[Luna] Questions about linux.

[Jake Morin]

Alright,

Loaded Mandriva onto the linux drive and LILO onto the Windows drive.

LILO Loads and I can get into Mandriva BUT...

and there is always a but isn't there.

Windows doesn't load now.

I can chose windows and the XP loading screen pops up with the scrolly
green bar, but after that the screen goes to what looks like a LILO
screen and says something like

"autochk not running end autocheck"  Although it could be slightly
different because it flashes pretty quickly.  Unfortunately I have to
leave to phoenix in and hour or so, which means I won't get to touch
it till late sunday.

Still in the meantime any suggestions would be appreciated.  (This
post made in Mandriva YEAH!).

Jake

On 10/25/06, Ernest Bowman-Cisneros <ebc at asu.edu> wrote:
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> Jake,
>
> You actually have a couple of different options with regard to how to
> setup your dual-boot system:
>
> 1. Rarely Reboot into Linux - Use a boot CD/DVD/Floppy (gasp, they still
> have those?), keep Windows installed disk as Master, Linux disk as Slave.
>
> 2. Occasionally Reboot into Linux - Use grub4dos (or similar NT/Windows
> based loader) to boot to Linux, keep Windows installed disk as Master,
> Linux disk as Slave.
>
> 3. Frequently Reboot into Linux - Install LILO/GRUB (or Linux
> boot-loader dejour) on your Master disk, order of disk doesn't matter.
>
> Should also be helpful to have on hand an MSDOS (or other DOS) bootable
> floppy/CD with the format command that can blow back the brain-dead MBR
> onto a disk. This is very useful if your boot loader runs amok. Ditto
> for having a good Linux rescue floppy/CD/DVD on hand, that lets get back
> to your Linux partitions.
>
> NOTE: Changing your MBR program on a disk does not affect your
> partitions, so if your MBR gets hosed: Grab your towel and Don't Panic.
> The you have the aforementioned rescue tools, you should be set to
> recover from most issue.
>
> As for why your system always boots to Windows, my guess (without
> inspection of your system) is that the BIOS is looking for a valid MBR
> (irrespective of Master or Slave drive) to bootstrap from. If the new
> installed drive is clean (no MBR), then the BIOS will default to the
> second. Also possible that the new drive has a MBR that is looking for
> an active/bootable partition, which it only finds on the second
> (Windows) disk drive.
>
> My two cents, not a statement of warranty or other legalese that gets me
> off the hook. As always, back up your disks if they contain any valuable
> data before proceeding with any disk operations, the world is a strange
> complex place, where many things are possible and some impossible things
> happen. That said, happy hardware hacking!
>
> Jake Morin wrote:
> > Len,
> >
> > I guess I could try that.  Most people have told me not to install the
> > bootloader on the first disk...something about messing with the mbr
> > (master boot record?)
> >
> > There is no simple way to describe it.  You can look at these threads:
> >
> > http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=274259&highlight=first+time+install
> >
> > and
> >
> > http://www.flaglug.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=20
> >
> > Let me know if you think I should definitely install LILO on the first
> > drive.  I'm not really psyched about putting that HDD at risk though.
> >
> > Thanks Len,
> >
> > Jake
> >
> > On 10/24/06, Len Bright <lpbbright at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> Jake,
> >> So you installed the boot loader on the 2nd disk, the one with Linux
> >> OS installed, is that correct?  Have you tried installing the boot loader on
> >> the
> >> Windows disk? If not, probably the simplist thing for you to try is
> >> reinstall Linux
> >> and install the boot loader, grub or lilo, on the Windows disk, if you have
> >> not
> >> already tried that.  I suggest making Windows your primary drive, Linux the
> >> secondary drive, and install your boot loader on the Windows disk.  Also,
> >> what was the problem you ran into when you attempted your installation on a
> >> single hard drive?
> >>
> >> -Len
> >>
> >>
> >> Jake Morin <jacobmorin at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>  I am subscribed.
> >>
> >> I just seem to have been having the worst time with linux. I'm not
> >> all that dull when it comes to computers but I've had a hell of a time
> >> with linux.
> >>
> >> First, I had harddrive issues when trying to install on a single
> >> harddrive. So I decided to get a second harddrive. I did, and now I
> >> have a whole new set of problems.
> >>
> >> I have set the linux drive to master, the windows drive to slave,
> >> loaded the live cd of mandriva one. Installed mandriva with lilo.
> >> But for some reason, my computer always boots straight into windows.
> >> I switched the cables, the jumpers, the power cables...all hardware
> >> has been systematically checked. I checked the bios, sure enough,
> >> linux as master, windows as slave. I can't get into linux to change
> >> the lilo file because I have to unplug the windows drive to even reach
> >> the linux.
> >>
> >> When I do unplug the windows drive, lilo loads with a 10 second time
> >> out (so I know it isn't a lilo time situation).
> >>
> >> Like I said, I spent about 20 hours before with the single harddrive
> >> issue and I'm just growing tired of all this fuss. I've tried what's
> >> supposed to be two of the most user friendly distros (Ubuntu and
> >> Mandriva). Hell I've even tried GRUB with Ubuntu and Mandriva.
> >>
> >> Maybe it's windows fault, maybe it's linux's fault, maybe it's my
> >> fault. Don't really know to be quite honest. But if you know, feel
> >> free to tell me :)
> >>
> >> Jake
>
> EBC
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-- 
Jacob Morin
Phone: (602) 918 0154
Email: jacobmorin at gmail.com

"People hardly ever make use of the freedom which they have, for
example, freedom of thought; instead they demand freedom of speech as
compensation." Soren Kiekkegaard, Journals