Hello
I have RedHat Enterprise, I installed Windows XP later and it wiped Grub, so I installed Grub again by running linux rescue then #grub-install /dev/hda1.

everything went fine, I restored my linux boot loader again, but when I tried to open windows it took like 2 seconds then took me back to the main grub screen where I select which OS to load!!!

I don't know what is the cause of this problem, I tried so many times to open windows but I failed

this is my /boot/grub/grub.conf file:

*****************************************************************************

title Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (2.4.21-27.0.4.EL)
root (hd0,6)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-27.0.4.EL ro root=LABEL=/
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-27.0.4.EL.img
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (2.4.21-27.0.2.ELsmp)
root (hd0,6)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-27.0.2.ELsmp ro root=LABEL=/
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-27.0.2.ELsmp.img
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (2.4.21-27.0.2.EL)
root (hd0,6)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-27.0.2.EL ro root=LABEL=/
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-27.0.2.EL.img
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (2.4.21-9.ELsmp)
root (hd0,6)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-9.ELsmp ro root=LABEL=/
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-9.ELsmp.img
title Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS-up (2.4.21-9.EL)
root (hd0,6)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.21-9.EL ro root=LABEL=/
initrd /initrd-2.4.21-9.EL.img
title DOS
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

"/boot/grub/grub.conf" 39L, 1397C 39,2-9 Bot
*******************************************************************************
I have windows installed on my C drive.

please tell me what do? how to fix grub? or how to install another boot loader if it is too difficult to fix this grub problem.

Thanks

Shot in the dark, but while you're waiting for someone who really knows the answer, you might try this.

From your Windows installation disk, use the Remote Manager (or whatever that thing is called) to run 'mbrfix' (or maybe it's 'fixmbr'). Then try your grub re-install.

hello

I tried to use fixmbr but it said that I have a non standard MBR and that uisng fixmbr might destroty the partition table and that all drives may be inaccessible after that!

I cannot even imagine losing the partition table

there is another thing:

after I installed grub, windows did open once but I did not let it finish loading until the end. so I think it is not an MBR problem.

any ideas?

thank you

its a strange that it worked fine once
my view is that this prob should not be related to grub at all
well i faced some booting prob once
but my prob was related to extended partition
can u send the result of 'fdisk -l' so that i could understand ur prob better
btw try to reinstall grub and see what happened

Hi,

I would prescribe you to install grub not in /dev/hda1, but only in /dev/hda ...I have seen similar problems and this was able to solve it ...

Try this out...

Regards.

Hello

thank you so much for trying to help me

I did like u told me and I got a different error message!

it says:

Booting 'DOS'

rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1


GRUB Loading stage 2

GRUB loading, please wait...
Error 18

any ideas?

thaks

Hello

This is my #fdisk -l output/

dev/hda1 * 1 2550 20482843+ c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/hda2 2551 9963 59544922+ f Win95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hda5 2551 5100 20482843+ b Win95 FAT32
/dev/hda6 5101 7650 20482843+ b Win95 FAT32
/dev/hda7 7651 7666 128488+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda8 7667 8941 10241406 83 Linux
/dev/hda9 8942 9072 1052226 82 Linux swap
/dev/hda10 9073 9963 7156926 b Win95 FAT32


thanks

Is title DOS is your windows boot function?

Hello D3javu

I don't understand what you mean?

marsguy, seems that your windows boot sector is written by GRUB
I can say that since when you choose Windows in GRUB, it goes back to GRUB, that's what I get..
to fix that, u should go to windows repair console(boot from CD)
but this time not fixmbr, but fixboot ,eg.--> fixboot c: (c is your windows drive)
it should repair your windows boot sector, letting the grub in MBR

then reboot, try your grub to load windows again...

it's strange that it booted once to windows like you said though... don't know..

hope it helps

Hi,

Are you sure that your boot partition is only on hd0,0 ? this could possibly be a problem....

You can check this by going into the rescue mode of linux and looking at the partition information ...

If hd0,0 is not the correct partition, then change the number 0 in hd0,0 to corresponding parition where the boot info of windows lies .....ofcourse, this may most probably be the partition which holds c:\

Regards.

vijfita has rightly pointed out and i repeat that u should check which partition is having win boot info
u cannot give a reference of an extended partition directly
so try passing (hd0,4) or (hd0,5) or (hd0,9) for /dev/hda5..6..10
i think it should work