Can not install Lilo hda

[Guest rowinter]

New to Linux, but this appears to be a strang problem.

 

Installed Linux on a secondary hard drive and attempted to put a Lilo boot record on hda. I also put the boot record on a floppy. What was installed was a non functioning Grub. I have tried everything to get rid of this MBR on hda (rewrite the MBR as a new Lilo, as a Windows Me MBR using Linux, Fdisk, eFdisk, and Maxtor software) but I can not get rid of bad MBR. I even replaced the hard drive, but mirrored the old one on the new one. Along came the bad MBR. I moved Linux to the new hard drive (hda), but this did not help.

 

I went into the Bios software and could find nothing that would prevent me from writing to the MBR (no password protection or virus software). Mandrake and Windows boot fine from the floppy, but I would prefer to boot from hda.

 

Any Ideas?

[feralertx]

Hi, have you tried the Mandrake Control Center?

 

MCC --> BOOT --> BOOT LOADER --> BOOT DEVICE --> according to what you said this is probably set to /dev/fd0 (floppy drive) so change it to /dev/hda.

 

Note: I have Mandrake set up in spanish so the option names may vary from the actual english ones.

 

P.S.: Oh and welcome to the forums !!

Edited October 23, 2004 by feralertx

[Guest rowinter]

Yes, I have changed the drive to hda. I make sure that I also write to a floppy, or I would not be able to boot. I should be able to over write the MBR on hda with Fdisk or another DOS program, but the MBR appears to be permenant.

 

This is not an esoteric motherboard, Matsonic MS8137C+, with a VIA chipset and Award Bios. I even tried to install Mr. Booter to over write the MBR.