1- is it possible for me to install 2k again?
Yes. Since XP is based on 2K, you should face no such problems. Anyways, you can always manually change your boot.ini. As a preventive measure, backup your boot.ini, and incase your new boot.ini doesnt contain the other OSs( xp) you can manually add them by looking at your original boot.ini
2-i have an empty partition do its a logical partition and do i have to convert it into a primary partition b4 installing or should i install straightaway either 2k or xp on to it???
Theres no need to do anything. However, its better if you delete the partition first. The installer will detect the unallocated space and partition it as it finds appropriate.
3- Ok, although this question was asked to Whistler.. I hope you guys don't mind me answering this first
VMware and MS Virtual PC are virtualization softwares. Its like a computer within a computer. In simple terms, these programs emulate an entire computer. So you can have virtual hardware, etc and the program behaves just like a real computer does, ie- it has a BIOS, has a virtual HDD that requires formatiing and installation of an OS, etc, all this running in your real comp simultaneously. The applications are many- for instance, you can have 2k, xp etc running simultaneously at the same time, in totally different environments. (No reboots, partitioning, etc). Plus the Virtual machine is a totally controlled environment, so if anything goes bad in the VPC, it wont affect your real comp. For instance, if you got some virus and want to test it out, you can try it in a virtual machine and watch the effects without your real comp getting affected. Plus you can always undo or reverse the changes you have done to your virtual comp
Of course, running a virtual comp will take a slight performance hit, but the speed depends on the kind of hardware you have. A minimum of 256 MB ram is required in most cases.
Check this screenshot, for eg. (Click to enlarge)
*www.vmware.com/products/desktop/img/ws4_small3.gif
As you can see, Redhat8 and W2K are running simultaneously in Windows XP
For more info, visit:
*www.vmware.com
*www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc/default.mspx
*img62.photobucket.com/albums/v189/dextersgenius/signature1.gif