Windows 9x operating systems, as we all know, can render
themselves non-functional on very short notice. Safe mode can
be useful, if your needs are limited, if things aren't too
far gone, and if you like strobe lights. Also, full and
proper reinstallations can be a tedious and time consuming
proposition, even with all of the right manuals and software
at one's fingertips. Fortunately, there's an easy solution to
this problem. All that one needs, the next time (say) that
a laptop goes bananas away from home, is a back-up OS or two.

The easiest and simplest way to go about giving your PC
at least one extra personality is to scare up a fairly recent
version of DOS and install it in tandem with W9x, sharing the
same partition on the same drive. All this entails is the
creation and filling of a good old DOS directory, and the
placement of the usual system and configuration files in the
root directory. The OS can be made to boot from the boot
menu, with a bit of tweaking, or off of a system disk
specific to the DOS version in use.

The more adventuresome might want to layer in a version of
either UMSDOS or loop Linux, that is, Linux that can run out
of a directory on a DOS/Windows file system. There are
numerous variants, including Zipslack, Dragon, Pygmy, and DOS
Linuxes, many based upon the Slackware distribution. These
can be installed in the same partition as W9x and DOS, and
usually take up less than 100 megs, without a GUI. Booting
can be accomplished in all sorts of ways; the simplest is
to make use of the DOS boot batch file that usually comes as
a part of the distro. Even if both the W9x and DOS operating
systems are down, the Linux OS can be booted from its own
disk or practically any DOS/Windows system disk. Also, these
distributions are a straightforward introduction to console
Linux, and can be downloaded for free from numerous sources.

My own experience has been with Zipslack 3.9, DOS 6.2 and
W95, all coexisting in the same partitions on a P100 IBM
notebook and a P200 desktop clone. On the notebook, the
advanced power management refuses to co-operate with the
Linux, and the pcmcia card is lost to DOS 6.2, but everything
else works quite well. With a bit of care, I can multitask back
and forth between DOS and Linux apps by running a virtual DOS
environment within Linux. On the desktop, the combo has been
completely seamless, at least so far.

DOS is much better than console Linux at dealing with
graphical material, and there is such an astounding wealth of
software available for the former OS from all sorts of
sources, including computer stores, garage sales, thrift
shops, and, of course, online. Linux, on the other hand, is
an accomplished multitasker and communicator, and a fun way
of getting right down to the real nitty gritty of computing,
but without a really wide assortment of available
applications, at least as of yet. Like a good couple, these
two tend to compensate well for one another's deficiencies;
in tandem, they're dynamite!

Since all three operating systems can share a root directory
in a common file system, both Linux and DOS can very readily
be used to extract files from a totally inoperable W9x
system. These can then be dealt with on a PC with its W9x OS
in full working order, handled within a back-up OS if possible,
or reinserted after a reinstallation. When the W95 OS on my
cdrom-less laptop finally needs to be born again, I'm going to
try to bring in the installation software from my desktop with
the handy interlink program in DOS 6.2. And if I ever get
around to linking up my two computers with Linux, I'll have
another solution to the limitations imposed by the old 8.3
file name problem. The potential for "mutual co-operation"
is quite large.

A back-up system can be anything from a boot disk with a
few handy little utilities on it to a couple of full-functioned
OSs. Depending upon the needs of the user, deciding on the
right point on this continuum and getting to it can be an
enjoyable and useful computing experience. And then, like the
proverbial scout or guide, you'll be prepared.

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