Please, be indulgent with my english : I'm french !

I have tried to install RHL9 to dual boot with windows XP. Windows is in /dev/hda1 while Linux is in /dev/hda2. Before the installation of Linux,
windows worked fine. I choosed Grub as boot loader. At the boot prompt, if I write "dos" (or anything else I have tried to put in
/boot/grub/grub.conf), it is answered that it doesn't know "the kernel image: dos".

My impression is the following:
- either, Grub is not the boot loader that it is used ( during the
installation, I have choosed to put Grub on the first sector of my boot partition and not on the MBR)
- or Grub is not able to read its configuration file: In the reference
guide, it is written that Grub can read ext2 partitions while my partitions are ext3 (it has be done automatically). Moreover, when I changed the line "timeout=10" to "timeout=2" in grub.conf, there was no change in the boot process.

Thank you to help me.

GRUB is able to boot from ext2, ext3, etc.
If you want to boot Windows, you need to "chainloader" it.

I do not understand exactly where you installed GRUB,
currently, is GRUB in the MBR ?

Can you post your
- grub.conf
- Filesystem and mount points (use the df command)

It will help me find the problem must faster.

Thank you to take care of my problem.

Before I answer to your questions, I have to precise something. After the installation of RH, I forgot completely to remove the boot diskette from the disk reader. So, in fact, when I boot, I have no choice: windows is loaded. If I want to boot on Linux, I have to use the boot diskette.

Of course, I would prefer to have Linux by default.

Grub is not in the MBR. During the installation of Linux, at the screen "advanced boot loader configuration", I have chosen to put Grub on "the first sector of the boot partition".

The content of grub.conf is certainly of no use since we know now that the boot diskette was used (and it explain why, above the boot prompt, "Syslinux 2.00" was written).

I think I should re-install RH and put Grub on the MBR ?

You identified your problem. You may be able to repair things by re-installing GRUB. But it must be installed on the MBR if you want it to pick up on the Windows properly and boot that from the prompt.

If I am not mistaken, you can just start the installation of GRUB from the command line after booting into Linux.

grub -install should work. I think it will prompt you for the installation questions that it needs to go to the right places. It is an intelligent installer and should pick up on all the operating systems and where they are on the installation. Just make sure to install on the MBR so that on initial boot it starts from there.

Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but GRUB can be re-installed at any time and it can be done from a graphical interface. The new installation, I believe, will overwrite the old one and you should be set. The only thing wrong is that it calls Windows "DOS" and you can correct that by editing during installation, or as you did, go in later and edit the Config file.

Here is the RedHat doc:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/l...nstalling.html

Thank you to every one. I'm going to read this page of documentation.

It was so easy !
Thank you !!!