hi
i got one problem.i have 2 Hard disk one is of 80GB & other is 20 GB.now in 20 GB i have install Linux and it is secondary one.in 80 Gb i had made it primary and it is for windows only.now the question is i have already installed linux quite long ago, the thing is i just need the MBR to write in the primary hard disk (i.e. windows).if i replace the 20 gb h/d and made it primary then it solve my problem but i want the above said way.i am not good at windows.

can u help me out?

cheers in advance.

what bootloader is installed in your linux system? i think it's a bit easier if you'll set the linux disk in its original position (ie it you installed it being a primary master, use it now as primary master) that way you won't get your moun points messed up. with this, you'd be able to boot windows as if it was the primary master via GRUB's device mapping feature (haven't done that with lilo before. )

Similar problem, different question - Whenusing two drives and grub, do those drives have to be the same physical size to prevent disk architecture problems?

I have :
root@vulcan ~]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/hda: 81.9 GB, 81964302336 bytes
16 heads, 63 sectors/track, 158816 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 1008 * 512 = 516096 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 203 102280+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda2 204 158816 79940952 8e Linux LVM

Disk /dev/hdb: 40.0 GB, 40027029504 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4866 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdb1 * 1 13 104391 83 Linux
/dev/hdb2 14 4866 38981722+ 8e Linux LVM

hd (0,0) has FC3 and will boot standalone.
hd (1,0) has FC4 and wiil boot standalone.
When I attempt to finagle grub into loading either from a menu, and from hd (0,0) I get an Error # 15 - file not found when FC4 is selected, though FC3 still boots.
I have read all the grub forum posts that aappeared as though the even might apply, and what I got from that is mostly cconfused......
I am not a total linux newbie, but I am a total grub newbie, and maybe a grub idiot to boot ......
I know there is a problem dual booting Win NTFS OS and FC3 (at least) because of the different way the FAT is set up causing the boot loader to look for partition 1 in the wrong place (one reads CHS the other reads LBA)
It my case, both drives are set as LBA, but the first track count is radically different between them , even though the byte count is similar.
Suggestiong please, and not too deeply technical, if yyou will -
Thanks in advance

hi
born4linux,

i have grub bootldr.
pls tell me syntax how to write in the grub?
and pls let me know.it will be great help from your side.
pls tell me line by line syntax.

cheers
maulik.

For Maulik, and to share what I learned workingout the grub problem for multiple drives, and using different versions of Fedora Core:

I think what I have now is a sor of modified chainloader; I started with three different disks with three different FC releases (2,3 &4) on them - all had had grub installed as a part of the OS installs, which was part of the problem - none of hte instructions I found considered that anyone would start from there, apparently.

The grub manual was of little value in this - I got more help from an online tutorial that ws a good deal less technical and a good deal more informative - didn't have to drudge through 40 pages of stuff I didn't need to get one piece Icould use.
my primary grub.conf now reads
# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE: You have a /boot partition. This means that
# all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
# root (hd1,0)
# kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/VolGroup01/LogVol00
# initrd /initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/hdb1
default=0
timeout=10
splashimage=(hd1,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
title Fedora Core 4 (2.6.12-1.1398_FC4)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.12-1.1398_FC4 ro root=/dev/VolGroup01/LogVol00 rhgbquiet
initrd /initrd-2.6.12-1.1398_FC4.img

title Fedora Core 3 (2.6.12-1.1372_FC3)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.12-1.1372_FC3 ro root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00 rhgbquiet
initrd /initrd-2.6.12-1.1372_FC3.img
boot /grub

title Fedora Core 2 (2.6.10-1.771_FC2)
root (hd2,0)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.10-1.771_FC2 ro root=/dev/hdc2
initrd /initrd-2.6.10-1.771_FC2.img
boot /grub
the trick was to tell it to "boot /grub" -
using the grub manual and one tutorial, I could get close but I kept getting a kernel panic at the end, because the chainloader+ apparently started at the wrong place to read everything that was needed to boot properly.

grub was very advantageous in determining the root, vmlinuz and initrd identities, and it goes like a house afire now -
Also. it doesn't matter which disk is set into which physical location (hd0, hd1, or hd2) so long as the location of the boot information stys with the correct drive.
I don't know if this will solve your problem, Maulik, but it will let you see one grub.conf that works for me.

The tutorial that I found useful was:
http://linuxplanet.linuxplanet/tutorials then search for 'Getting some GRUB for Linux"
Ciao