Master Boot Record
 

I have tried to install the latest version of open suse onto my IBM think pad, the model is Am22 if that helps. The install went fine until where it said it had to reboot, it did so but it started back from the beginning of the install. When I take the disk out my laptop will start up but I will get the error code L 99 99 99 99 and so on. My friend has told me its my Master Boot Record. I would like to know how I could possibly fix this problem, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hello,

From your description, it sounds like you did not install a boot loader during your installation and the boot flag has been corrupted or damaged. If you are trying to set up a dual boot with open suse and windows, you can use your windows recovery cd to repair the MBR to get windows booting again. During the installation process you would have been given the opportunity to install the grub boot loader to the MBR, which when you rebooted (with the installation cd in the drive), you would have been given a choice which os you wanted to boot to.

If you are not dual booting and installing only open suse, try your installation again making sure you are installing a boot loader, and remove the cd before you reboot.

Bob

First when you dual booting with windows at the moment suse gives the install proposal at the top of this proposal is
mentioned the remark Mount point c:/windows
During the initial boot she boot up from the local drive and goes on with the install because it is not finished yet
MBR and boot flag are two different thinks even if GRUB is written in MBR and the boot flag is off it will not boot
Did you have a running Operating system on the BOX before you install Suse ?
DId you delete the first primary partition ?


all the best

There are no other operating systems on the laptop.

I do not know any thing about you,re computer is a new one or a second hand ?
If there is no operating system on you,re machine suse did formating and so on and it should go well
So you have to options reinstall and see what happens or check before reinstalling if the boot flag is on
Geparted for instance have the possibility to check the boot flag it should be on
If it is off you can not install any operating system I knew it by experience


all the best

Probably an old hd if it is an IBM.
You can "clean" the mbr with a command from a live cd,
I don't remember it, so I use a floppy or cdrom with dban,
let it work to 1%, and the mbr can be used again.
http://dban.sourceforge.net/
'dban' (Darik's Boot and Nuke)

I bought it off e-bay, second hand.

Dos Boot Disk
 

Please be kind to me for what I am about to type
*Can anybody give me a linux soulution to this problem*

http://linuxgazette.net/issue63/okopnik.html
The command for "delete mbr" is
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda bs=512 count=1
The dban solution will need you to reinstall, this is the right way to do it.

Easy solution download Kubuntu 7 this distro has the totall Gparted Some times during the setup Kubuntu show you the drives
choice the option that you decide where you to install Than it show the drive and the specs also the state of the boot flag
Turn the boot flag on and let kubuntu format the drive Now you,re drive is boot able
Before you let Kubuntu format you,re drive nothing has been written to you,re drive
You can decide to install Kubuntu or stop the installation and install an other distro
IT is also possible with dos but I do not know the size of you,re hd and it is some what more tricky but if you choice to use the dos solution I will try to explain it you but I have not use for a long time
Bottom line using dos create a primary partition as big as possible MINIMUM size 10 GB and make it ACTIVE


all the best

This may not be important but, when I was a bit younger, I had an IBM Thinkpad (a very old one). It had a BIOS feature that quietly but firmly refused to allow anything to touch the MBR (i.e. no warning given when an attempt to write to it was made - just the write totally ignored) You had to set the BIOS beforehand to permit it and on the next reboot, the block automatically reinstated itself.

Access to the BIOS was also quite obscure - no helpful prompt telling you to hit F1 - you had to know which key did it unless you found it by accident!

This was presented as a useful security feature and I suppose it was but it was also a pain in the neck! It may now have changed but if not, it would explain what went wrong here - i.e. the system makes all the right noises but the lip movements don't correspond!

John

Linux recovery
 

There are Linux install CD's which allow recovery mode, and no need to use Win recovery. This is nto the first time someone hosed the MBR somehow. Google, google.

Thank you all for your help. There were more responses than I thought there would be,I am going to trouble shoot some more now with some more knowledge on the subject :)

I tried the dban solution and it did not work.

The L 99 99 99 99 and a full screen of it is a sign Lilo the boot loader didn't get it quite right. It is a common problem.

Normally just restore Lilo is enough to get everything working.

Task B3 of the last link in my signature refers.

Lilo or Grub can be rescued by any Linux Live CD.