[Lancaster] lancasterlug.org.uk: Advice needed

[Ken Hough]

On Monday 19 July 2010 15:59:00 mp wrote:
> On 19/07/10 15:29, Ken Hough wrote:
> > 2. If, as many people do to start with, you decide to go for a dual
> > booting setup with Windows and Linux, I strongly recommend one change
> > from the default setup that Ubuntu and other Linux distros provide.
> >
> > During the default setup procedure Ubuntu will place the dual boot info
> > in the master boot sector of the hard drive. Should this ever get screwed
> > up you may well loose access to your Microsoft system.
> >
> > Better to place the dual boot info on the boot record of a primary Linux
> > partition and then set that partition as the active partition. If you
> > later decide that you wish to remove Linux, or that system should become
> > corrupted, it will be necessary only to reset the Windows partition to be
> > the active/boot partition. I learned the value of doing this some years
> > ago as the result of practical/disasterous experiences.
>
> It is - if you have a Windows CD - very easy to rebuild the Master Boot
> Record for Windows - one single command:
>
> fixmbr

True! But what if the Windows disc gets lost?
IMHO, much better not to risk the problem in the first place.

Ken Hough

>
> See:
> http://helpdeskgeek.com/how-to/fix-mbr-xp-vista/
> http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/repairmbr.htm
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_boot_record#Editing.2FReplacing_MBR_Con
>tents
>
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