Linda Proulx wrote in a message to Jack Stein:

 JS> that I use is a primary, so it is C: and I can't mess with my WIN95
 JS> partition when booted to OS/2.  If I were to do it over, I would
 JS> probably change both OS/2 partition so I could have access to my WIN95
 JS> partition at all times.

 LP> How would this be done.  May have to install it later.

You say all your partitions are primary partitions.  I don't know how they can 
all be read concurrently as DOS and OS/2 normally assign primary partitions
the drive letter C:, and only one can be seen at a time.  

Anyway, I currently have 2 primary partitions, both given the c: drive letter. 
If I boot to WIN95, it cannot see my other C: primary partition, which is also 
C:,  but missing when WIN95 is booted.  

When I boot OS/2 from my other C: partition, it cannot see the WIN95 C:
partition.  When I boot OS/2 from my D: logical partition, it CAN see ONE of
the C: partitions, normally the C: os/2 primary partition, which is usually
the active primary partition.  Had I made ALL my OS/2 boot partitions logical, 
then, I would only have one C: partition, which would always be the WIN95
partition, and I would always have full access to that partition when running
OS/2.  WIN would never see my OS/2 boot partitions because they are HPFS,
which would be fine with me.  (there are filters available that allow WIN to
read HPFS partitions I believe.  I keep most of my WIN95 non-system files on a 
logical FAT partitions, and OS/2 can access them at all times, so, it is
really not a big problem.   It generally bothers me only if I'm reading
something about a WIN95 configuration issue, and I can't take a look and see
what _I_ have set up in my WIN system.  This is so rare it is not very
important to me, but it has happened once or twice.  I boot WIN95 rarely, and
use it almost exclusively for working on my WEB page at work, which I have
duplicated on my home WIN95 system.  Mainly, I have a graphics photoshop
application some one gave me that runs only on WIN95, so I boot WIN95 when I
wish to create a graphic for my Web page.  

 JS> I would still install 3 boot partitions.  Make 2 OS/2 partitions, and
 JS> install OS/2 in both of them.  Make one the one you generally use, and
 JS> one a copy of that.  If you screw up one, you always have the other,

 LP> LOVE that idea.

It is a good idea, although I never had to use the thing for anything.  I have 
a one (and a two) OS/2 boot disk that I use if I need to boot from other than
my main boot partition, and that has been needed maybe twice in 9 years, only
when I screwed up something in config.sys to the extent the system won't boot.
I plan on installing Linux on that partition one of these days, who knows...

 JS> Understood.  Use your second drive to back up your first.  Then, your
 JS> first drive is free for you to FDISK and generally mess around with.
 JS> Make sure you understand how the drive letters will look when you are
 JS> finished.  The big issue here is whether your second drive has a
 JS> primary partition on it or not.  If it does, it will be D:, not matter

 LP> Actually all drive partitions are set up as primary drives. 
 LP> Long story, but done.

Your on your own on that one.  Never heard of anyone doing that, nor do I know 
how it works with concurrently active C: drives.  I don't believe you can
change it without losing all data on the drives.  If it were me, I would zip
up all the important stuff on one partition, copy it to anyother, and change
them to logical, with one, or possibly 2 primaries on the first drive, then
unzip them back after the change.  I'm not saying to do that, as I don't know
what you are doing, or why.

 JS> people when Y2K blows up a lot of old FIDO software.  A lot of sysops
 JS> are going to disappear into the night I'm afraid.

 LP> I really hope not.  Some are Y2King I know.

It might be OK, particularly for OS/2 as lots of OS/2 sysops are running OS/2
software rather than DOS BBS's.  I'm one that has been running a DOS bbs under 
OS/2, and it is VERY old, and not updated since the late '80's.  It runs
perfect under OS/2 though, so good in fact, I haven't messed with it in quite
a few years, enough that I've forgotten most of what I need to know to get
things moved over to another system.  Particularly since I have REXX and GAWK
scripts doing all sorts of logging stuff that will take a LOT of work to
change over to another system.  Not sure I feel like doing all that again. 
Hopefully, enough of FIDO will be left to keep things going.  

I feel semi-confidant that FIDO will take a BIG hit, but if it stays around a
while, it will start to grow after Y2K, it won't continue to shrink if it
survives.  Thats my biggest motivation to get things working, mainly to help
keep it alive, rather than help kill it:-)
                                              Jack 
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