That thing about XP boot
 

Hallo,

I wish to dual boot XP and Slackware on a 64Bit system but here is the main problem for now; installed linux fine even though it strangely took eons to complete but i do not wish to use lilo i wish to use the OS loader that comes with XP problem is after installing linux to the superblock i cannot get into the linux i already installed and i know it is there!

So, does anyone know how; I can get into the already installed linux which i cannot boot into because BIOS boots XP? Note that i have already tried to mark the linux partition as bootable which is not working.

xmeson

Here's a way to configure the XP loader to work for you:
http://jaeger.morpheus.net/linux/ntldr.php

or google "dual boot NTLDR".

Another option is to use your linux boot cd into rescue mode and put grub or lilo into the mbr to handle the dual booting

http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Dual_booting

To boot your Linux installation, you'll need the bootdisk created during the install, or you can boot from install CD #1 and follow the instructions on the initial screen.

only windows uses bootable flags, no other os pays any attention.

as for your situation, you have prsumably made a boot disk for slackware when you installed it, in which case you simply boot using that and then run "lilo" as root to reinstall lilo. Note that the XP loader can NOT boot any other OS. you would still need to reinstall lilo into another partition and chainload it onwards from the shitty XP (NT) bootloader. if you're making the XP bootloader point towards the linux partition, it will still require a bootloader install there to do anything.

Best way to dual/multi boot is have XP installed first, then install GNU/Linux distro of choice, and use the Linux booter. Easiest/fastest

Presumptions
 

Thanks for the response but i do NOT wish to use lilo or grub for i NEED windows to manage to manage all the OS loading because i will still be adding other things to this box. I already made bootsect.lnx in /tmp of the installed linux but just can't get to to it and the windows is on a FAT partition. I am EXTREMELY averse to changing anything with the XP installation but willing to add things to it without doing any major modifications.

I did not make a boot disk because floppies are dead and buried! Not a lot of laptops come these days with a floppy so i just this not make one, otherwise i would not be posting this, note that i have done this process several times already (when i could get floppies) but now it seems like an easy problem but not quite. Note also that i tried to mount /fat-c (windows partition C:) before alt+ctrl+del but simply could not do so (wondered why). But if i can get into the ALREADY installed linux then this should be easy.

"Boot with live cd" or "boot with cd" is instictively easy to say but EXACTLY how to get into the ALREADY installed (without doing freah installation which is a real drag) seems to elude most people?

xmeson

Boot with the Install CD1. At the boot: prompt, enter "root=/dev/hda1 noinitrd ro" (Replace /dev/hda1 with whatever partition you installed to. (BTW, It tells you this at the first 'boot:' prompt.)

PSS: I'm dual booting all the time with lilo. No probs at all. It the MSWin bootloader (ntldr) that has problems.

Thanks again, i just tried your suggestion but it says; "could not find kernel image=/dev/hda4"? But i am very sure installed a kernel.

Try "bare.i" or whatevr kernel you installed

Read what it says above 'boot:', follow that

Just figured that out ;)

Lol....

Always remember that old saying.....


If all else fails, read the instructions.
And if that doesn't work, plug it in.

Embarassed myself more than once with BOTH of the above.....

Xmeson:
Your system is already using XP's bootloader to boot, which is good. All you have to do is tell XP's loader where to find linux. This involves a few different steps.

1. Boot into linux with the rescue disk.
2. Save linux's superblock.
3. Boot into Windows XP.
4. Tell XP's boot loader how to boot linux.


STEP ONE (Boot into linux with the rescue disk).
You should use slackware's disk 2 for this, although I think you can also use disk 1. At first, it's just like when you start installing slackware, because it prompts you for which kernel to use. If you have sata hard drive(s), use sata.i , otherwise just type bare.i .

Now linux is up, and you're ready to save it's superblock. Before you can do this though, you'll need a place to put it. Since you don't have a floppy, you should use a small flash drive. Usually these show up as /dev/sda1 (unless /dev/sda is your hard drive, in which case it could show up as /dev/sdb1). To see your available disk partitions (including your flash drive), just type:
Lets say you determined that your flash drive is /dev/sda1 - now you need to mount it.
To create a mount point:
To mount it:
Now you're ready for step 2.

STEP TWO (Save linux's superblock)
Let's assume you have windows installed on /dev/hda1, and linux on /dev/hda2. You want to save the first 512 bytes from linux's partition (/dev/hda2) to a file on your flash drive. To do that, do:
* Make sure you select the right partition that corresponds to linux.

Now you sync your flash drive:
Unmount the flash drive:
And reboot into windows:

STEP THREE (Boot into Windows)
Well, you already know how to do this.

STEP FOUR (Tell XP's boot loader how to boot linux)
Now from XP, go into your flash drive, and copy the file named 'linux.bin' that we created in step two, onto your C:\ drive (or whatever drive is your system drive on XP).

You have to modify a file called boot.ini in XP's C:\ drive. It's hidden and read-only by default , so you 'll need to enable viewing hidden and system files:
Now right click on the file named c:\boot.ini , select properties, and uncheck the read-only checkbox, and click OK.
Then open the file, and add the following line to it.

This tells XP to give you a "Slackware" option when you boot, and also tells it to use the linux.img file to boot it.


Some of these steps depend on your system, particularly your partition layout.

Hope it helps you out.

Post your results.

That should be "bare.i root=/dev/hda4 noinitrd ro" thanks...I will take my chances with XP boot loader. I just got a Ferrari 4000 with XP and plan to add XP64 as well but i have heard real horror stories about puting linux(at least Slack, they say Ubuntu is great but i am not convinced) on this thing. By the way, my desktop box has lilo managing things, my old laptop (which i still use) also has lilo runing on it but this laptop has to be ready and realiable all the time. Do not presume that i think lilo or linux is unreliable in fact i think the opposite but just that on this particular machine i want to proceed with caution. Thanks again!

Windowbreaker, I'll be doing the same thing except I'll be using a floppy instead of a flashdrive.

I think I see how that works, but I want to take nothing at all for granted. I have only one computer here, so I don't want to lose access because I do something stupid. Would you please indicate the exact steps I'll be doing with a floppy? Thank you very much.

It is interesting to see what people are familiar with or not. Boot.inis are favourites of mine. You can substitute the "dummy line" which just says "Windows" and replace it with a title line, so mine looks like this:

Grongle's Windows:
Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2 > Crystal
Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP1 > Sapphire
Microsoft Windows ME

It is a simple enough trick from DOS batch file days, when you covered a command with a friendly line, such as, Good Morning, Windowbreaker! But that line would really be masking some kind of EXE file.

The combination of XP's boot loader and really fantastic partitioning program make this multi-boot system particularly desirable. Any pauses and defaults can be set along the way. When I boot up, I press one button and go see if my coffee is ready; my work is waiting for me when I return. But if my girlfriend wants to use it, she waits 'till she sees her name and presses one more button then. Now I want to put my first Slackware ever (10.2) on in just such a cool, smooth sequence. I'm pretty excited about it--so, thanks a lot, all you guys.

Check out How to Dual with XP/200/NT...article in linuxquestions.org by clicking on tutorials instead of forums and clicking Applications/GUI/Mutimedia then scrolling until you find the article. That and posters' help should set you up. Have fun.