WinXP + FC2. different problem this time

[rk29]

hi.

for some reason i installed FC2 first on the 2nd partition. it ran fine.
then i installed winxp on the 1st partition. it ran fine.

when i restarted, there was no option for starting linux ;_;

i know i didnt take the general approach of installing xp first and then linux..
is it the source of the problem?

how can it be fixed....is there an easy way? or do i need to reinstall fc2 (as well as preventing that oh-so-common dual boot bug, at the same time)?

[kbradl1]

There are many FAQs about this topic. You should always install windows first because it overwrites the boot loader of linux on installation.

To fix it you need to re-install grub. To do this boot into linux using the rescue CD and run grub-install /dev/hda. Then add the windows partition to your grub file. This is documented at http://home.nyc.rr.com/computertaijutsu/grub.html

[earobinson111]

im not sure but i beleave u can use the linux rescue (on fc2 d1) to fix the problem

[mohelgamal]

to avoid such a problem instead of using lilo or grub for dual booting you can use nt loader so if you installed xp again you can restore linux in ine minute it can be done easily by the folowing
1- install xp or if you want to triple boot with win 9x install that 1st then xp or w2k so you have a functioning nt loader

2- install any linux you want (it work for lilo and grub) but avoid writing to MBR but write it to the linux 1ry boot partition in fedora /redhat or the root in other linux

3-use either a boot disk to enter linux or better use a linux live cd ( you can download an iso less than 50mb and up to 700mb eg mandrake move and burn it to cd using windows-the bigger the version usually the easier it is also very useful in other aspects )

4- in linux of the live cd write the following command after changing the partition names( use the root account)

dd if=/dev/hdb1 of=/mnt/hda1/linux.bin bs=1024 count=1

( where hdb1 the partition that contain lilo or grub and the hda1 is your C: partition. the file must be present on C: or the partition windows it self use to boot)

5- under windows open a file on your C: partition called boot.ini (hidden system file so clear both marks in folder option window also remove the read only tag)

6- add the following line to its end

C:\linux.bin ="linux"

save the file and reboot the system

next time you will find a new item called linux clicking it will make you enter to lilo or grub where you select again bet windows and linux

for honesty this is not my invention it is a howto i found in many sites

have fun with linux i hope they add an option to do this in next releases of linux that automatically use the nt loader