Dual boot windows98 and Linux

if you want to install Windows on one disk and linux on the other, the easiest way to change between the two operating systems would be by using your CMOS boot sequence to change between drives. However, some people don't like this option, or simply their pc's can't boot from different drives( cmos too old). Another way to do this is with a boot loader. Windows 98 doesn't have a boot loader, so you'll have to use linux boot loader (LILO). I suggest you do the following. Take your first hard drive and create a partition for windows, but don't use the total disk space, leave say 100MB for Linux. (ie. with fdisk just create a partition of 5GB and leave the 100MB as is without partitioning it)
Now install win98 on the 5gb as normal. Once finished, start Linux install. During install it will ask you to allocate partitions for Linux, Dsikdruid (Linux partition program) will show you a list of all available space and partitions on your system. hda1 will be your windows partition. The hdb device is your second hard drive. Now create a linux swap partition on hdb. The create a linux native type partition with mount point /boot on the hda device with the rest of the available size of the first disk. Now you can create another Linux native partition on hdb with mount point /  and you can give it all the space of the remainder of the second drive.
Once finished, your PC will always boot up with a LILO: prompt, and if you press tab, you can select between windows and linux

By CMOS (BIOS):
every time you want to change your boot system, you'll need to change the boot sequence on the CMOS Setup section of your BIOS...

By Linux:
Linux by default got LILO (Linux Loader), it's a boot manager...
when you install linux, it will ask you where your booteable partitions are... just select the right ones, and it will work...
as a reference:

/dev/hda is Primary Master
/dev/hdb is Primary Slave
/dev/hdc is Secondary Master
/dev/hdd is Secondary Slave

and, if you have partitions, they will be:
/dev/hda1 , /dev/hda2 , /dev/hda3 : if you have 3 partitions on your Primary Master HD...

*Note: actually, LILO can only boot from partitions that start before the 1024 cylinder, future releases of the linux kernel got fixes for this bug...

By Windows:
you can BUY the Partition Magic software, it comes with a boot loader program...

Look at psimation answer..above

psimation is correct is some respect but you do not need to touch your windows harddrive. Linux will happily install on a second harddrive provided that it is on the primary channel, ie. both harddrives will be on the same ide cable. Make sure that the windows disk is the master and the linux drive is the slave. The slave drive is known as drive hdb and the windows is hda. I have RedHat 6.0 installed at home and the installation routine is happy to use this configuration. Also make sure that the disk in in LBA mode so that the root partition contains less than 1024 cylinders otherwise you will have boot loading problems. Since you have a 5GB frive this should not be a problem. Only a drive greater than 8GB will exceed 1024 cylinders in LBA mode. Note if you are installing windows as well, do this first as it will overwrite the boot sector. Make sure when installing Linux that lilo installs on the primary master master boot record, otherwise Linux won't be recognised at startup.

I haven't tried your method...yet..
You should have been a comment and not a
solution.  

psimation

The answer works!
Make it a solution and get the points.

Wile

wile,

you can alway accept the comment as answer.

Hi, If my comment did the trick, you can just click on the button next to the comment that says " Accept comment as answer", that will give me the points.
Glad to be of help.:)

Thanks..

Wile

Hmm, seems like you accepted the wrong comment as answer...

I pushed the Accept button...as you
directed...Yes, it was suppose to
go to psimation...Hmmn...can I fixed
it??

Never mind, it's not alot of points, I'll get it next time...

Next time I get a solution from you I'll
up the points...

Thanks again.

Wile