My Lilo/grub lost after installing Win Xp
 

My first partition is Win2003 Server.
Then I installed SuSe 9.3. Everything was ok and I managed to logon on both partition by using the LiLo/grub.

After that I installed Win XP in my third partiton. Then I realized that I cant logon to my SuSe any more. The Grub/LiLo is lost. I only can logon to WinXp and Win2003Server. I can see the linux partition by using Computer Management ( in Win XP).

How can I get back my lovely SuSe. I dont want to format or reinstall my SuSe.(If there is a way out).

Thank you.

I don't know which boot-loader SuSE 9.3 was using, but you should
be able to get to the installed version of SuSE using the install-CD
as a rescue-CD. From there (if it's using lilo) all you need to
do is to run 'lilo' as root (and maybe adding XP to lilos menu
before running it - matter of taste and choice, of course ;}).

Not sure how grub is re-installed after it's been wiped out,
I think it might be grub-install ...



Cheers,
Tink

This works only if your boot sector is on a seperate partition right? Because I thought all windows installs over write the master boot record. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Happy to correct, there's no boot-sector partition, the boot-sector
is simply the beginning of the physical device. Yes, windows DOES
overwrite that, but no, the installed SuSE will still be able to re-
cover the loss. I've never tried to install windows after Linux,
though, and in a worst case scenario XP won't boot.


Cheers,
Tink

In the installation manual for SuSE it says it may be useful to create a "boot-sector" (/boot) as a seperate partion to hold the kernel & boot mechanism. But I suppose partion or not it's a section of the beginning on the disk (at least 8M or one cylinder.)

A /boot partition has nothing to do with the boot-sector. If SuSEs
manual says that they need to re-write it.


Cheers,
Tink

Thanks for clearing that up.

The boot-record, or Master Boot Record (MBR), is the program that is found and loaded by your BIOS. Its job is to find and load the "boot loader," which may be LILO or GRUB or NTLDR.EXE.

Many OSes rewrite the MBR as part of installation.

Boot up a Linux LiveCD. From there it may simply be: grub-install /dev/hda.

See info grub.

---
Partitions, including your "boot partition," are physical subdivisions of hard-disk real estate. That's a separate fish from the MBR, because after all, disks can be partitioned but not "bootable."

Thanks for replying, but I am not understand about the boot sector.

I installed Win Server 2003 and made 4 partitions (10 Gb each partition).
Then I installed SuSe, but somehow (might be my mistake) it was installed in the same partition with Win 2003. I realized that the first partition was resized during the SuSe installation.

Both Win2003 and SuSe were running smoothly. SuSe was holding the boot-loader at that time.

Then I installed WinXP in the 3rd Partition. I could not logon to my SuSe after the installation.

I can view the linux partition, by using Computer Management.

Could any one tell me how to recover from SuSe bootable CD.

Thanks.

logon to suse 9.3
 

Dear Linux user.

It's very simple to logon back to your lovely Linux. Just put in your Suse installation CD/DVD, and boot it. The Installer will appear, and there you will find a menu where you can install again the system, or boot it from harddisc (There are other options too). Here you can boot your linux. An advise here: next time install Linux the last time, after you installed other non linux op. systems. An other advice: for being sure that it will not happen again: make a boot floppy. How to make it? It's simple. Go to Yast, then start the bootloader config tool (and NOT the bootfloppies). And here select the installation destination: your floppy drive instead the MBR. And voalah, here's your rescue floppy. But, don't forget to reinstall your GRUB to MBR, otherwise you must use your floppy every time. Good luck!

The Progress.

I used the SuSe linux Cd , there were 4 options, I choosed option Repair The Linux Installation.
It asked me if I want to repair the boot loader or not, then I answered YES.

The LilO/Grub is reinstalled and I can logon to my windows successfully. But I failed to logon the SuSe.

Here are the message:

..........
Start Unicode mode
fsck failed for at least one files system (not /).
Please repair manually and reboot.
The root file system is is already mounted rea_write

Give root password for login:
none:~#


What should I do next?

Thank you

Well. You have to put in your installation CD/DVD, than select Installation and NOT rescue system. Now wait until the license agreement comes up, accept it of course, wait again, and now a menu with radio buttons will come up. Here you must choose Boot Installed system, and NOT Install new or Update existing OR repair. Now do as I wrote you before (In my last reply). Hope it will work.

Hi there,

I have tried the pusrob suggestions. But it doesnt work.

here is what I see in my screen:

configuring serial port....
/dev/tty0 at 0x03f8 (irq=4) is a 16550A
Configured serial ports
Activating swap-devices in /etc/fstab..... [FAILED]
checking root filesystem..
fsck.1.36 (05 FEB 2005)

bread:Cannot read the block (2): (Invalid argument)
reiserfs_open: bread failed reading block 16

reiserfs_open: reiserfs superblock cant be found on /dev/hda4
Failed to open the failsystem

If the partition table has not been changed, and the partition is valid and it really contains a reiserfs partition, the superblock is corrupted and you nee to run this utility with
--rebuild-sb

Warning fsck.reiserfs for device /dev/hda4 exited with Signal 6.
fcsk.reiserfs /dev/hda4 failed (status 0x8). Run manually!

blogd:no message logging because /var file system is not accessible ehci-hcd ohci-hcd uhci-hcd usb-ohci usb-uhci wait 3 seconds for usb initialisation.....

fsck failed. Please repair manually & reboot. The root file system is currently mounted read-only. To remount it read-write do:

bash# mount -n -o remount,rw /



It is weird that I dont have any USB device attached on my PC. But why the usb error occured.


Thank you.

Dear leenuk

Now, I don't have any other suggestions, that can save your Linux and Win2k3 server system.
The only thing that I would do in this kind of situation:
Save all important data and settings you have (in all systems). Save it, to a different device, to a mobile rack or DVD. Now reinstall Your Win server, XP, and Linux. Remember: your linux must be the last installed sys all the time. It's much more flexible in multisys environment than Win. An other advantage here: You must not configure your grub, bec. the job will be done by yast. I suggest you this kind of partitioning (on a 40 GB HDD): hda1: Win Server (NTFS 3 or 4 GB), hda2: Win XP ( NTFS 3 or 4 GB), hda3: Linux (reiserfs, 10 GB), hda5 swap partition (300 Megs should be enough), hda7: the free space you have (FAT32, so you can access it with a read-write mode from linux, as you know linux can't write NTFS (you can cut it to half if you wish, and create a clone partition, like hda7 on hda8)). On the system partitions you should put the system stuff, like office multimedia players, all the stuff that belongs to that particular sys. The hda7 (and hda8) is good for data storage (it's great that you can write this/these from Lin, not like NTFS). Use Partition Magic 8 for partitionig, or download this: Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD33-full.zip, you can find it here: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html): it's freeware. This CD contains not only partitioning progs, but other useful stuff. You'll see on the home page.
Of course this is only my opinion, and only an opinion. What you gonna do: you deside.

Ok. I will try it.

thank you