Right,
Im new to Linux.
I had XP installed on my 120GB hard drive.
I had C: (sda1), D: (sda5): and G: (sda2)
XP was on D: (sda5), SuSE 8.2 is on what would be C: (sda1) I also have sda 2 which was for other files.. (not so important)

Right so I installed linux and I know XP is still there because when I put the XP cd in on start up, it has a partition still named XP.

Basically I want to be able to access XP, as I need to mirgrate files and other things over to Linux (because Linux is way way better )

I have been trying to read how you set up a boot partition and set up LILO or GRUB but I dont understand them and the commands I dont seem to get to work.. (I checked in YaST2 and LILO is installed but no commands will access it for some reason..

Maybe I am putting the commands in, in the wrong place..

Anyways anyone that can help me set it up, I would be very grateful...

Cheers
Ben

Post ur /etc/lilo.conf please

when I go in "run command..." and type /etc/lilo.conf I get nothing and when I manually search for it, it is not there...

but if I type /ect/grub.conf I get
root (hd0,0)
install --stage2=/boot/grub/stage2 /boot/grub/stage1 d (hd0) /boot/grub/stage2 0x8000 (hd0,0)/boot/grub/menu.lst
quit

bump

really need to be fully functional with all files for Thursday.. HELP PLEASE..

then u must be using GRUB

add this to /etc/grub.conf

right what about for XP.. SO ALL I HAVE TO DO is change the conf, no partitioning or anything?

adding this:

# For booting Windows NT or Windows95
title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1
# For loading DOS if Windows NT is installed
# chainload /bootsect.dos

didnt do anything (added with root so I could save)

also I want to get at XP.. argh im going to be working late on this..

To confirm again, so partitions or anything are needed right??

So my grub.conf reads:

root (hd0,0)
install --stage2=/boot/grub/stage2 /boot/grub/stage1 d (hd0) /boot/grub/stage2 0x8000 (hd0,0)/boot/grub/menu.lst
# For booting Windows NT or Windows95
title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1
# For loading DOS if Windows NT is installed
# chainload /bootsect.dos
quit

If you really need to get at Windows and have yet to properly configure GRUB then you could at least access the files through /mnt/windows (Suse should have ntfs file system support, although it may be mounted in a different place - just look for something like that) or if you need to be able to boot into Windows you could make a boot disk.

To make a simple Windows XP boot disk you need to copy the following files from your root directory (usually C:\ - or if you're accesing them from the linux side /mnt/windows) to a floppy diskette:
ntldr
NTDETECT.COM
boot.ini

Restart your computer with the floppy diskette in your disk drive.

At least this way you can still boot your Windows installation until you work the kinks out of GRUB.

Remember to post back if this works and include any other info poignant to your solution so others can benefit from your experience

the is a /mnt/ but no /mnt/windows.. the folder is empty..! help.. also would like proper access so can some1 just sell me how my grub should be - please!

in suse, it must be /windows/c,d....

huh, what do you mean?

there is no /windows..

there is a /mnt/ but its empty..!

argh.. can you just tell me the correct conf of grub to let me choose between SuSE and XP.. please

dude urs is sda, not hda , so the entries in grub might have to be scd0 or something ???

hey Linux GURUS, this man really needs help urgently !!!
HELP HIM!!!

anyone else out there that can help me..

btw thanks for trying to help vinay_s_s

Tell me if this is correct:

1. XP was originally installed on a single hard drive that was divided into three partitions; the C: drive (/dev/sda1) and D: (/dev/sda5) and G: (/dev/sda2).
2. Suse is now installed in /dev/sda1.
3. You want to access data in D: (/dev/sda5) and/or G: (/dev/sda2)
4. Ultimately you want to set up a dual boot between XP and Suse.

If the above is correct, here are my comments:

A. If you installed Suse into the same partition that previously held the XP C: drive, meaning /dev/sda1, then anything in C: has been overwritten. Since C: is the default location for XP, I suspect you may have wiped out your XP system files (unless you explicitly installed XP to the D: or G: drive)
B. If that is true, you won't be able to set up a dual boot, because XP is no longer on that machine.
C. That may be bad news, but the good news is that any data on D: and G: will still be accessible. What you'll need to do is to create a new "mountpoint" and then manually mount that partition to it. To illustrate:
* Create the mountpoint by running (as root): mkdir /mnt/old_d_drive
* Mount the partition holding the D: drive to your new mountpoint: mount /dev/sda5 /mnt/old_d_drive
* Confirm that it worked: ls -l /mnt/old_d_drive
* If so, copy the files of interest over to wherever you want to put them. Note that you can do the exact same thing with the G: drive too.

Hopefully that should solve the short term problem of accessing the data. As far as setting up this machine as a dual boot, that's a task for another day. You definitely will have to reinstall XP, in addition to possibly reinstalling Suse too, and then configuring your LILO or GRUB. Again, all of this post is based on the assumptions I made at the top. If they are incorrect then the following comments should be disregarded. Good luck with it either way -- J.W.

the problem is despite what drive you install Windows on, it puts it's boot information on C:
eg. boot.ini io.sys etc.

so when you installed linux you lost this.

I'm unsure the best method to dual-boot linux and XP

from experience XP aslways needs to be the last OS installed, as it automatically sets up the dual boot menu etc. If XP is on first you have to mess around a bit and repair the boot.ini - unsure if linux can be installed second using this method.

check out radified.com - he has very good/in depth install procedure for XP, dual/multi boot OS and a partitioning strategy guide as well as a few other guides. it will have the best way to get XP and linux going.

No.

It's possible to install Linux first and then install XP, but it is MUCH, MUCH easier to install Windows first, then Linux. The reason for this is that the Windows installation procedure overwrites the MBR, and if that's where you've installed lilo, you'll lose the dual boot function (or, at least you can reinstall it). -- J.W.