[Nelug] Linux Newbie

[Andrew Hatch]

Have you made sure that your XP disk is the first device to boot?  This is a BIOS setting.  What might have happened is that your 2nd disk is actually first in the boot list, but hasn't had a bootloader, so BIOS has happily used the XP bootloader.  Now that the 2nd (linux) disk has a bootloader, it might be using that as default?

A route I might take to get things working:

1. Ensure boot order is correct, i.e. Disk 1 then Disk 2
2. Boot from XP cd and re-install MBR (I've only done this with Win2k - just boot from CD, select recovery console in the menu system, then 'login', then use the 'mbr' command).
3. Ensure XP now boots (i.e. to Disk1) without problem.
4. Begin Linux installation, ensure both Disk1 and Disk2 have the 'bootable' flag set.
5. Install bootloader to MBR of disk 1 (i.e. the first bootable drive)
5. Make sure that Grub adds both XP and linux disks to boot menu.  This automagically happens when I install Debian.

Hope that helps,

A

-----Original Message-----
From: nelug-bounces at mailman.lug.org.uk
[mailto:nelug-bounces at mailman.lug.org.uk]On Behalf Of A E Pear
Sent: 02 November 2004 20:07
To: North East Linux User Group mailing list
Subject: Re: [Nelug] Linux Newbie


Hi Chris
I have been running SUSE on a dual boot with Win98SE.  Afraid I can not
comment on XP. I have Windows on one drive and Linux on a second drive.  I
select which OS I boot into by selecting the drive boot order in the BIOS
and forgetting about any boot loader in Linux.  Works OK but Windows does
not see the Linux disc and vice verca.

Alan
----- Original Message -----
From: <c.w.hanning at durham.ac.uk>
To: <nelug at mailman.lug.org.uk>
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 8:28 PM
Subject: [Nelug] Linux Newbie


Hi there,
Variosu people have recomened linux to me over the past year or so and I
finally decided to take the plunge. I'm a complete programming/linux/unix
newbie who's decided to break out of the Micro$oft bubble. Having said that,
I still want to have Windows on my PC since I have various things that only
run under windows (various scientific thingys, I'm a chemistry student here
in Durham). Now my problem, I've installed SuSE personal edition 9.1 on my
2nd hard drive, but now I can't boot Windows XP from my first hard drive, I
just get a message saying "missing operating system". I've tried
reinstallign XP from CD but with no luck, so at the moment I can only get
SuSE to run. Does anyone have any idiot-proof suggestions of how to get
windows working again?

Cheers in advance folks,
Chris Hanning

PS Hopefully I'll be at your next meeting in November.

_______________________________________________
Nelug mailing list
Nelug at mailman.lug.org.uk
http://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/nelug


_______________________________________________
Nelug mailing list
Nelug at mailman.lug.org.uk
http://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/nelug