Modifying FAT32 File-system under Linux.

From: Ayaz Ahmed Khan (resilient_at_myrealbox.com)
Date: 10/26/03 

Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 14:43:24 -0500

While copying text files from within RH 7.1 to Windows 98 SE, I found, after
the house had burned to the last bit, that somehow the 'boot.ini' file was
missing from /dev/hda1, which is where Windows 98 SE is installed. I obviously
couldn't boot into Windows. I didn't know why, then, and in apparent confusion
I ran 'fdisk /mbr' from a boot-able CD. I lost 'lilo' from the MBR, and
couldn't boot into RH, too.

Booting off of the resuce image provided in the RH CD, I couldn't get the
'mkbootdisk' to work. It just didn't work, although the utility was there.
I, then, mistakenly, and in the hope of finding a way to get lilo back on the
MBR, ran the 'mkfs' command against /dev/hda1. In the absence of any specified
file system type, the 'mkfs' utility assumes the file system to be 'ext2', and,
thus, it modified /dev/hda1 to 'ext2' file system. I frightfully ran it again,
but this time with the 'msdos' file system type specified.

Somehow I did manage to get lilo back on the MBR, and am booting off RH, I
can't now mount /dev/hda1, at all.

Is everything that comprised /dev/hda1 lost? 

-- 
Ayaz Ahmed Khan
Yours Forever in,
Cyberspace.

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