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Linux screwed my XP bootup

Re-install XP on the original partition. This will wipe out the Linux boot loader - either lilo or grub - so you will then have to re-install, or at least repair, the Linux installation.

Don't let either installation re-partition the disks, or erase anything, as they seem to like to do - unless you have screwed up on a larger scale than is evident from your post, this won't be necessary.

Both the distributions I've used - SuSE and Mandrake (now Novell and Mandriva) automatically check for the presence of a Windows boot loader, and - if one were found - both the Linux booat loaders I've worked with (lilo and grub) would then offer you a windows option at log-on.

What sort of crap installer are you using that managed to over-write the XP boot loader?

For more detail try

formatting link

------------ Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

Reply to
bill.sloman
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Two HDDs, one with XP and other with Linux. I appear to have overwritten the boot stuff on the XP with Linux code. How can I recover? Any ideas?

Dirk

Reply to
Dirk Bruere

Boot with your windows cd and use the recovery console to rewrite the mbr, and possibly the boot.ini, lots of info on google, try it first with only one drive conected so it is easier to understand. You could also try wth

formatting link
if you know what you want to do, i.e set drive bootable, hide-unhide partition, etc.

Best Regards

--
Steve Sousa
Reply to
Steve Sousa

The one that came with Suse. The dual boot feature which was default didn't work at all for the XP HDD. The best I could get out of it was GRUB> prompt which wanted me to give it some info. Tried everything I could think of and it did nothing so I had to boot from Linux disc and mess about, which is where I did something wrong.

Dirk

Reply to
Dirk Bruere

The ultimate Windoze repair tool is a specialized Linux distro: http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:h06Vwev9NnUJ:lists.debian.org/debian-knoppix/2004/05/msg00195.html+*-pcministry-*+EBCD+*-*-MBR

Reply to
JeffM

I let XP put its things in the MBR, and then I made a file using the dd command under linuz, and this file had to be copied onto a FAT partition so that I could subsequently see it from XP to copy it as boot.ini in the root directory of the XP partition, and I installed GRUB in its own linux boot partition somewhere. I found the instructions for doing this using google, though I can't remember enough details to help you more. In the end it works fine.

If you have the opportunity, you might want to take an image of your drives now using Ghost or similar, before you attempt to repair things. At least then you can get back to where you are now.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Jones

Seems what I need to do is restore NTLDR to the MBR I've got a piece of shareware to make a bootable repair disc, but since it's a Windows prog I'm going to need a second computer to burn it.

Dirk

Reply to
Dirk Bruere

Which linux distribution? What boot manager (lilo or grub?) Try comp.os.linux.setup

Reply to
AZ Nomad

Most linux distro's have a utility to restore the windows mbr. Boot the CD; hit F1 for options; usually 'rescue' to get the rescue menu. Select 'restore windows mbr'.

Reply to
AZ Nomad

read this:

formatting link

In particular: [...] 3. Solution.

Insert an XP installation CD and enter setup mode. Choose the recovery option and boot to the DOS command line. Execute the command "FIXMBR" and reboot. The "FIXMBR" command re-initializes the MBR with NTLDR. The LILO(select Os) screen no longer appears and the PC boots straight into windows. The linux partitions appear in XP disk manager as "unknown.[...]

I've never tried this, but it should work.

--Mac

Reply to
Mac

Up to Win2k a "fdisk /mbr" will do.

robert

Reply to
Robert Latest

The situation now: I have XP working on the XP disc I have Linux working on the Linux disc However, neither will work when both discs are connected. Ideas?

--
Dirk

The Consensus:-
The political party for the new millenium
http://www.theconsensus.org
Reply to
Dirk Bruere at Neopax

I read in sci.electronics.design that Dirk Bruere at Neopax wrote (in ) about 'Linux screwed my XP bootup', on Sat, 5 Nov 2005:

Are there still Master/Slave settings for HDDs? I know the PC people wanted to ban them.

--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
If everything has been designed, a god designed evolution by natural selection.
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk
Reply to
John Woodgate

Don't connect the XP disk, then. :)

--

John Devereux
Reply to
John Devereux

Well, I'm not going to throw away 40GB of prog and data just so I can run one program.

--
Dirk

The Consensus:-
The political party for the new millenium
http://www.theconsensus.org
Reply to
Dirk Bruere at Neopax

In this context, it's not clear what you mean by PC, but I think you mean politically correct. I think you are referring to the effort to ban the use of those terms? Wasn't that just in one county in southern California or something? I don't imagine that ever gained any traction, did it?

On the other hand, maybe you DO mean "personal computer." I wouldn't mind if they found some way to ditch master slave settings forever! I guess SATA will get us there if nothing else does.

--Mac

Reply to
Mac

Oh. You have two disks. I missed that on the first reading. So let me get this straight:

There is a way to set up a working Windows configuration with the linux disk un-attached.

If you start with this, and add the linux disk, it no longer works (meaning that neither OS boots)? Very strange.

Can you please specify how the disks are hooked up (primary vs secondary IDE, master slave?)

Is there also a CDROM? How is it hooked up?

Finally, what does the BIOS see as far as drives?

I am quite sure there is a solution to your problem.

--Mac

Reply to
Mac

I know, I was being facetious!

Sorry to hear you had problem. Whenever I have installed a linux distribution, the existing Windows installation ends up as another entry in the linux boot menu.

Did you check the master/slave setup as was suggested? It sounds like the linux disk, when connected, might be changing the drive order / boot priority of the drives. This should not normally happen if you have windows on the master C: and linux on the slave (might be D: as seen from windows).

You should be able to configure the bootloader that came with the linux distribution, so that it can boot either the linux or the windows disc. Sorry, I am not familiar with your distribution or your setup, so cannot help much.

--

John Devereux
Reply to
John Devereux

First, I'd have to know what "both discs are connected" means. I have three drives in my computer, partitioned into logical volumes, that in Linux I mount as needed, and in Windows 2000, all of the FAT and NTFS drives just show up.

When I install Linux, I get to the boot part, and usually do the "install LILO automatically", and if that doesn't work, I try the "install to MBR" and then the "Install to boot sector", and usually by that time I have a LILO that will boot either system - it gives me a menu.

When you do this, however, both drives must be plugged in simultaneously, so that the liloconfig program can find them and all that.

This is Slackware - I have 10.2 going right now, but that procedure has worked since at least 9.something a few years ago.

Cheers! Rich

Reply to
Rich, Under the Affluence

It's interesting, sometimes, to note what sort of things push people's buttons. ;-P

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Pig Bladder

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