Unable to Mount/Boot installed Linux

ishbo4 · 02-15-2006, 07:48 AM

This is very similar to another post I made but I am still stumped. Right now I have a broken windows xp installed as well as SUSE, which was installed before windows. When I installed XP, it overwrote the grub on the mbr, and since it is now broken I can only use my SUSE Live DVD to do anything. However, when I try to install grub with this Live DVD, I am told that I have no c compiler, and there are not enough resources on the system to install one. I assume this is because it is not an actual hard drive OS. Any help on how to restore my mbr with grub so I can use the installed Suse will be greatly appreciated.

okmyx · 02-15-2006, 08:21 AM

How did you install Suse on the computer.

You should be able to use disk 1 of the install set ( or just 1 disk if you used the DVD) and type 'rescue' at the linux prompt (that is the very first prompt that comes up after the BIOS POST).

ishbo4 · 02-15-2006, 08:30 AM

I used the a disk I created to begin the online installation. Is this the one to use?

Another post had these instructions, which I tried:

Mount the partition (provide the correct HD notation for hdax):
# mount -o dev,rw /mnt/hdax

If it's already mounted, remount it like this:
# mount -o remount,dev,rw /mnt/hdax

Now, restore grub like this:
# chroot /mnt/hda1 grub-install /dev/hda

If the chroot method doesn't work, try remounting as outlined above and do:
# grub-install -root-directory=/mnt/hda1 /dev/hda
__________________

when i type mount -o dev,rw /mnt/sda3 (my linux native),
the response is "can't find /mnt/sda3 in /etc/fstab or /etc/mtab"
I can't get beyond this step. Any more help is appreciated.

bump

ishbo4 · 02-15-2006, 01:47 PM

bump, and this has to be 10 characters...

ishbo4 · 02-15-2006, 08:12 PM

I've posted another thread, but I think now I know a bit more and can ask a better question. I have both Suse 10 and windows xp installed on my system, with xp being installed second and having overwritten the mbr, so I see no grub options. My problem is that I do not know how to load my installed Suse 10. XP now doesn't work, so I could use the boot.ini even if I knew how. I am using a Suse 10 live cd, but I also an ultimate boot cd made, along with an internet installation disk for Suse that I used originally.

When I use the internet install disk to 'boot installed system' I am told that I need to remount root as read-write, using bash# mount -n -o remount,rw /
I try this and then CTRL-D to reboot, but the same message comes up. I also used a grub command to install grub on hd0 with root (hd0,2) since sda3 is my linux native, but when grub loads it tells me again that sda3 cannot be mounted.

How can I mount and/or boot my sda3 (linux native) so I can use my installed suse system?

thanks,
ishbo4

Tinkster · 02-16-2006, 02:52 AM

Quote:

bump, and this has to be 10 characters...

Per the LQ Rules, please do not bump your own thread until at least 24 hours have elapsed without a reply. Because the LQ membership is global, people in other time zones may not have seen this post yet, and thus it may take some time before a response is received.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/rules.php

Thats 24, not 5.

Thanks

Tinkster · 02-16-2006, 02:54 AM

And there was no need for a separate thread since you already
has started the topic of mounting in the original, so I've
merged them.

Cheers,
Tink

Randux · 02-16-2006, 08:21 AM

I went through a similar deal recently and got lots of help from the great guys here. Since it's later here than in other parts of the world, I'll try to help. I am no expert but I understand my own situation reasonably well after fooling around with it for a long day.

If you have the XP installation disk (NOT an OEM recovery disk) you can rewite the MBR from Windows Recovery Console so you will be able to boot Windows. Maybe you want to do that first, and then start using a live CD (Kanotix is particularly good if you need to do anything more than fdisk) but if not, use whatever you have (I like Slax). You can build a lilo.conf easily by hand (example in the link) and when you write the MBR (like in the link back to this forum) you will be able to boot your Win & SUSE machines. Then you will have to figure out what you want to do with GRUB- there are experts here but I don't know anything about it.

Please read http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin/fo...11010;st=0;r=1

which will refer you back to a post on here.

You can use lilo to straighten everything out.

P.S. When you issue a mount command in bash, it only lives for the lifetime of the boot. So if you reboot, whatever you mounted becomes unmounted during shutdown. That is why nothing seems to change.

The main thing is not to panic, and not to fdisk, or install anything until this is fixed. The less you touch the better things will be until you've restore your boot record and can bring up your Windows machine.