GRUB Problem - Can't Get into BIOS

I had Windows XP initially on my Acer TravelMate Laptop. Then I installed FC4 with GRUB on the D:\ drive that was in windows. Then by mistake, I formatted the partition into a FAT32 from Windows. After I rebooted my computer, I found that I could not get into Windows as GRUB freezes (I don't even get a GRUB prompt). I can't reinstall my MBR as I can't get into BIOS to change the options. As I have a laptop, I can't boot from a floppy. I can't change the first boot device to CD-ROM from HDD. What can I do? Is there any method to disable GRUB or bypass GRUB? Please HELP

Try pressing the F2 (or F12) key when the Acer splash screen is displayed at boot time.

And from; http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/man...OS_002fWindows

grub> rootnoverify (hd0,0)
grub> chainloader +1
grub> makeactive
grub> boot

You can't bypass GRUB, as it is currently installed in your MBR and has replaced the NTLDR Windows had installed. You will have to restore the MBR in some way.

FIRST WAY is to read the documentation for your system (you should be able to find a manual online even if you don't have one) to figure out how to access the BIOS. Then change the boot order to have CD-ROM in front of the HDD, and use your Windows CD to restore the MBR. (Normally you could make floppies to do this from Windows, but clearly that's of no use to you.)

SECOND WAY is to use whatever installation media you used to install FC4 to reinstall FC4. It will restore GRUB to the MBR. It is even possible to install Linux from a USB stick if you have USB on your laptop, although this will probably also require BIOS access.

I knew that the key to get in was (F2). But the problem is it was working fine till recently and now it is not responding all of a sudden. (So I can't boot from CD). My keyboard works fine as I can enter my boot password properly. I had also tried Inserting the FC4 CD and the Windows CD. Still no success. My GRUB prompt is also not being displayed. GRUB AND BIOS have gone mad on my laptop. If it were a desktop PC, I would have disconnected the hard drive and done something. But this is not the case.

BIOS is currently configred like this (I remember this perfectly):

First boot device: HDD
Second Boot device: CD-ROM
Boot Other Device: Enabled

Any suggestions? Please...

Some Acer TravelMate laptops also use the F12 key to provide boot device options. Removing the hard drive is also a possilbe way to 'force' the laptop into the BIOS.

Is there anyway to terminate error prone GRUB so that the computer may boot from the second boot device?

No, the first stage of grub is the MBR (master boot record) the rest of the required files are missing by your mistake. The same booting problem would happen if you by mistake deleted one or more of the required files for the Windows bootloader to work.

You made mention of a password, what is this password for??? GRUB or the BIOS/system???

The password is the system password not the GRUB password. The booting continues to load GRUB only after I enter this password. After this, GRUB just freezes as it obviously does not have its required files. I need a way to terminate GRUB or a way to avoid booting from HDD. I can't reset BIOS as it is a laptop and I don't know how to open one.

Acer only provides users to reset the BIOS via the F2 or via eService Windows based tool. You can open the laptop and remove the CMOS battery and wait 20 minutes.

Are you entering the Supervisor's password after you press the F2 key? If you type the other password in the system will continue to boot without entering the BIOS.

The only other option you have is to remove the hard drive from the laptop and using a IDE 2.5 - 2.5 adapter (or usb enclosurer) and attach it to another system or the laptop (usb enclosurer). This usally means removing a few (one or two) of case cover screws and one or two more to release the hard drive, see your manual for help locating the hard drive on your laptop.

The last resort option ($$) is to send/take the laptop to a service center.

Originally Posted by chetanbhatsp The password is the system password not the GRUB password. The booting continues to load GRUB only after I enter this password. After this, GRUB just freezes as it obviously does not have its required files. I need a way to terminate GRUB or a way to avoid booting from HDD. I can't reset BIOS as it is a laptop and I don't know how to open one.

Sounds to me like you are not entering the correct password. If you give in the BIOS password correctly after prompting to enter the BIOS setup, then you should enter the BIOS setup, not continue to boot with GRUB. Or, perhaps you're being prompted by GRUB for a password. Could you accidentally have enabled that?

If you provide info on which model of Acer TravelMate you have, I'll try to provide a link to a manual in case you don't have one. That should provide instructions on how to open the case.

I forgot:

Failing BIOS access, you can look through the GRUB documentation to see if there is a way to use the GRUB command line. Sections 12-15 might contain valuable hints.
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/html_node/

As mentioned, you might be able to force the laptop into the BIOS by removing the harddrive; then GRUB won't load at all.

I recently had this problem after installing lunux as an addititional OS.

I resolved the grub boot up problem by re-installing linux.
At the end of the installation select the option of installing grub, this will re-install and repair grub so that you will be able to boot into windows at next start up. You will still be left with grub at boot up but your computer will be bootable, or however grub was installed reinstall try repeating as above.

Yes. I could have done that if I could boot from CD.
I gave it my serviceman and he solved my problem like this.

He opened up the laptop and removed the battery from the motherboard. This reset the bios. By default, bios is configured to boot from CD. After this he just inserted the WInXP CD and gave the repair MBR option in the setup screen. Now both Windows and BIOS work!

I actually knew this was the method. But I didn't want to open my laptop as my warranty would go void if I had done that.

Thank you guys for your help.