Rick Grehan
I was at the beginning of a protracted development project that would require me to install several operating systems on a single PC. I knew I was going to need DOS/Windows, OS/2, and Windows NT, and probably Unix and NetWare as well.
My new C/C++ development platform--Watcom's C++ 10.0--could handle everything except Unix. But how would I manage all those partitions? System Commander from V Communications ($99.95, San Jose, CA, (408) 296-4224) provided an answer.
When you boot a PC with System Commander installed, a menu appears, displaying a list of the operating systems on your various partitions. The manual boasted that System Commander could handle up to 42 operating systems on one PC, which
was far more than I'd need.
When I installed the software, which was a quick-and-easy process, I had only a single DOS partition, so the menu held a lone entry. I next installed OS/2. Part of the OS/2 installation requires a reboot, during which System Commander popped up, told me I had just created an OS/2 partition, and asked me if I would like to add the new operating system to the menu. I told it ``yes,'' and everything proceeded nicely. The same thing happened when I installed my third partition, which held NT.
System Commander easily handles the three operating systems I now have installed, but its benefits don't stop there. It has built-in boot-record virus protection. Upon installation, System Commander makes a copy of the boot record, and if it later detects a virus in that record, it overwrites the infected version with the saved copy. Also, once your selected operating system is booted and active, System Commander completely removes itself from memory. No bits and pieces are left resi
dent.
You can also use System Commander to store multiple DOSes on a single partition. Suppose you wanted to install old reliable DOS 3.3 and DOS 6.x on the same partition and boot either operating system. No problem. System Commander saves the operating-system files in its own, hidden file. When you bring your machine up, each operating system appears on the menu. System Commander can even tolerate operating systems that destroy the boot record upon installation (according to the documentation, Japanese DOS/V 6 does this).
Though I have only three operating systems on my machine for now, more are on the way. I'm counting on System Commander to keep them in line.
Illustration: System Commander's menu displays a list of operating systems on your PC.
System Commander for Multiple Operating-System Projects
