reinstall windows without losing linux

ereeno · 09-01-2003, 03:37 PM

i need to reinstall windows due to various problems and annoyances, and I was just wondering if there is a way to reinstall windows on it's partition without losing my data and root and boot partitions?

Any help appreciated!

fancypiper · 09-01-2003, 03:42 PM

You shouldn't loose anything except your bootloader with Windows 98 down. I think the install for flavors that use NTFS can actually see and remove the Linux partitions.

What is your partitioning setup?

# How are the hard drives partitioned
fdisk -l

ereeno · 09-01-2003, 03:47 PM

I am running windows XP Pro and mandrake 9.1.

I have a fat32 data partition. I would like to reinstall windows on the partitions i made just for it, i dont mind if i have to lose everything on that partition, but i don't want to lose the data partition and the linux ones.

Code:

[root@anj733iqy82g ss]# /sbin/fdisk -l
 
Disk /dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/disc: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
 
                                Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part1   *         1      2611  20972826    7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part2          2612      6530  31479367+   c  Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part3          6531      6543    104422+  83  Linux
/dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part4          6544      9729  25591545    5  Extended
/dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part5          6544      9536  24041241   83  Linux
/dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part6          9537      9729   1550241   82  Linux swap

quatsch · 09-01-2003, 03:50 PM

well, it'll depend on what you have for installing win. The 'recovery' CDs I got with my laptop wipe the whole harddrive - no way around it at all. If you have proper install CDs, it might be possible to avoid kiling linux but I'm not sure.

mike975 · 09-01-2003, 04:04 PM

I lost windows weeks ago and have not been able to get it working again and fear I may have to do a re-insatall of XP, much as it pains me. I am a relative newbie to Linux (and a relative newcomer to computers too!!), only had it since since June and love it so far. It merrily goes along and never crashes. I use the Lycoris distro and have just got it the way I like it. Unfortunately there are some things I still rely on Windows for, so I must make the XP re-install.

I have been worried about reinstalling XP and it upsetting the Linux partition. (My HDD has 4 partitions; Linux Swap, Linux, Windows plus a partition for storing files and docs)

I have read that the Windows reinstall will overwrite the bootloader. I have the Linux emergancy recovery floppy to hand, I just need to know how to re-instate the bootloader once Windows wrecks it.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards, Mike.

Nimoy · 09-01-2003, 04:26 PM

Once you booted the system with your rescue disk type:

grub-reinstall /dev/hda

That is if you use the Grub bootloader....

Can't remember the LILO procedure but I think all you need is to boot the rescue... (but don't pin me on that one)

fancypiper · 09-01-2003, 04:34 PM

Command

/sbin/lilo

to reinstall lilo.

Be very careful because if you have "recovery CDs" for Windows above Windows 98, you will probably wipe the drive. I even had the Windows 98 to wipe Linux once, so be very careful with it. I suggest a separate drive for Windows and unplug any Linux drives when installing Windows. Then, it can't screw up Linux, no matter how hard it tries.

quatsch · 09-01-2003, 04:35 PM

for lilo just do
lilo -v
as root. Should be fine.

ereeno · 09-01-2003, 05:28 PM

but how do i get to the screen where i would type that? I don't have any sort of "boot disk" for mandrake, how would i make one?

My windows is running extremely slow, and i can't figure out why. I dont see how it could be a virus because i haven't even used windows for weeks! I am doing a virus scan but it is going so very slooowly, i might just give up and try a reinstall from scratch.

First i'll have to save all my mp3's and documents though it seems.

fancypiper · 09-01-2003, 05:41 PM

Put in install CD 1

Boot linux rescue rather than the install

ereeno · 09-01-2003, 05:46 PM

so the basic procedure is as follows

reboot with windows XP cd
install windows to the partition it is already on
reboot to windows
windows will see it's own partition plus the data partition it originally created
reboot using mandrake install cd 1
enter linux rescue mode
type
/sbin/lilo
to reinstall lilo bootloader
reboot
and then it should come up as before

does that sound about right??

quatsch · 09-01-2003, 05:46 PM

you can make a bootdisk for mandrake in mandrake control center. Look under boot. make sure to try the floppy before you start reinstalling things.

there might be some background process in windows that's slowing it down. you could see if there are any suspicious processes. You get to the process monitor or whatever it was called by pressing ctrl-alt-del in xp (I believe).

quatsch · 09-01-2003, 05:47 PM

your procedure sounds about right. let's hope xp doesn't wipe your linux.

ereeno · 09-01-2003, 06:07 PM

maybe i'll try making the boot disk as well so that i have two methods of attack.

shanenin · 09-01-2003, 10:34 PM

I have recovery cds also. Do you have a recovery partition? If I do a reinstall from my recovery partition it does not affect my linux partition. It just seems to reinstall on my ntfs partition. But once I damaged my recovery partition so I had to use my recovery cds, it wiped my drive clean. I wish I had plain old windows os cds, not thes stupid recovery ones.