Guest patrik1982 Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 I installed Mandrake and got about everything to work just fine. Since there are some windows software I need (Sibelius/Finale) I also need Windows to be installed. I know one should install windows first, cause then LILO can boot windows. But now it's too late... I installed Mandrake first... What is the easiest way to re-setup my dual boot config? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 (edited) I really only know two options. I'm not sure what version of Windows you are using, am assuming Windows XP. This is what you need to do: Boot from your Linux CD and press F1. Then type rescue and press enter. You want to rescue the LILO boot loader, or whichever one you had chosen to use in the first place. (or boot from the floppy, press F1 and then supply the CD1 and go from there). However, after it's rescued it you won't see Windows on the list of being able to boot. So boot Linux, and then System/Configuration/Configure your desktop/Boot/Boot Loader (I'm using KDE so I chose through here). You'll get the screen saying LILO graphical etc, etc, click Next. Click Add, then choose Other (Windows etc). Mine is on /dev/hda1, so choose the relevant partition. OK everything, and you'll now be able to dual boot again. If you have probs with that, I can only suggest load Windows first, then Linux Mandrake afterwards. Edited March 10, 2005 by ianw1974 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Couple of things to you both..... If you need to install windows after Mandrake, simply remove lilo by restoring the mbr, install windows (Do not allow it to format the entire drive) and then use the rescue mode to reinstall lilo. I always make a partition for windows to reside in prior to this proceedure. Also, windows needs to be in the first partition. Mandrake does not care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 I'm assuming this is the case because of the Windows/Linux multi-boot? I know that with Windows NT/2000/XP, the boot.ini controls the booting, and therefore is coded accordingly despite whether the partition is first on the disk, or two or three levels down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havin_it Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 My understanding of the partition issue is that Windows' boot code (the file 'ntldr') must come less than 8GB from the start of the drive. As for Linux 'not caring', I _thought_ it was a hardware, not OS issue. The instructions I used for setting up dual-boot told me to create a small Linux partition just after the MBR, and install the Linux boot code (/boot/vmlinuz) there, so as to solve the 'boot code boundary' issue. Admittedly, maybe this was bum/outdated info I found. Confirmation anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 I have always installed lilo to the mbr. I do not ever use a windows boot loader. Windows is not particularly friendly with other os's. Windows needs to be in control during its entire install process. If it detects another os, it will tell you the drive is corrupt. It must reside on the first partition of the master boot drive. Linux can reside on any partition on any drive and still boot. Again, I do not ever make a "linux" partition for boot purposes; I simply use lilo on the mbr. (Grub works too). The issues with windows is how it is written, not the hardware. The hardware doesn't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havin_it Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 So I could move /boot back into my main Linux partition at the end of the drive and scrap its old partition? Like kewl, dude! ...um, anyone know how to do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 I would not mess with it as long as everything is working. But for reference, linux does not need a seperate /boot partition. I have used over a dozen distros, and have never made a seperate /boot partition, even when SuSE told me to do so! B) Each distro on my machine has its own /boot folder, not a partition. /boot is part of /. I make seperate partitions for /usr and /home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garf Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 this might sound worng (tell me if it is) but what about just putting the mandrake cd's in and say upgrade current system? that way it wont replace newer packages with older ones (or will it?) and then it will write lilo an the end as it would on a fresh install Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 I would not mess with it as long as everything is working. But for reference, linux does not need a seperate /boot partition. I have used over a dozen distros, and have never made a seperate /boot partition, even when SuSE told me to do so! B) Each distro on my machine has its own /boot folder, not a partition. /boot is part of /. I make seperate partitions for /usr and /home. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Ix :) I've recently changed of Hd, got a BIG one, with /boot in the same partition as / and / at the end of the disk. That didn't booted ! When I used the rescue mode, LILO didn't complained but it just didn't booted on Linux, had a weird text screen with lines of L0 L0 L0 L0 or something like that. That remembered me something about a famous 1024 cylinder boundary (around 8 Gb), so I created a little /boot partition at around 8 Gb from the start of the disk and here we go, that works now. Quite confusing though, can somebody lighten us about this ? And now my old Win98 don't see the big FAT32 partition I created between the /boot and the / how to do ? Thanks, and cheers, long time I didn't posted here ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 garf You could do that but the rescue does install a fresh new lilo! No need to go thru all the trouble. Roland!! Long time no see!!!! I have installed linux on 120G harddrives with windows first, Mandrake or whatever later on the drive, and never used a boot partition. I even had a fat32 inbetween linuxes so that data could be shared between the os's. So, I don't have an explanation for what happened. I only know that I have never used a /boot partition. I think when I configured Gentoo, it was advised. But I installed Gentoo in a treminal from within Mandrake, and again just never seperated the /boot partition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 Ok thanks. Can it be due to a too old BIOS ? (I mean the fact that it refuse to boot for me if /boot is after the 8Gb boundary) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowator Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 Ok thanks. Can it be due to a too old BIOS ? (I mean the fact that it refuse to boot for me if /boot is after the 8Gb boundary) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey salut Roland.... So long as the MBR is used for the boot record you should be OK.... with the 8GB ... I think you probably just swtiched partitions.... Do you have a live Cd like knoppix? If so its always a good way to test which partition is which, if not you can use rescue mode on the MDK CD's.... you can use lsparts which sould list the parts in use on the disk and then mount them and see what's on-.--- I usually actually write it down on paper... saves problems later! Then find the / part of mandrake and mount it on say /tmp then chroot /tmp edit the lilo.conf in the /etc (now the one of the installed mandrake) make sure the paritions are correct especially the MDK one.. make sure the /etc/fstab is correct, especially /boot and its where its meant to be after rerun lilo (just lilo) and it should add them... so long as you can boot mandrake then you can fix windows :D bon chance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 Ok thanks. Can it be due to a too old BIOS ? (I mean the fact that it refuse to boot for me if /boot is after the 8Gb boundary) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> What Gowator said. And an older bios is a real problem. I think that is it. In the US, I use http://www.biosman.com in order to replace a bios i virtually any situation. I don't know how international shipping would affect their normally reasonable price of $25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland Posted March 19, 2005 Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 oops, already 7 days you posted and I didn't replied :blush: Salut Gowator, :) Well Like I've said, I solved my problem creating a tiny /boot partition below the 1024 cylinder limit, that's the only way I found and I'm quite sure I did the rest correctly. But well my mother board and Bios is an Acer crap I get I don't remember how for free and it's quite old. Now, my problem is to make my Win 98 able to see my big FAT 32 partition that is AFTER the /boot but I think you're a newby on Windows isn't it ? ;) I'll try to come more often I have a good memory of here but I can't help much and currently I'm not much interested on Linux: it just work.... ... well that's likely to change as there is a kid that use to connects to my PC via my ADSL connection each time my chilrens play on Windows. I don't care as all important thing I have are on Linux behind a descent firewall and can't be seen by this Windows intruder (well I guess??) but I would like to counter attack just for fun. But I have to lean everything May be a future thread .... P.S.: can you or Ix open the political thread for me ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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