deactivating a linux partition
 

Hello,

I have a dual boot system, windows 7 and fedora 17 on my laptop. I need to install service pack 1 on windows and it seems that I have to have only my windows partition activated.

My question is if I deactivate my linux partition, will I lose my data on it?

Thanks

What do you actually mean by activated? The bootable flag for a partition? If so I don't think it will. But if you mean setting up windows over your linux partition then it certainly would.

The Windows setup probably would overwrite grub in your mbr so you better be prepared with a live or setup disk to recover it.

Try to read some tutorials about setting up windows with linux online as well. Just google. It's better to be informed about it.

looking at the fact that windows cannot read linux partition, i don't think you need to worry

I don't see why you would want to deactivate your Linux partition to install a Windows service pack or update. I have had dual boot systems in the past and have never had any problem downloading and installing Windows updates etc. Do the instructions for downloading Windows service pack call for this??

This problem has been discussed in the web in early 2011, I just don't work with windows that is why I did not update it but now I need to install some software that need SP1.

If I go through the following procedure in windows, would I need a back up on what I have on linux?

1. Command Prompt.

2. diskpart

3. list disk

4. select disk #

5. list partition

6. select partition #

7. inactive

The procedure you describe is changing the partition boot flag that konsolebox mentioned.

Linux never uses that flag nor changes that flag (unless you specifically tell it to).

Windows always needs that flag set on its C: partition. After you installed Windows, that flag WAS set. If you did a normal Linux install after Windows, Linux never changed that flag, so it is still set only on the Windows C: partition, so clearing it on the Linux partition would be redundant. (So I don't believe you actually need to do the procedure you describe at all. I think you misunderstood the directions that told you that was needed. Do you have a URL for those? However, even though unnecessary, it likely does no harm.)

But, as konsolebox also mentioned, make sure you have bootable Linux external media (such as an install CD) and you know how to use that to reinstall the MBR portion of grub for an existing install of Linux.

Any significant maintenance operation in Windows might retake control of the MBR, so Linux is still there but no longer bootable. After that is done, you need to reinstall the MBR portion of grub.

Thanks for your helpful response.

I really don't have a specific URL as a clue, the procedure is just mentioned in a number of websites as the solution to get rid of error: 0x800f0a12, but I have not yet found any solid solution and the those offered by microsoft didn't help me.

One thing I have understood is that I should only have my windows partition activated so SP1 will get rid of that error and install.

I appreciate any help...

If you have a recovery partition in Windows 7 (which I expect you do) it is the recovery partition, not the C: partition, that is supposed to be marked active.

But there seem to be other details regarding access to the recovery partition during the sp1 install. I'm not sure I understand those:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/joscon/ar...x800f0a12.aspx

In the grub control files, there is a spot (right before the chainload step) where it can override which partition is active. You may need to look for that and get rid of it. It is only needed if you have multiple non Linux systems included in your multi-boot. You have only one non Linux system.

If that override is removed, then the active flag Linux (gparted etc.) or Windows (diskpart etc.) can report or change will be the true stable value.

We could give much more specific advise if we knew the current contents of the partition table. In Linux, that is easy to get in a form to copy/paste to a post using
sudo /sbin/fdisk -l

In that diskpart program in Windows, it looks like you need to select the disk and list the partitions (everything through step 5 in the instructions you quoted) but then to get the real info you need to select each partition separately and for each of them use the command
detail partition

The output from all those detail partition commands would tell us what Windows sees in your partition table.

It would seem to me that you should just go ahead and install the service pack. But first, you probably need to back up the files from both partitions just to be safe......however, the back ups aren't really needed. I really doubt that the service pack would mess up one or both partitions.

After a couple google searches, I now think it is unlikely you ever had that in your grub config and thus unlikely you need to remove it.

If you want to be sure, check the file
/boot/grub/grub.cfg

If the command parttool is used anywhere in the windows section of that file, that would need to be fixed (you can directly look at that file, but don't directly edit it).

But I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be there in a setup as simple as yours.

mormally i remove the drive (s) that have a linux os on them before i install a windows service pack

but this time MicroS??T"bleeded out"? reset my settings ( without informing me FIRST !!!!! )
changed my Notify me ONLY !! to auto install

and auto installed win7 sp1
WITHOUT telling me first !!!!
The first notification was the forced reboot to finish the install


fortunately i chainload to the windows bootloader from grub

win7 sp1 did not mess up any of my linux installs


( just the fact that M"bleeped" changed my settings is bad enough)

now if you have grub on the MBR
you WILL have to reinstall grub
win7 sp1 will replace that