Partitions not recognised [SOLVED]
 

I've just rendered my system unbootable (using Smart Boot Manager I think).

When I start up using a live CD only /dev/sda exists - not /dev/sda1,2,3, etc. When I use fdisk -l or cfdisk, all the partitions are visible.

What is going on here and how can I fix it. I've got some valuable data on one of the partitions that is not fully backed up.

I've never used Smart boot but I'm guessing it's nothing more than a boot loader. You can get your data by using a live-cd and mount the drive you need the data from. What can Smartboot do that Grub can't, (just for my own understanding)?

I couldn't get any of my data back because none of my partitions were recognised - only /dev/sda.

I've managed to fix it using the Windows XP rescue disk with the FIXBOOT command :o