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View Poll Results: Did this or the thread posted in the link, make you;
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Old 02-20-2006, 09:06 PM   #1
Siljrath
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is it ok if i vent here over mild frustration from impatience?


http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...51#post2110051

in the thread at the above posted link, i asked what was wrong with installing a bootloader in the MBR. people either missed this question, or were more concerned with the nature and manner in which the question was asked. as no one raised any issue with the question of concern, that of installing a bootloader to the MBR.
am i now to asume that there is infact nothing to be concerned about the installation of a bootloader to the MBR and instead turn my attention to how to write questions to satisfy the unimaginative or literaturativly anally retenisent?

pity it got closed before i returned to it. i'm sure others too have had concern over this issue when installing new opperating systems and recieving the message from various aveneus of help "DO NOT INSTALL TO THE MBR", "DON'T TOUCH THE MBR", "LEAVE THE MBR ALONE" and other messages of similar content, alwasy writen in caps for emphasis. and so now i wonder... is it a conspiracy of these situational advice and warning givers, or an event to highlight our ineptitude and past failings (perhaps born out of design flaws in the system) to reccognise content, blinded by over interest in procedure... perhaps a side effect of the teaching methods prevailent in many IT courses and institutions, unintentional in its slant effect on the psyche and mental approach of many a geek? thus the stagnation in any real developmental advancements in user interfaces and their integration between software and user's activity, which is the only true bottleneck we face in computing in this human generation. ...?

no, i can tell you've already started to formulate your responce prior to considering, prior to giving a moments contemplation of ...



as the name suggests, "linuxquestions", rather than "linuxquestionsthinkingandotheroutoftheboxweindesperationclingto" or maybe it was just called linux questions because as to hint at more requires impractically lengthy names. too much? you decide, or don't, you read it.
 
Old 02-20-2006, 09:30 PM   #2
vharishankar
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Next time use words while asking a question. Not hanging exclamation marks or question marks. We aren't mind readers, for God's sake!

How are we supposed to know why you asked that question? There are many contexts in asking questions... without the context, what answer did you expect?

If this was a linuxpsychicquestions.org site, then I'm sure you were perfectly justified in that question.

Last edited by vharishankar; 02-20-2006 at 09:31 PM.
 
Old 02-20-2006, 09:39 PM   #3
Simon Bridge
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The responces you received were reasonable and to the point.
Basically, you asked "So?" and the responce was "So what?" in several different ways. Your responce should have been to explain the original question - providing examples.

I'll explain:
The people responding to your post are doing so from the context of answering a question about some sort of problem. Your post did not actually state what your problem was (vis: that you have read many warnings not to install to MBR)

Without this very simple peice of information, nobody could have responded in any other way to your post.

And to answer your question: when dual booting with WinXP or similar, there can be problems getting windows to boot if you have overwritten the windows bootloader. (It is often done to use GRUB or whatever to load windows via the windows bootloader.) People who have had troubles resulting from this tend to get a tad hysterical about it because of the amount of pain involved in fixing this.

There are other reasons, like some windows apps will complain unless the NT bootloader is in MBR (like anti-virus programs which complain that the MBR has been invaded!)

There is some concern that a misconfigured MBR means you cannot boot anything - but this is silly: as if nobody has heard of a rescue CD.

That's all there is to it really.
 
Old 02-20-2006, 09:40 PM   #4
duffmckagan
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This site has got a lotta visiters everyday.

Also, if you would have searched the Forum for a while, you could have been hit by hundreds of similar threads.

As Harishankar already said, we are not mindreaders.

You say that you have installed the Boot Loader to the MBR.
Well...I don't see it as a problem, but you do!

So that is the difference, and so you need to justify.
 
Old 02-28-2006, 11:22 PM   #5
uberNUT69
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You've gone to more effort to post a complaint,
and included more detail about your problem in that complaint,
than in the orginal question itself.

Build a bridge and get over yourself.
 
Old 03-01-2006, 03:55 AM   #6
slantoflight
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I can't help but grin at your thread.

Keep in mind that your question is the equivalent of asking

"Okay, my computer can boot. Is there anything I can do to fix it?"

Then you justify the question by calling people who don't anwser it umimaginitive and literaturativly anally retenisent? But the only correct answer to that question is a destructive answer.

Quote:
literaturativly?
rentenisten?
These are actually words? No wonder why you confuse the hell out of people. If you want to talk to people you gotta learn how to talk in their own language. I don't see why you choose to be so creative and wordy in your complaint, but when it comes to asking for simple advice you start talking in caveman speak.

Quote:
....!

so....?
"MBR....bootloader...problem? derm... grrr. Must smash"

lol

Pride issues maybe?
 
Old 03-02-2006, 12:43 AM   #7
Siljrath
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Original Poster
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ahhh. i feel bathed in logic. thanks.

thanks for the logic, the time, etc, and also thanks for letting me off with this venting.


Quote:
Pride issues maybe?
maybe.

issues with the english language... definately.


Quote:
You say that you have installed the Boot Loader to the MBR.
Well...I don't see it as a problem, but you do!
I don't! that was why i was asking.
but simon bridge already pointed out the viod of context that needed filling in the original question.

and back to "context"....
having seen one too many warnings "not to install bootloader to mbr" out of context, i then unwittingly proceeded to ask more contextless questions in my incrementally increasing confusion. i do appologise.

Quote:
literaturativly .... retenisent
or,
Quote:
literaturativly?
rentenisten?
no, i don't think they were words, but my head was blasting around in the swirl from too much alphawave & beta brainwave activity and a whole host of unressolved issues leading to anger, frustration, impatience and wild moodswings besides. watched a few episodes of star trek and i'm feeling much better now.

ps, initiating the "build a bridge and get over myself" procedure, and making a mental note to stop posting dyslexia as it upsets the english teachers.



oh, but back to the point just so i don't come back to this. is the following correct?

installing a bootloader to the "Master Boot Record" won't necessarily mess up your boot. when people say "dont install a bootloader to MBR" they mean so that the bootloader already installed there won't get replaced.



i'll understand this now. especially when i see it all in action. sorry.
 
Old 03-02-2006, 02:21 AM   #8
vharishankar
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Yes, it depends on your configuration. If you already have a working boot manager, you should normally not overwrite the MBR. Instead, when you install an new OS, choose not to install the boot loader and configure the existing boot loader to launch the new OS.

I hope this is clear.
 
Old 03-02-2006, 12:13 PM   #9
KimVette
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Siljrath>

In the thread you linked to, you did NOT ask a question. You posted gibberish.
 
Old 03-02-2006, 05:44 PM   #10
Simon Bridge
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Harishankar
If you already have a working boot manager, you should normally not overwrite the MBR.
Unless, of course, you prefer a different bootloader.

There is an option in many installers to install GRUB to a location other than MBR... but still to use GRUB (not the existing boot loader). The question is, why not install GRUB to MBR, if this is what you'll use?

The answer is, that some windows versions crash when the MBR does not contain the windows boot loader.

My personal take is that windows is more trouble than it's worth. Get rid of it.
 
Old 03-02-2006, 06:26 PM   #11
KimVette
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Bridge
The answer is, that some windows versions crash when the MBR does not contain the windows boot loader.
Which version of Windows is that? I know that Windows/386 through Windows Vista (beta) do not, so please enlighten us!
 
Old 03-02-2006, 07:20 PM   #12
aldimeneira
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Bridge
(...) some windows versions crash when the MBR does not contain the windows boot loader.

My personal take is that windows is more trouble than it's worth. Get rid of it.
Indeed. If it's necesary (to use Windows, for work, study, etc)I prefer the virtual machine aproach.
 
Old 03-02-2006, 09:14 PM   #13
wipe
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Many times people are confused when they have a problem and don't necessarily know how to put it into words. The smart thing would be to ask for some more information and not close the thread straight away. We are here to help and learn, not to reprove newbies that might feel anxious or unsure. People tend to learn quickly how to ask a question if pointed at the right direction.

Last edited by wipe; 03-02-2006 at 10:07 PM.
 
Old 03-02-2006, 11:06 PM   #14
Simon Bridge
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KimVette
Which version of Windows is that? I know that Windows/386 through Windows Vista (beta) do not, so please enlighten us!
A fair question and deserving of an answer... I was, of course, relating hearsay. I have heard that it can mess up windows if you overwrite the mbr. (And, yes I have just modified my stance here...)

The obvious one is when something goes wrong with linux - like erasing the entire file system - then grub won't load and windows also becomes unbootable. (Solution being to boot from windows rescue disk and running fixboot or whatever it is.)
http://help.lockergnome.com/index.ph...ded&show=&st=&

That's not quite what I said is it?

Sometimes there is a bug which makes windows XP inaccessable in dual-boot with other linuxes. The example here is Fedora.
http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedor.../msg02114.html

Better? How about...

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Oper..._21371233.html
http://www.averatecforums.com/showthread.php?t=3188
http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/yop...ed-up-mbr.html

These are just quick examples of problems with overwritten mbr and windows.
And, of course, there are many discussions of just this in LQ.

Last edited by Simon Bridge; 03-02-2006 at 11:08 PM.
 
Old 03-03-2006, 10:53 AM   #15
jeremy
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This thread is getting quite offtopic for WS&F. I'm going to go ahead and close it..if you'd like to continue the topic in the appropriate forum, please feel free.

--jeremy
 
  


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