Install Problem
 

I installed Slackware (2 cd version) over Mandriva (trying different distros). I get the Mandriva login screen. Can't get rid of it. Repartitioned the hard drive 3 times, reinstalled 3 times.....cannot get it running even with boot floppy. Do not know command to run once I sign in as root from boot floppy. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Did you completely wipe your harddrive using cfdisk, and afterwards made you own partitiontable?
Sounds like it's still booting up your previous distribution.

Is it only the mandriva welcomescreen, and then when you logs in it's slackware or?

Where exactly do you see this screen? Right after the machine boots?

If you have reformatted and reinstalled that many times, it can only be the Mandriva bootloader still remaining in the MBR.

Where did you tell Slackware to install it's bootloader?

As soon as the machine boots up the Mandriva screen comes up.....it times out and tries to load Mandriva which does not exist anymore and locks up.

I used fdisk and deleted, partitioned, did the "t" and typed "82" according to the instructions and checked the partions, and then "w" to write the changes....then formated per the gui screens soon after the "setup" started.

I can't remember where I put lilo. It seems to me that I did not get it into the MBR properly.

I can use the boot disk to start the machine....problem is that I don't know how to start slackware to boot to the kde gui. Or to change the lilo to MBR.

It asks during lilo install prog where you want to install to.

To boot to a gui you will need to set up the x server. Instructions can be found at slackware.com or in this forum. Once xorg.conf is set up run xwmconfig and choose kde as your default wm. Then either type startx or edit your /etc/inittab so that the default runlevel is 4

It's rather important that Lilo is installed in order for you to boot into Slackware without a disk. If you are able to get into Slackware I would check your /etc/lilo.conf . If that exists you should post it's contents here.

Also, what option did you choose when you were installing lilo? There are 3, and I cannot remember them off the top of my head. I always choose the option that is labeled (possibly unsafe) because I love taking risks, ;). Not really, it just always seems to work for me.

On a side not, you might as well give startx a try if you installed everything during your install. Sometimes it just works out of the box has been my experience, and that can save you a nice little headache.

You have Mandriva grub at mbr. Use windows or dos boot disk and do A:/ fdisk /mbr. If you dont have such disk you can get one from http://bootdisk.com. Then do SW install.
But installing lilo to mbr should overwrite grub. The mandrake 9.2 manual says to uninstall mandrake format the drive and use dos bootdisk as above.
But I would think pkgtool should get you to config and install lilo to mbr and keep your present install.

I agree with lestoil. The MBR is not being changed. Using a DOS bootdisk should work.

I've never ran into that particular problem, tho. I've run into a hosed MBR that was simular, and ran a DOS debug script that overwrote the MBR and first 200 bytes of data on the HDD. That cleared it right up, then ran cfdisk and made it a ext3, etc...

If you want the debug script, google it. Try "debug HDD"

Hi,

Boot using a win98 CD/floppy. Type this to erase your mbr:

fdisk /mbr

After that, go through the install procedure.

used startx and booted, then reloaded everything was more careful in loading the lilo and made it!...however, I have a 120GB hard drive and I'm trying to research the best way to partion the drive. Have gone to Bitbender Forums and decided that I'd take the time to learn all I can.

Still have a need for XP Pro because of other programs and data that needs to come over so I like the idea of dual boot.
Thank you for getting me this far.

:newbie:

grub at mbr
 

bitbenderforums are great for slackware install and trouble-shooting. Like you I dual boot with xp.
I would've thought by now mandriva uninstall would not require dos or windows boot disk.
Enjoy your slackware!

Sometimes, the problem is actually is the BIOS. Some of them have a 'antivirus' or 'protect MBR' setting that makes life for us in Slack difficult. Always check your BIOS first.

Can happen to any distro, lestoil

When installing Linux, tell Lilo to use the MBR vs Root Block of the partition, that will over-write the grub loader w/o you having to resort to a DOS fix.

Truly. boot=/dev/hda in lilo.conf (as opposed to using /dev/hda1 for the superblock of partition 1) is really all you need to do to make lilo overwrite the MBR of the first fixed disk with it's own. All that DOS stuff the other people were mentioning is simply not needed. If setting that boot argument in the top of your lilo.conf and running lilo again doesn't fix it, then cwwwilson721 is probably onto something with BIOS-based MBR protection (although often writing to the MBR in those conditions will bring about a hard crash).