dual booting linux hda, WinMe hdb problems
 

Forgive me if I've asked the same question a thousand before me.

environment:
Dell dimension 4100, 2 hard drives
PC came with WinMe installed.
process:
I added a second hd.
The second hd became hda and WinMe became hdb according to my BIOS config.
I then installed FC_4 onto hda.
During the installation I specified FC_4 to boot as default and 'other' was specified as hdb.
installation complete
----------------------------------------
FC_4 boots and works like a champ
----------------------------------------
when I try to boot WinMe
a)FC_4 displays option to enter 'menu' (boot menu for us newbies)
a.1) grub v 0.95
b)select 'other'
c)Does not boot WinMe
d)all that is displayed is:
booting 'other'
rootnoverify (hd1,0)
chainloader +1

Thank you in advance.

Did you install your boot loader (either lilo or grub) on the MBR of your Primary Master device? It sounds like you might have installed it on the root partition instead. You need to configure your boot loader correctly and specify the partition that windows is on, not just the hard drive.

Here is how the IDE devices work in Linux:

/dev/hda = Primary Master
/dev/hdb = Primary Slave
/dev/hdc = Secondary Master
/dev/hdd = Secondary Slave

The partitions then go in order according to the order of the partitions, hda1, hda2, hdb1, ...etc.

do 'fdisk -l' to get more information on what each partition is labled and then use this info to configure your boot loader.

regards,
...drkstr

wantabee
Windows generally does not like to be on the second hard drive but can be fooled into thinking it is on the first hard drive, there is an excellent explanation here
have fun

Thanks for the clarification towy71, I've never actually attempted to dual boot windows. I figured it would be the same as any other OS, but then again it is a MS product. I should have known better. ;)

regards,
...drkstr

Oh, hey...I can't thank you enough.
The link was <<exactly>> what I needed.
Simple. 3 minutes and presto, my wife can boot 'other'
Thank you SO much for supporting this forum!