Is it just me?....

On more than 3 computers, i got some Windows (XP, 98SE...) that won't boot after a GRUB installation... Or modification... Or Removal...

Nothing was able to get back the Windows boot loader alive... Even the fdisk /mbr (for Win98SE) or the fixmbr / fixboot from the WinXP recovery mode of the CD!!!

I also tried to install lilo over grub and that's worse.... Lilo start ok... but grub keep's starting after lilo!! Argh!

GRUB's really a pain!

But in my 6+ years of experience with Linux, I NEVER HAD a problem like this with the EASY-AND-SIMPLE LILO bootloader...!!

You want to erase it... no problemo... You make modification to it... no problemo... You want to do a fdisk /mbr to recover the bad old Win98SE boot loader... no problemo!

So I ask this question: Is it just me or GRUB do it a strange way?!

I don't know. I think it's just you :-). No, sorry, just kidding...
For me GRUB was always even better than LILO because of ease of configuration when I had a new kernel and wanted to check out whether it works.
Removing it from MBR was also no problem 'cause when I "fdisked" the MBR everything was fine then.
I think this is a problem no one else has and just you have it. Isn't that the usual way of using a computer? :-)

I've personally always prefered lilo, mainly because of early experiences of grub being irritating. Like tipaul, I've found it a bit of a pain to manage or remove, especially early on when I was changing distribution often to find the one that suited me.

Overall though, in the spirit of the community, it's about choice. Grub and lilo both offer features that will appeal to different peoples needs :)

Steve

I'm also for the freedom of choice...

And think that GRUB seem's ahead in terms of configuration.

And like SBing, I do frequent distro test (as much as ~3 OS on each computer)... That's why i was posting this subject...

If i mess very often with lilo, i never got any problem... But trying doing the same with grub is sometimes painfull... Enough for having Windows re-installed... A chance that there's PARTIMAGE!!!

after trying to remove grub, fixmbr fixboot didnt work and i had to reinstall windows. also, i dont see how its ahead it terms of config. lilo is so much easier. in grub you need things like chainloader, kernel - whats with that? lilo is just:
image, root, label, read-only or
other, label, table

how simple is that?

it also used standard stuff and so is easier i.e. /dev/hdx# insread of hd(#,#)