[Solved] Dual Boot of Win 2K/XP Pro on IBM ThinkPad T42p

I received the IBM ThinkPad T42p that I posted a question on a couple of days ago. The suggestion was to install Win 2K first, then clean install XP Pro. I understand that part.

The notebook has a recovery partition for XP Pro, on the very right end on the drive chart, though it has no drive letter associated with it. It's a 4GB FAT32 partition. If I clean install Win 2K (on it's own 1st partition), make a second partition with a tool such as Mini Partition Tool Wizard for the XP install, will the recovery partition overwrite the Win 2K install during XP recovery?

I want to keep the tools in that partition (if possible), as some of them are not downloadable, only the drivers are.

If necessary, I've read a couple of articles that will allow for the older OS to be installed last, but there's a little trickery involved. So far, I've found 3 different ways to do this, but I don't want problems down the road. I'd rather have a proper install, if possible.

Is the recovery process smart enough to accomplish this?

Any & all answers & suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cat

I'm beginning to wonder if those original IBM programs from 2004 are really worth having. Most are way out of date (really, who wants Norton Antivirus 2004?), and this other program "IBM Access Connections" is crap, it crashes every time I try to use it, even though it's been freshly reinstalled.

I wonder if the Active Protection System, an "airbag" for my hard drive is any good. If it were so good in 2004, why doesn't the OEM's push it now as a feature? Or is it something that's naturally built into computers now?

However, I like the notebook itself. It runs cool, is very responsive, and for $99 I feel like I came out good. I did manage to install Win2K on it, and Windows Update provided most of the drivers for me (that was surprising to me, considering that Win2K is not supported).

I'll sleep on this & decide in the morning. I have a full image backup of the notebook (2 copies of the recovery partition), so if I change my mind down the road, I can always revert back.

The concept of installing an older OS last is new to me, and evidently it's not a popular one, or everyone would be doing it.

Cat

I decided to go with a clean install of both OS's. At first, I was considering installing 2K last, just for the experience of doing it. But the original install was loaded with obsolete software/programs, that was the final factor in my decision. I would still like to know if the "airbag" is stock on computers now, or if it was an IBM marketing ploy.

Many thanks to all who read and contributed to my issue. This is a great forum, with members of tons of experience, so I knew that I could find the correct solution here.

Cat.