I decided to try a Linux distribution after many years with Windows just now but it's all gone horribily wrong.

I've got Windows XP SP2 on a P4 3ghz laptop. I decided to install Linux as a second OS but after trying to install it I've had major problems. BIOS is still working but if I try to boot from my hard disk now (where Windows should be) I get nothing. Nothing. Just a blank screen.

This happened when I left YAST (opensuse's graphical manager?) to partition my hard drive into a Windows partition and a Linux partition then install Linux into the new partition. I left it to do this and when I came back half and hour later my computer had turned off but Windows has apparently gone. Looks like my hard drive dosen't even exist anymore.

I've tried opensuse's rescue systems but they keep asking me for a login of which I've tried many. Then it asks for a rescue number but I have none (although I've tried loads).

I can use the Live CD to boot from a CD and run Linux through there but my *major* problem is getting my hard drive and Windows back (along with all my data).

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

when you repartitioned, did you resize your current windows partition, or just make two new ones. if you just made two new ones...you, my friend have just learned the hard way.

No, I resized. It even got to the stage where it was installing packages.

I'm so confused.

Little update. Just ran the automatic recovery program and I think that it recognised a NTFS file system partition (Windows, yay!) which means that the data is still there right? It then recommended that I repair the installation by reinstalling the bootloader GRUB. I click OK but then my computer just turns off. Everytime.

The plot thickens.

well, since i'm assuming you're not really concerned with the linux portion.. can you boot to a windows boot disk and fdisk /mbr to restore the windows bootloader. or, if that doesn't work, after you fdisk /mbr then you can try to reinstall the grub bootloader.

After some messing around last night, Linux booted up but I found that when tryto boot windows I get a black screen with the message "chainloader (hd0,0) +1" and nothing happens. So I'm guessing that the GRUB bootloader is messing things up a little.

I also found out that I installed the GRUB bootloader in the beggining of partition hda instead of hda3. hda is the hard disk whereas hda3 is the linux partition.

But what is fdisk and where do I run the command from? And what does it do? Restore the master boot record?

yeah, get the windows 98 se boot disk from bootdisk.com then boot to the command prompt from the floppy.. then just run fdisk /mbr

I'm pretty sure that the partition and all the data is still there but I couldn't find a suitable boot disk to boot from. I downloaded the xp quick bootdisk from bootdisk.com and burnt that but my computer didn't recognise it as a bootable CD.
I don't have a floppy drive becauuse my computers a laptop.

I think you've got it right about restoring the mbr but I still can't boot to windows to do that.

Any other ideas?

use the windows install disk and go to the recovery console... from there, if fdisk /mbr doesn't work, then try fixmbr

I've been doing a lot of research and trial and error over the past few days and starting to get closer. I've been reading these two threads:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=237511
and
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...postid=1413211

which suggests 2 things.

(1) is to force GRUB to load the MS bootloader by using chainloader.
(2) is a fix posted on SUSE's site:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...postid=1413211

but this only applies to 9.x whereas I'm using openSUSE 10.0. There is no point at which I can load the new drivers. The other fix is switching my hard drive mode to LBA in BIOS but I also don't have this option (even though the laptop is only a year old).


I've also noticed that the bootloader is installed in the master boot record by default even though the installer says it is not recomended if you have another OS.
So I tried to install it in the boot partition of dev/hda3 (the Linux partition) but this produces an odd result.
I get the following when I try to boot from the hard disk:
I've seen this in other posts The L at the start was thought to be because of the LILO bootloader but I got the following example from GRUB. I've also tried to install LILO in the master boot record (dev/hda) and the linux boot partition (dev/hda3) but to no avail.

When going into bootloader options there are two other options when installing. One is "Replace MBR with Generic Code" and the other is "Activate boot partition" but these are both off by default. What would happen if I turned either of them on during install?

9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 happens when the bootloaders fails to install.
also if it is installed to a partition other than hda1 bios cant boot from it bios only recognises
a b c d
master slave master slave
it cant boot off individual partions


it looks like what happened here is Windows is Fine safe and sound.
The Suse installer didnt finish (laptop turned off during install) or you skipped the step to install a bootloader.

just reinstall/update Suse or any other linux Distro.
Make sure the installation finishes this time
and it should add a bootloader and work normally


Windows usually can't understand linux boot loaders so recovery wont fix it

I thought the same thing but I've sat through the installation several times to make sure that didn't happen. And I definitly chose a bootloader to install.

Will the bootloader problem (including the windows bootloader) be resolved if I install another distro?

If you made sure you chose install bootloader into MBR
possibly.

I found Mandrake fixed the same issue i had installing fedora.


but do you have multiple Hdrives?

if so try booting from a different one. in bios

Usually F8 F10 or ESC allow you to chose what Harddrive to boot from.

if not change it in bbios under Advanced Setting Boot order