Re: Dual boot question

In message <67k093-oqh.ln1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
"Peter T. Breuer" <ptb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Alan Adams <alan.adams@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Is there a simple way to tell the Windows boot.ini that Linux is an option?
>
> Sure - that's a standard way. Read one of the many howtos.
> Windows+Linux, etc.
>
> > This seems a simpler route than the one for rebuilding grub, of which I have
> > read various different sets of instructions, and failed to understand which
> > one I need.
>
> Don't you just need to run setup (hd0) or sume such from the cmmand
> line?

I don't know. What does setup do?

As far as I can see most of grub seems to be in /boot/grub, but there must
be a bit in the mbr on a standard installation. I don't know how to restore
that bit after Windows has replaced the contents of the mbr.

>
> > (I suspect that will fail because it would require Windows to read an ext3
> > partition in order to hand over control. Is that right?)
>
> No it's not right. Why would it? The windows boot loader bots a linux
> boot loader that you save to the windows partition in a file, an that
> boots linux. Mind you, the linux boot loader doesn't read an "ext2/3"
> partition either! It just jumps to a specified location n disk an runs
> whatever it finds there.

Alternatively, if I can put a line in boot.ini which jumps to the
appropriate part of the appropriate disk, that will do me just fine. Any
idea what I need to put there, or how I find out?

>
> Anyway, why don't you just run loadlin.exe c:\boot\vmlinuz root=/dev/hda5
> ... or whetever?
>
> > I have a bootable grub floppy. I don't understand how to use it.
>
>
> You put it in the credit card slot and reboot.

And then do what?

I'm relucatant to experiment with the commands offered while the system is
working, but I know once I repair Windows I may have to use it and get it
right - or reinstall Linux, which with the amount of knowledge I have, may
be easier.

> > Currently / is on hda7, Win98 is on hda1, WinXP is on hda5
>
> > menu.lst shows Ubuntu booting from (hd0,6)Windows from (hd0,0)
>
> > device.map contains just 2 lines
> > (hd0) \dev\hda
> > (hd1) \dev\hdb
>
> Hunky. So what's the problem? Where do you want to write the boot
> loader?

Presumably in the mbr of the first disk seen by the bios. What are the
commands to do that?

Alan

--
Alan Adams, from Northamptonshire
alan.adams@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.nckc.org.uk/
.

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