Dual boot gone wrong!

Onethenumber2 · Post by **Onethenumber2** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 8:09 pm

So here I was instaling linux for the first time as happy as could be.

I was looking to dual boot it on my 60 gig WD HDD. 40 gigs for windows XP pro and 20 for Mandrake 9.0 right? so I get mandrake all up and running and thats all fine and dandy but the LILO prompt didnt have a windows option. So I tried to add a windows option but it kept not liking it. Well I thought, I'll just use the windows loader. So I grabbed my trusty WIN XP boot disk and plugged in A:\>fdisk/mbr

Problem solved I thought. Not so. So then I put in my WIN XP CD and got into recovery console. Got a C:\windows> prompt and plugged in bootcfg /add. Well then it came up with the one windows installation, I selected that, it came up with Installation name and I put in Windows XP Professional and it came up with Load OS options and I left that blank just like microsoft.com said to. But I could never get things to work.

So I want to Dual boot Windows XP and Linux both are already installed but I have no boot loader apparently. I NEED to get into XP Linux is optional as I was just messing around.

The Error reads Error:Failed to add selected entry to bootlist

Thanks a million for any help

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 8:29 pm

Can you boot into linux? If so, download and install Grub.

Onethenumber2 · Post by **Onethenumber2** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 8:57 pm

nope it just gives a flashing underscore thing in the top left hand corner

Norm · Post by **Norm** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 9:20 pm

Recov console

fixmbr
bootcfg

Onethenumber2 · Post by **Onethenumber2** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 10:27 pm

what exactly will that do/

Onethenumber2 · Post by **Onethenumber2** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 10:47 pm

did that and got the same error hope my data is ok!

Onethenumber2 · Post by **Onethenumber2** » Thu Mar 04, 2004 10:48 pm

would a 3rd party boot ap help in this situation?

Joel · Post by **Joel** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 1:04 am

Originally posted by Onethenumber2
would a 3rd party boot ap help in this situation?

That's what GRUB is, a third party boot manager.

Well, there is always the long way around things, kind of a fail safe if you would. You could always instal a fresh copy of windows onto the linux partition. After you got all the boot up things sorted out with the good version of windows you could delete the temporary windows in the 20gb partition.

That might take a few minutes to do, though. If you have to do that, you wouldnt have to instal 3rd party drivers as you'd only be using the temp windows instal to get the windows boot up manager.

[edit]Just read your sig and my OC 0wnz ü!!!1!1!

Onethenumber2 · Post by **Onethenumber2** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 2:12 pm

hmm then what would I do in the long run to get linux back? How can I instal Linux and keep useing the windows boot program?

That is a nice OC!

Joel · Post by **Joel** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 2:18 pm

I don't have much experience with Linux, but there should be an option to not instal LILO, then you could instal GRUB from Windows and use it.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 2:51 pm

I have dual booted XP and Linux a bit. I always find the best results by FAR when I give them each there own physical disk and when I want to switch, I just change the first boot in the bios. Since M$ uses there own wierd boot methods it makes it hard to have Windows and "real" OSes coincide peacefully...

Kyler1

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 3:30 pm

Your problem is that when you installed Linux, you installed Lilo in the master boot record. Should not have done that. Always install it in a boot partition.

1. Do as Norm instructed and fixmbr.
2. Download a Linux boot floppy and boot into linux.
3. download and install Grub.
4. Set up Grub to give a choice of operating systems at boot.
5. uninstall Lilo.

This guide is for Debian Grub but the Grub configuring is the same:
http://myrddin.org/howto/debian-grub.html

stevebakh · Post by **stevebakh** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 4:45 pm

With you being rather new to linux, I would recommend you stick with LILO because:

1) It's tried and tested with loads of support.

2) It uses the standard *nix/linux disk naming conventions - better for newb, less confusion.

3) It's super simple to configure.

If you can boot into your linux install (using a boot floppy you may have possibly created at installation time, or using a live disk and chrooting in - checkout knoppix) then open up the file located at /etc/lilo.conf in an editor and add the following lines:

Code: Select all

other=/dev/hdxx
label=WindowsXP

Substituting hdxx for the partition where windows is installed to. Most likely hda1.

You will then be able to reboot and select WindowsXP from the menu option.

If you decide you want to give linux another try in the future, I would recommend setting up at least 2 primary partitions. 1 for windows and and a second one (which you can divide up) for linux and it will be easier on you, if you install windows first.

Good luck.

Onethenumber2 · Post by **Onethenumber2** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 12:36 am

I will try useing a floppy to get into linux and then configure grub to let me boot into XP however I tired adding XP to the LILO boot list but it didnt work. Does grub have a site with instructions?

er nevermind ill try all this stuff first Thanks for the great tips!

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 7:33 am

This guide is for Debian Grub but the Grub configuring is the same:
http://myrddin.org/howto/debian-grub.html