Nvidia Quadro, 40gig hd. . . . according to the fdisk in SCO, everytime I went past the first 30 megs of the hardrive, I was surpassing the limit. . . well, INIT 13, that bios thingy, although not present in the bios, worked. I was able to boot both and get both to do their function. Also, edited /etc/default/boot for BOOT: prompt alias' to boot into XP.

Thanks Again! Smilie
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