Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
I have used Mandrake since 8.0 and I have never seen
it not mount the windows partition.
Linux can read NTFS so I don't see the problem. Something fishy occured during installation.
It is easy to reinstall and save all the hastles.
Just use the normal install and not expert.
If you aren't yet familiar with the linux console now is not the
time for this.
Get it working first and keep the fustration lever down to
a glow.
Garion
I didn't lose my hair from hieredity, I pulled it out the hard way.
One strand at a time
Originally posted by gsikora It is easy to reinstall and save all the hastles.
Just use the normal install and not expert.
If you aren't yet familiar with the linux console now is not the
time for this.
Get it working first and keep the fustration lever down to
a glow.
Is there any way for me to delete my existing Linux partitions before reinstalling so that it doesn't get really messy on my hard drive? And would reinstalling Mandrake like you say possibly help me access my Windows files, or are those pretty much a lost cause at this point?
the mandrake installer will allow you to wipe the existing linux partitions and let you choose the size etc. of the new partitions (you might have to do it in expert mode - i never understood why they call it expert mode - i used it the first time I ever installed linux and nothing struck me as expertish) just make sure you don't wipe the windows partition.
the windows partition is still there so the stuff should be retrevable somehow.
Originally posted by elipt Is there any way for me to delete my existing Linux partitions before reinstalling so that it doesn't get really messy on my hard drive? And would reinstalling Mandrake like you say possibly help me access my Windows files, or are those pretty much a lost cause at this point?
Mandrake 8 did this to me, it seems to somehow stupidly point to another copy of Lilo instead of the windows boot loader. Never did figure it out, what I did {after considering purchasing a rifle and sitting outside mandrake headquarters} was boot to the XP install CD rom and go to the recovery console. There is a command you can enter from here something along the lines of MBRFIX which will rewrite the MBR to load windows XP automatically. I hope this helps you, in my case apparently mandrakes partition manager overwrote part of my NTFS partition and it was corrupted. Thankfully I don't ever keep data on my computer that isn't duplicated elsewhere so I just reinstalled XP. Not the first time I've had a linux install FUBAR my windows. So I kind of was expecting it.
If the MBRFIX util works, just go into windows patrtition manager, axe the linux partition into nothing, DO NOT allocate it as a drive in XP, just clear it out.
Then, reinstall linux. What I have found that works REALLY WELL was this. I have an 80GB drive so I allocated 30GB to XP {when i had to reinstall} and then another 10GB to a FAT32 partition. This was done so that XP and linux had both read and write access to the same area of my HD. Then let linux use the rest of the freespace. The advantage of this is, if linux fuxors up the partitioning, it kills the FAT32 partition which you just remake. And yes, Linux did screw this parition up on me, but going back into windows XP and reallocating it has seemingly set everything straight.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.