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Old 03-27-2005, 12:33 AM   #1
gardenair
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Linux Boot loader


Durning installing of RedHat linux 8 Boot loader RH Linux gives two options

1) /dev/hda Master Boot Record (MBR)
2) /dev/hda1 First Secotor of Boot Partition

I have win98 in my hard disk .Though it is recommand to choose option 1 but
if i choouse the 2 option then what will happen ? Will the computer
shows to switch to either windows or Linux at boot time ?
(If i choose 2nd option durning installation)

Is it possible to remove the linux boot loader if any time i want to only
use windows logo at boot time ? If yes then how can i do it .
 
Old 03-27-2005, 12:42 AM   #2
volvogga
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"Is it possible to remove the linux boot loader if any time i want to only
use windows logo at boot time ? If yes then how can i do it ."

Not sure what you mean by this paragraph, but to make a short answer to your question:
Option 1. This brings up the bootloader at the startup of your computer. It will point your systerm to the partition that you want to boot. MBR is the first thing your system checks.
Option 2. This is for if you have a different bootup manager that you would rather use. Maybe some other uses that I don't know about.

Hope this answers your question.
 
Old 03-27-2005, 12:47 AM   #3
gardenair
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" volvogga " will i have only windows98 & Linux8 .I think both have different Boot loader (If aim currect) then option 2 will be best?

2- If i choose an other HD for Linux installation then which option should i choose.

Thanks a lot for the help
 
Old 03-27-2005, 12:58 AM   #4
volvogga
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OK.

Should you choose to install on the MBR, then you will be prompted with the GRUB (or LILO, whatever you choose) to select which partition you want to boot. This means that it will direct your system to run the startup scripts for either 98 or RH8. Neither OS should be able to see the other by default. Think of it as a family tree. You start with the MBR, then from there it branches to either the Win98 partition and begins to run the actions that start that system, or it goes to RH8 and runs the actions to start that system.

Option 2 is only if you have a different OS selecter that you would like to use, like BootMagic or an OS2 bootloader.

I would go with option one from the sounds of it. You should be able to set either OS as the default.
 
Old 03-27-2005, 12:58 AM   #5
Mr. Hill
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1. The MBR writes to the first sector of your master disc, when you boot after writing to the MBR, Lilo will come up and ask you if you want to boot either Win or Red Hat.

2. If you choose this option Win will boot and you will have to install a bootloader yourself to get RH to run later.

A bit more info would help but at this point I doubt that you are running another bootloader so go ahead and write to the MBR, you're using Lilo not Grub so you can't screw up anything too terribly, lol.
 
Old 03-27-2005, 01:00 AM   #6
Mr. Hill
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volvogga sort of beat me to it. But basically what he and I are both saying are correct, hope this works out for you.
 
Old 03-27-2005, 01:04 AM   #7
gardenair
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Yes Boot partion & MBR are both different things But if choose only BOOT partion then what will the changes in the boot time .I want to see both Windows & Linux options at boot time to switch either any one .

What u say
 
Old 03-27-2005, 01:08 AM   #8
gardenair
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As " volvogga " said

"Option 2 is only if you have a different OS selecter that you would like to use, like BootMagic or an OS2 bootloader."

I think that both windows & Linux are different OS Selector .
 
Old 03-27-2005, 01:15 AM   #9
volvogga
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Both systems have different startup scripts. The bootloader only points your system toward which one to run and ignore the other. ALL bootlaoders do this. I myself run BootMagic, so I went with option 2. I do not believe that Win98 has a bootloader, and if it does, it would probably be a pain to configure. With 2 operating systems, your MBR must have a bootloader, or else you won't be able to get to the other OS without some kind of utility.

Don't worry about windows not starting because it can't be on the MBR anymore. Mine's this way and its fine.

Install to the MBR. This will be your best option.
 
Old 03-27-2005, 01:22 AM   #10
gardenair
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Thnaks a lot "volvogga" for your kind guidence . You are using BootMagic .Can u guide me about it .THta what it is & for which purposes u use it .


Ok there is another thing i want your help that when i use Fdisk like

$ fdisk -l /dev/hda

Disk /dev/hda: 15 heads, 57 sectors, 790 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 855 * 512 bytes

Ima unable to understand the 15 Heads 790 Cylinders
and then it shows the " cylinders of 855 * 512 bytes"

what are Cylinders of HD ?
At the First line after Fdis it is showing 790 Cylinders & then it is saying 855 .

These are confusing me a lot .Plz enloight about it .

Again bundle of thanks for the big help.
 
Old 03-27-2005, 01:29 AM   #11
Mr. Hill
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bah, forget about the geometry of the disc you just want to know the size of it. If you want to partition:

cfdisk /dev/hd*#

Where the * means a letter and the # means a number. So if you wanted to write to your slave on the first:

cfdisk /dev/hdb1
 
Old 03-27-2005, 01:38 AM   #12
volvogga
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Ya. I'm with Mr. Hill on this one. Your geometry is some old school stuff that is rarely needed now.

Anyway, I don't think that you need to use BootMagic with just these two OS on your system (I have 4 OS's), but for your future information, BootMagic is a program that comes with Partiton Magic. Partition Magic is an excelent partitioning software for FAT, FAT32, and NTFS. It can do Linux ext2 and 3 but I have had a few problems lately when messing with them. You basically configure BootMagic in the windows OS that you have it installed on and it replaces your MBR, just like LILO or GRUB. Norton owns it now if you want to look up the Partition Magic program, but you shouldn't need it. Good if you have several Windows OS's.

Hope this helps.
 
Old 03-27-2005, 01:42 AM   #13
gardenair
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Well " volvogga " & " Mr. Hill" thanks for the kind guidence. Yes about that my " geometry is some old school stuff that is rarely needed now". It is new thing for me & really iam unable to understand it .
 
Old 03-27-2005, 07:36 AM   #14
gardenair
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well there is another question regarding to FDISK
it shows me the

fdisk /dev/hda



Device Boot Start End Blocks ID System

dev/hda1 * 1 292 1177321 b win95

dev/hda2 293 782 1975680 5 Extended

dev/hda5 293 547 1026616+ 83 Linux

dev/hda6 547 599 209128+ 82 Linux Swap

dev/hda7 599 782 739840+ 83 Linux

Ima unable to understand the logic of Starting Cylinder and Ending Cylinder .
 
Old 03-27-2005, 04:09 PM   #15
volvogga
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Well..... I still am not sure why you need to know this at the point your at, but if its just for knowledge I'll give you a quick lesson in hard disks.

So your hard disk is sealed to prevent any dirt, dust, etc. form messing up the delicate inner workings. These inner-workings are what you seem to be curious about, so here is what they are.

Go to this site for a visual and maybe some more incite to what will write after this.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hard-disk7.htm

First thing you should understand is that your hard disk has a great many platters in it. The platters are hard metal surfaces with a delicate magnetic coating over them. Basically if you find an old junk floppy diskette and break it open, you will have a smaller and very flimsy version of a hard disk platter. Next comes the read/write heads. These heads ride on an actuator arm that moves them over the various hard disk platter surfaces as the platters spin (this is what the RPM rating on the hard drive specs is referring to). The heads change the magnetic properties of the magnetic film at various points on the platters to write data, and detect the magnetic properties of the platters at various points to read data. I think it was basically if it detects positive, its a 1, and if it detects negative its a 0 (binary code, basis of computer operations). There are two arms and heads per platter.

Next is the geometry of the hard disk. Every platter is divided into rings with a smaller and smaller radius from outside to the inner most part of the platter, much like a bulls-eye circle. Refer to the site I gave you for a visual. These rings are the tracks. Now the outer most track is track 0. Every platter, therefore, has a track 0. When you think about all the track 0's you have cylinder 0. So a cylinder is a combination of all same numbered tracks as they are stacked upon one another, with only space between for the heads and a lite pillow of air. Now going back to thinking of only one platter, the platters are divided yet another way, like a pie. These wedges of the platter are called sectors. When you combine the sectors and tracks you get a geometric combination, like an x and y on a graph. Each of these track/sector combinations (they are usually just called just plain 'sectors' at this point) holds 512 bytes of data. This is the basic geometry of an old school hard drive.

Another thing to know about is interleaving (just to know, this is really obsolete as it is all done by the hard drive now and only for your knowledge). This is a process of your hard drive assigning numbers to each sector for the most efficient data storage. Your hard drive, for example, would assign track 0/sector 0 the number 1, track 0/sector 1 the number 2, and so forth until it gets to the last sector on the track (lets say sector 16). Your hard drive would then go to track1/sector 0 and assign this the number 18. You see how this goes.

If you look at the picture on the link, I'm sure your wondering about the different sizes of the sectors as you go from the inner part of the hard drive. If all sectors are 512 bytes, how come the ones on the outside are bigger? Well this is a picture of an old hard drive platter. The larger sectors on the outside of the platter did actually hold the same amount of data as the inside sectors, which means that the outside had a lot of wasted space. So the powers that be decided to fix this with a technique called Zone Bit Recording. Basically what they did is made it so that each track had more sectors on it than the next track inward, eliminating wasted space. So now the sectors on the outside are the same size as those on the inside. To my knowledge this is still used today.

Well thats about all I can think of right now. Any more questions that you have, just ask.
 
  


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