THO,

I think the problem with the program, why it is dieing, is it expects to read all of its data files, as a DOS file system Which means that if it is being emulated, it won't work.

I tried, and failed - almost thought I scrambled my whole Knoppix install - to create a DOS partition using qtparted. I booted to the CD, tried running qtparted, and thought that what I wanted to do was: 1) decrease the size of my Linux Swap (2.0gig), down to 500meg, and 2) insert a DOS partition of the available free space from resizing the Swap (1.5gig)

Qtparted seemed to go through all the motions, but the displays never changed to the values I was tring to set them too. i.e. Linux Swap never changed from 1.999gig down to 500meg. And then I couldn't figure out how to "insert" a new partition. After I thought I screwed up my complete hard drive install of Knoppix, I quit qtparted, and tried to reboot into Linux, fortunately, I didn't do anything that messed around with Knoppix, and it booted fine. But all the partitions are the same as they were, no changes.

Problem is that inside qtparted, my hda reports that I have my first partition as Linux Ext3, as the primary and hda1, then hda2 as a secondard, and under -=- indented -=- I have hda5 as my Linux Swap. I tried to resize the Swap, and it didn't change, and I tried to resize the secondard (which has the swap under it), and it didn't work. I don't want to resize the EXT3 partition, if at all possible, I would want to increase it, considering that "it" is my main file system for Linux. It just won't work.

My above attempt was to gain a partition that I could make into a FAT or VFAT partitioned drive, and load a "striped down" Win98 into it. Then load my ISYS program onto the VFAT partition, and possibly run the ISYS program directly from Wine. But, I am seriously affraid of screwing up my Linux install. Not to mention, wouldn't LILO go haywire when I get another OS installed without it being setup for it???? In essence, I am installing Windoze AFTER installing Knoppix, which is kinda the "reverse" of the normal order.

I looked at DOSEmu, and got completely lost - before getting the program - I looked at its install and HOWTO - and about half way through the documentation, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, or how I was going to do it. So, I bailed out.

I think what the problem is, is, Linux is too powerful for a little small town girl like me. I can get it to run, and I can get around in it, enough to do somethings, but, when it comes down to doing stuff like this, I think I should have just stuck with (yuck, puke) Windows. As someone said in another post, Windows does everything for you, you don't have to deal with CFDisk, or QTParted, or having to work out your Linux and Swap partitions, or even if you didn't realize that, maybe, you should have kept a small partition for Windows, or the size of the Swap isn't right, etc... ( this is being said as a "true blue" noob, here )

And, when I look in these Forums, all I see is my noob questions, and my need to be "hand holded" through stuff that "I KNOW" how to do in Windows, and am completely lost doing here in Linux. I am getting better, I have setup new users, groups, configurations, done updates and upgrades, and installed numerous packages. But, stuff like this, is what drags me down. It should work, but it doesn't, and when I think I have a direction for resolving it, I can't do it. I know they have "on-the-fly" partition managers, used a few, with extreme scariedness, in WinNT. But, this is scary stuff. I have only been running for just under two months, completely, on Linux. I could easily scrub my hard drive, repartition it again, the RIGHT way, and then go back through everything all over again - but - what am I going to do after I have been running more likely in years? Reformat, and reinstall? Not a good option, and not something that should need to be done.

So,
I guess what I need is: Why did QTParted seem to go through the motions of resizing a partition, and not do anything? How do I resize the Swap down to 500meg, considering that in QTParted, my swap resides under a SECONDARY partition, do I resize the SWAP part, or the SECONDARY part? How do I "add" a DOS/WIN partition after gaining the space from the resize of the Swap? How do I get that partition setup as a Win drive, and still keep LILO from blowing away my "real" boot into Linux?

I hope my thinking is going somewhere here, my theory is: If Wine won't work with the above, I can possibly setup LILO (later) to boot to the WinOS partition, and get the program working that way. (am I getting better here?)

Thanks to all, for past, current, and future assistance. ( I don't want to give up my Linux )
Cuddles