Upgrading to WinXP on a dual-boot system

srcosmo · 05-25-2004, 09:24 AM

Hi,

I'm currently dual-booting Mandrake 9.2 and Windows 98 using LILO, but the time has come to upgrade to Windows XP.

However, I'm unsure of how the XP installer will affect my dual-boot setup:

Will it destroy my Linux partitions, or can I get it to leave them alone?
Will it screw up the master boot record, so LILO doesn't work anymore?
Is there anything else I should be careful of?

Thanks a lot,

Mark

tiger7007 · 05-25-2004, 12:36 PM

do u have 2 hard drives or linux and window$ on same hdd ? also xp will rewrite the mbr wich will delete LILO from the mbr ,when installing xp u can choose the directory and hard disk so make sure u choose the right location otherwise it can overwrite partition u choose so make sure u choose the right location for it .so be carefull with that.

marghorp · 05-25-2004, 03:58 PM

It will probably (most likely, ahh, yes it will) destroy your MBR and kill LILO. However nothing to worry about, if oyu have the boot diskette. Just do this....install XP. Then boot from the diskette and install LILO right back. It works.

How? I have no idea as I use GRUB, but some LQ Addicts or Members should point you in the right direction.

np complete · 05-25-2004, 05:26 PM

I have two hd's and was dual booting. Upgraded from win2k to winXP and it did in fact overwrite my MBR. I was so ticked that I recreated that partition as an additional linux drive

coindood · 05-25-2004, 05:34 PM

If both windows and linux are installed on the same harddrive but on different partitions, then just boot any cd-based distro (most knoppix-based distros), login as root, mount the target harddrive then do a

Code:

chroot /mnt/ha_partition_linux_is_on

then type

Code:

lilo

and lilo should install itself on the mbr!

marghorp · 05-25-2004, 05:35 PM

Yep, just boot, run lilo as root and you should be off.

srcosmo · 05-26-2004, 08:20 AM

Yes, I have Windows and Linux installed on the same disk.
I'll try making a boot disk, and running LILO after installing WinXP.

Thanks for the tips, everyone!