This machine dual boots Windows 2000 and Mandriva. It has two HDs, one for each system, so that Windows is on hda and Linux on hdc. Windows was installed previous to Linux, and LILO was installed on a diskette. There's no Windows bootloader (nor BIOS's or any other), so when the machine boots without the Linux boot diskette it goes straight to Windows, and to boot into Linux you have to use the diskette.

Now I have to install XP Pro in place of Win2000, which means formatting hda. Linux will be untouched. And the question is: will the Linux boot diskette still be valid, or do I have to make any change in lilo.conf or any other place?

The only change that will take place is swapping Win2K for XP in the same disk, which leads me to believe that the Linux boot diskette could still work after the upgrade. Anyway, what I need here is to make sure that it will be possible to boot into Linux, so any enlightenment will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Yes.

Note - had you installed GRUB to MBA, you could set the default boot to the install of your choice without showing the menu - and so get the exact same behavior you get now, only you don't need to boot from a diskette. You'll get more security and reliability.

Many thanks, Simon. Just wanted to check.