grub
 

well...i had a problem with my system and had to do a full format(thats another really long story initself). Ok well so i installed windows 2k first so it wouldnt overwrite the master boot record, then on my other hard drive i installed the new test version of fedora core 4. So any way i told fedora to overrite the master boot record in order to do a dual boot, and after the install i rebooted the system and windows started automatically. Linux will boot if i go in the cmos and change the drive order but the grub will not boot the "other " os. Im sure this can be fixed with a simple command, but i do not know the command and i dont want to try and figure it out and tottaly screw the system again. I mean i can still boot both linux and windows but i have to change the boot order everytime. Does anyone no the command to fix this?

It sounds as if when you re-installed the linux, that you told the grub to install to the first section of the mbr, but it didn't necessarily know that you meant the mbr on the first hard drive.

Hence the install of grub is on the 2nd one - /dev/hdb, whereas, if I understand it correctly, it should have overwritten the windows mbr, you would then have needed the entry for windows on the first hard drive e.g. /dev/hda for it too boot - I think!

regards

John

here's an n-step plan for you:
1) find out how grub.conf works
2) make a backup of your current boot sector & grub.conf
3) make sure you can boot into GNU/Linux if grub dies (boot disk, live CD)--I suggest boot disk, with (2) on it as well.
4) edit grub.conf
5) run grub.

hth --Jonas

At a rough guess, I'd say that you didn't install grub to the MBR, you only installed it to the root of the Linux partition.

Since you don't list your /etc/fstab or /boot/grub/grub.conf, I can't give you specific instructions on how to fix it.

Google up a copy of 'Zen and the Art of Grub'; it has step-by-step instructions detailing how to setup grub. While you're at it, check the contents of grub.conf to see if win2k is listed. If not, then Fedora didn't detect it and write the conf for win2k; you'll have to do that manually.There are many threads on these boards on how to fix that; what entries to make, etc.

If you had written grub to the MBR, win2k would not boot automagically, you would see the grub menu, which allows you to use the arrow keys to select which OS to boot.

just use the hd with grub as the 1st boot device and add windows to the grub.conf/menu.lst
if windows is installed on /dev/hda1

title=Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1