On Partitioning for "multi boot":
Why DOS compatible?
When installing a new machine, if there's any chance you'll want to install it as "multi-boot" (i.e., with more than one operating system), it makes sense to install a partitioning scheme that's compatible with MSDOS, since that partitioning scheme is the "lowest common denominator" among other operating systems. If your machine is already installed with one big partition, you may be able to shrink it with FIPS or Partition Magic, but that's not as good.Using Fdisk:
If you use "Fdisk" (the DOS partitioning tool) to partition the empty hard disk, and make the first two (2) partitions, that's enough to make a layout that's acceptable to DOS. You can even change or delete the second partition later, and it'll still be okay (but you should keep the "extended partition", which is the container for other partitions). Note that if you're using the Windows 95 "OSR2" version of Fdisk, you should not enable "large disk support" when it asks, as this is actually FAT32, which is not recommend as the first partition).Size:
The first partition can be anywhere from about 5 MB to about 511 MB. Any larger, and FAT16 is very wasteful at storing many files (although the limit is 2047 MB). Any smaller, and you might not be able to fit boot loader software you may need. 255 MB is enough to fit Win95 or Win98, but 511 MB is more comfortable. Also, this partition may need to serve as an interchange location between other OS'es.Not using (dos) Fdisk:
If you want to create a layout like this with another partitioning tool (like, WinNT "Disk Administrator" or Linux fdisk), make the first partition as FAT, then make the rest of the disk an extended partition (up to 8445 MB minus the first partition if compatibility with DOS 6.x is desired), and put the other partitions inside the extended partition. If you really want to have other ("primary") partitions outside the extended partition, it's better to put them after the extended partition, not before it.Formatting and installing:
After partitioning, you need to format and install. If you want maximum flexibility, I recommend installing DOS 6.22 before windows, because it can be difficult to install after windows. (you only need minimal dos, as with "format /s c:" or "sys c:"). This will enable the item in the windows boot menu to "boot previous version of msdos".A handy utilty for manipulating boot sectors is bootpart.
I just found out that Win95 OSR2 has a known bug (MS KB Q155364) that the "boot previous version" menu doesn't work.