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Old 07-16-2005, 08:28 PM   #1
nicomachean
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Registered: Jul 2005
Location: Baltimore, MD, US
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Question No luck dual-booting FC4 and XP


I'm completely new to Linux--at least I HOPE to be, if I can get it to work on my computer....

I know this is one of the most common questions newbies ask about, but I SWEAR I've read up on this a lot, and I can't figure it out.

I went through the install process for FC4 without any problems, and I had it install grub in the MBR (/dev/hda). But when I reboot, it loads Windows XP as normal

I tried to reinstall Fedora, and early in the installation process, I get a message that no bootloader was detected. Just for kicks, I tried putting grub in /dev/hdb1 instead (the other option). Then I change my BIOS settings to boot from hdb first. When I restart, the computer begins to boot. It shows the message: GRUB and locks up. It's not a prompt--just the word 'GRUB.'

I don't know if any of these factors could be causing problems, but in the interest of disclosure, I'll list them, in case they're relevant
1. The factory settings on the computer place system recovery files in a separate partition (/dev/hda2)--could the bootloader be confused about which partition it belongs in? Or does the MBR reside outside these partitions?
2. Anytime I try to install FC4 (I've tried about 6 times now), when I finally go to reboot, the computer "kind of" restarts, ie it turns back on (hard drives and optical drives spin) but nothing comes up on the screen. So I have to manually power down and restart. The same thing happens when I run Knoppix from a CD. But there's no such problem rebooting from XP, so I suspect it's Linux-related?
3. I'm using the x86_64 build of FC4, since my computer has an Athlon64 processor. Again, don't know why this would matter, but I know this build of Fedora is comparatively new.
4. I have a Gateway (I've heard there can be problems with Gateways, but I don't know what these 'problems' are).

Thanks in advance for any advice, suggestions, etc.
 
Old 07-16-2005, 08:45 PM   #2
nevarlen
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Since you have xp working fine on the first drive, why dont you just install the fedora on hdb1 and just change the boot.ini on windows to have it also be able to boot from other partitions/drives...
 
Old 07-16-2005, 11:40 PM   #3
hig
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I am having the same problem. I installed FC, got through the process fine, skipped boot-discette cause this machine doesn't have a floppy drive and rebooted.

GRUB:Error 2.

No biggie, I just fixmbr'd and booted back into windows. Whats the line I need to boot from HDD (1,1) given a standard installation. (I'm not sure which partition, it was a standard auto-install). All material i've found says I need some linux boot file output to make it work.
 
Old 07-17-2005, 09:26 PM   #4
nicomachean
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Quote:
Originally posted by nevarlen
Since you have xp working fine on the first drive, why dont you just install the fedora on hdb1 and just change the boot.ini on windows to have it also be able to boot from other partitions/drives...
Interesting. I didn't know you could add non-Microsoft OS's to the boot.ini file.
Can you give me a hint about how I should edit boot.ini? I know how to find/edit the file, but I don't know what to add to make it boot a second OS?

This is my grub.conf file (which I got booting from a Knoppix CD):

#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/VolGroup00/LogVol00
# initrd /initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/hda
default=1
timeout=5
splashimage=(hd1,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
hiddenmenu
title Linux – Fedora (2.6.11-1.1369_FC4)
root (hd1,0)
kernel vmlinuz-2.6.11-1.1369_FC4 ro root=dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00 rhgb quiet
initrd /initrd-2.6.11-1.1369_FC4.img
title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
title Win XP 2
rootnoverify (hd0,1)
chainloader +1



(FYI: There are two different entries for XP here, because the installer program said my "Other" OS was in hda2 (=D:\ on my computer, which holds system recovery info - see my initial post). I thought (though I could be wrong) that it was in hda1 (=C:\), so I added that option.
 
Old 07-18-2005, 11:27 PM   #5
nevarlen
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My apoligies about editing the boot.ini file for another partition, it was working on 98 and NT like systems, could not get it work on XP. However, read the following http://pcquest.ciol.com/cgi-bin/printer.asp?id=15488 to see if you find anything relevant..

As for hanging on the boot screen, does it help to press "e" to edit the grub file, if so just make sure that it is pointing to the right partition..(You can always play around till you find the right one, hd0,0 or hd0,1 or hda,b>>>>a for disks, b for partitions.....) Hope you will get it to boot..

Examining the anaconda-generated grub.conf, I noticed something strange..I have several dual-boot systems and all have the following format..
title linux
kernel (hd0,0)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1 acpi=ht resume=/dev/hda5
initrd (hd0,0)/boot/initrd.img
title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,3)
chainloader +1

So again, on the boot screen just press "e" to edit your file to boot it properly..

Quote:
So I have to manually power down and restart. The same thing happens when I run Knoppix from a CD. But there's no such problem rebooting from XP, so I suspect it's Linux-related?
Curious, how do you boot into xp when all fails? Do you do this from your boot menu?
 
Old 07-19-2005, 12:48 AM   #6
eagleswings
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Distribution: Fedora Core 4, SuSE 9.2
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Cool

I am also new to Linux but I successfully install FC4 the first time. Try editing the grub.conf and put "0" value on default. In that case grub will load the first boot entry which is FC4. If it doesn't load your Fedora then there might be a problem during your installation (not sure).

If the above doesn't work, try to re-install FC4 without creating "/boot" partition just "swap" and "ext3" as the root partition. Because another thing that caught my attention is the "#NOTICE: You have a /boot partition." on your grub.conf file.
 
Old 07-19-2005, 08:08 AM   #7
nicomachean
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I tried running Linux from a Knoppix CD and playing around with the grub.conf file with no real success. After beating my head against the wall, I tried a clean instal of FC3 instead of FC4. It went really slowly (2-3 hours from start to finish), but I got the grub menu on the first boot, and both FC and XP work.

I guess all's well that ends well.


Quote:
Curious, how do you boot into xp when all fails? Do you do this from your boot menu?
XP was working fine through this whole process. Ie, it always booted up like it was the only OS on my computer.
 
  


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