sounds like your bios is not letting the MBR be written,

try using one of the more user freindly linux distroes (eg ubuntu) to install over the entire disk,

this should reset the mbr sort grub out and get everything working. from that stage replacing ubuntu with somthing a little more advanced (eg slackware) should be easy

Mmk. what version of ubuntu? just the newest version out? and how will I know if GRUB comes with it?
I'll try finding a version and sorting it out though. I have a feeling if I install GRUB like someone Didier spaier(i think) said earlier, it'll start working again.

I looked for a BIOS update for it a while ago, but I wasn't sure how to install it without an OS, so I think I'm just going to install GRUB and call it good and hope for the best.

Not me, as far as I can remember

Hi,
Your disk geometry is borked! You should do a partition scheme on your hdd that will suit your needs then reinstall your M$ windows first. Then do your GNU/Linux install with the bootloader of choice either lilo or grub.

As for the BIOS update, most updates are done with a boot device with the flash utility and BIOS update on the boot device. Some of the 'LIVE' BIOS updates are handled differently. I prefer the offline BIOS update using the vendor tools. You don't need a OS to do a BIOS update.

Can't I just go into my BIOS and just set it to 255 heads? That'd fix it, wouldnt it?

As for the partition scheme, what would be suitable?

Using "fdisk -lu" would provide more accurate information, by not rounding off to the nearest cylinder . If this is XP, the first partition probably starts on sector 63. See if you can mount the NTFS partitions from your backtrack disk. If you can't you can still try using losetup to attach a loop device using an offset that "fdisk -lu" gives you and then mount the loop device. That will allow you to backup the partitions. Even if the partition table is wrong, you may still be able to mount both partitions and at least create a backup. Create a backup before doing something like changing geometry. If the geometry was wrong before installing XP, you could cause more problems.

Here is the losetup command I mentioned, using an offset of 63 sectors, which is the most common. ( My Toshiba Vista laptop starts at sector 2048 however )
sudo losetup -fs /dev/hdd -o $((63*512))
You would only need to try this if the partition table information were wrong. This and then "df" to determine the size, can help you locate the true values that should be in the partition table.

Have you tried using the windows rescue console from the windows disk?

The error message indicates that the MBR on the disk is missing, possibly even zeroed out.

Hi,

I would look at trying 'Ranish' on the hdd. You could possibly recover using the right tools.

This link and others are available from 'Slackware-Links'. More than just Slackware® links!

ALL linux recent distros come with GRUB, its the thing that starts them up

if you have ever had a dual boot situation with the little screen that allows you chose from a menu chances are its grub (slight chance its lilo but thats effectivly obsolete now)

Hi,
'lilo' is alive and well. Not all distributions use grub as the primary bootloader. Lilo is stable an functional, you are painting with a broad brush.

You must type "fdisk -l /dev/hdd"
not /dev/hdd1

Sorry, I didn't notice pages 2 and 3. Only read page 1.

So then, is there any way to 'replace' my BIOS with something newer?
I'm burning Ubuntu today as well.

Assuming you have Windows XP CD, you should be able to boot from that and have it restore the XP boot info on hard drive. Then at least you'll one OS you can run.

I would imagine that a Windows 7 BETA may not play nicely with GRUB and other things it is not expecting to find.

I really wish I had a windows xp cd, mine miraculously disappeared a while ago. i'm not really worried about running linux on here off the hard drive, since I know i can boot it off the live cd and just use it that way.
Right now I'm just going to try using Ubuntu. going to burn it at a friends right now. I'll post the results later.

-Tech

Tho only way to "replace" your BIOS is to update it with a newer version. And, no, updating a BIOS does not require a working system, only a device (floppy, CD, USB Stick, etc.) from which it can boot. It is, in fact, safer to boot the min DOS to run the BIOS updater.

The reason you can't just replace the BIOS is that a BIOS must be specifically designed for the hardware and mother-board design used by the manufacturer. While such things are fairly standard, using a BIOS tuned for a different mother board would be a crap-shoot.

In any case, instruction on how to update the BIOS will be found (as you noted that you had found before) on the manufacturers Web site.

So instead of all the angst, why nor read the instructions, download the update, and apply it? It just might help. . .