mobo swap without reinstalling
 

hi guys

im using lilo bootloader (mandrake linux 10) that will boot to winxp's boot loader which will boot to my windows operating systems (winxp pro, win2k pro)

will changing the mobo+cpu lose lilo bootloader? do i need to do something beforehand so i can keep my current configuration?

thanks in advance!
kandie

No, changing the motherboard will not remove lilo, lilo is on the harddrive. Depending on how much more advanced the new board is, you could run into problems if you go from IDE to SATA. Lilo won't detect the drives correctly, and you'll have to use a rescue disc to go in and change lilo. I would highly HIGHLY recommend installing GRUB over lilo before upgrading as it doesn't have this issue going from IDE to SATA.

Another possible problem is the drive interface not being recognized. This will only be an issue if you're using and initrd that doesn't have the right ATA driver. You'll need to rescue the system and make a new ramdisk. I'm not familiar with how Mandriva does that....

Windows might ask you to re-validate, FYI. Also, I've never been successful at installing XP on a SATA drive.... Your experience may differ.

If you are using Mandrake Linux 10, you should install a newer version (current is Mandriva Linux 2009.0). MDK 10 has not been supported with security patches for a very long time (The last patch was issued 09-20-2005 - 3 1/4 years ago). If you have your user information on a separate (/home) partition you should be able to install the current version and retain most (if not all) your user configuration(s). By doing an install (as opposed to an upgrade), you will avoid issues with incompatibilities between MDK10 and MDV2009.0 so I strongly suggest this course of action.

Mandrake Linux merged with Conectiva Linux some time ago and renamed the distribution Mandriva to reflect the joining of the two distributions. MDK 10.1 was released as both MDK 10.1 and MDV 2005.0 (the only release in Mandrake / Mandriva history to have two designations). Since the merger, the MDV GUI system management utilities have evolved (I think for the better), but they are still included in the distribution and are the primary reason for my loyalty to Mandriva (since about 1998).

I do not know your reasons for using MDK10, but if you do not move to a supported MDV release, you should select a supported release of some other Linux distribution. I honestly believe that using a supported version of Windows would be better than using an unsupported release of any OS (and I NEVER suggest using Windows to ANYONE!).

My 2 cents,