I have a Windows XP box which I have installed Fedora Core 4 on. This installation is on a secondary drive.

When I used Core 3 there was an option to create a LILO boot disk - its not there anymore.

I've tried two installations sticking the boot loader on the MBR and the other option (first primary partition if memory serves).

In each instance the Fedora install is not visible at boot and goes straight into XP.

How do I force my box to boot into linux? I can get rescue mode and get a shell but after that I'm flapping in the breeze.

Any ideas would be welcome.

cheers

Brian

You need to install LILO on the MBR of the master hd, not the slave.

While in rescue of Fedora you can put Lilo into the MBR by typing

lilo -b /dev/hda

The MBR normally refers to the first bootable disk and not necessary on the disk the Linux is being installed

A dual boot will occur if Lilo does not complain with a fatal error.

Thanks, I've tried the two available options but each time my box boots straight into XP and does not reconise the fact that Fedora exists on the same box.

Tried again from a total reinstall and when it comes back the box assumes that the XP failed to load successfully and asks if I want to boot into safe mode.

It does not seem to like the boot loader and I used to create one on a floppy at install.

How do I force it to boot if I get a shell through rescue mode? If I can do that then I can create a disk once the GUI is up and running.

When you are in a shell with Fedora installation disk you will have a kernel but its own filing system. Basically you mount your New Fedora partition on a mounting point and chroot to it. Thereafter you will be inside Fedora to do the

lilo -b /dev/fd0

if you want a bootable floppy.

The instructions after booting a kernel in rescue disk (assuming you fedora is in hda2) are

mkdir /mnt/hda2
mount /dev/hda2 /mnt/hda2
chroot /mnt/hda2

I get the response sh: lilo: command not found

You need to be a super user to play with the system files.

Try typing

su

then followed by the password (if asked) you key in during Fedora installation.

If the command prompt changes slightly then you are in root (the adminstrator) and can do whatever you want.

I can su to root and when I run mount it tells me, as expected, my installation is there.

As well as the logical partition it shows me /dev/hdb1 mounted on /boot

If I go to /boot and check out the contents it is:

vmlinuz...
system.map...
config...
grub
lost and found
initrd....

I still dont get lilo recognised and mkbootdisk tells me there is no space to write to. I've put in a a blank floppy, created a mount point and mounted /dev/fd0.

Slowly losing the will to live...

(thanks for the help so far by the way)

Silly dude

Your /boot partition has GRUB!

That means you could have chosen Grub instead of Lilo for the bootloader.

So instead of lilo -b /dev/fd0 just type

grub-install /dev/fd0

for a bootable Grub floppy and type

grub-install /dev/hda

fto put Grub in the MBR and type

grub-install /dev/hdb1

if you want your FC4 "chainloaderable" for ever.

Just do all three.

Let us know if you have any other problem.

thanks for that, I got ahead of myself and managed to get to the grub-install bit and stuck it on /dev/hda.

Unfortunatly grub now only lets me boot Fedora and even although I have added Windows XP to the grub.conf it falls over and boots Fedora any way.

there is plenty of stuff out there for dual booting on the same hd or with Linux on the primary but I cant find anything on Win XP on primary and Linux on Slave.

Current XP entry is

unhide (hd0,0)
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
make active (doesnt seem to like this bit)
chainloader +1
boot

any ideas

I dont suppose grub-uninstall /dev/hda would work?

Nop

You overwrite one boot loader with another.

You can restore your Window's MBR with just a DOS bootable floppy with fdisk.exe inside. Boot the floppy up and type

fdisk /mbr

That will throw Grub into the bin. Many people advise XP and Win2k's to be restored by installation CD but may not realise a humble DOS floppy can achieve the same thing a lot quicker.

If you boot up your FC4 make a generic bootable Grub floppy as follow

Click system then root terminal and supply a password when requested

put a floppy into the drive and type

dd if=/boot/grub/stage1 of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 count=1
dd if=/boot/grub/stage2 of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 seek=1

This bootable Grub floppy can boot every system I have come across in a PC. So go to the bank and take a deposit box to lock it up safety.

It can boot any system with the same 3 lines of commands on boot up to Grub prompt

root (hdi,j)
chainloader +1
boot

Where i=disk No. and j=partition No. bearing in mind Grub counts from zero ( so hda1=(hd0,0), hdb2=(hd1,1) etc). To use it on a Linux you must make the distro chainloadable by putting its boot loader inside the root partition as advised previosuly. I have booted 45+ systems with it.

You can use this bootable floppy to boot you Windows and FC4.

Just remember to lock up the floppy in the deposit box after use. If you have to leave this floppy in the house buy a 12 gauge shot gun to protect it.

I really Have ruined my Grub at the first time i Linuxed
What i did is type
fdisk /mbr
and then,Game over
But i know how to fix it now:
use you Linux rescue cd to boot your box
you will see
sh#
then typewill get then typeX,Y is stand for what has been talked above,i believe you 'll get what it mean

yep that will work too!