Re: Dual (triple) boot problem (win98, Linux, WinXP)
From: P Gentry (rdgentry1_at_cablelynx.com)
Date: 12/12/03
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Date: 11 Dec 2003 16:40:38 -0800
"Zalek Bloom" <ZalekBloom@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<pan.2003.12.07.21.24.54.805936@hotmail.com>...
> Hello,
> I installed on my PC Win98SE, Linux RH8.0 and WinXP. Boot manager is
> LILO. On my first screen I see 3 options: Win98, Linux and WinXP.
> When I choose WinXP - computer stucks.
> When I choose Win98 I am getting a WinXP boot menu: Win98 and WinXP and
> from there everything is working.
> My question: can I start WinXP from LILO without going to the second menu?
> In lilo.conf I have:
>
> other=/dev/hda4
> optional
> label=WinXP
>
> From fdisk /dev/hda I see:
>
> Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
> /dev/hda1 * 1 3208 25768228+ c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
> /dev/hda2 3209 3221 104422+ 83 Linux
> /dev/hda3 3222 5021 14458500 f Win95 Ext'd (LBA)
> /dev/hda4 5022 7297 18281970 7 HPFS/NTFS
> /dev/hda5 3222 4842 13020651 83 Linux
> /dev/hda6 4843 5021 1437786 82 Linux swap
>
> All OS are working properly - just this annoying 2nd menu.
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Zalek
Hmmm... indeed! For compaison here's my output from my RH8:
Disk /dev/hda: 240 heads, 63 sectors, 5169 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 15120 * 512 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 1016 7680928+ b Win95 FAT32
/dev/hda2 1017 1030 105840 83 Linux
/dev/hda3 1031 2384 10236240 83 Linux
/dev/hda4 2385 5169 21054600 f Win95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hda5 2385 3061 5118088+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda6 3062 3738 5118088+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda7 3739 4144 3069328+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda8 4145 4550 3069328+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda9 4551 4821 2048728+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda10 4822 4856 264568+ 82 Linux swap
/dev/hda11 4857 5169 2366248+ 83 Linux
Note that hda4, the extended partition, ends at the last cylinder,
just as you would expect.
You appear to have created hda4 _beyond_ the extended partition as
your XP NTFS, with hda5 and hda6 in the extended partition. Never
seen that before.
I have a really bad feeling about this partitioning scheme. Is this a
recent installation? If so, (even if not) I would be prone to wipe
clean and start over. That may not be feasible, but at least see if
you can get it back to just Win98, delete all but the Win98 partition,
then install XP, then finish with RH.
I am assuming that your order of install was Win98, RH, then XP. I
know you/Linux could move things around, but not like this, I think.
If so, that's some fancy disk geometry translation going on. I think
XP laid claim to the last available primary partition, and placed
itself at the end of the hd. That's how Linux behaves on i86
machines.
Simply adding an entry (stanza) to Lilo for XP is not enough. Did you
execute lilo at a prompt? If not, Lilo is unaware of the physical
layout of the disk. What does lilo -q output? In any case, without a
table entry after your label entries, Lilo does not pass any partiton
info on.
If I'm right (always a questionable proposition) then what's happening
is this:
-- Lilo is in the MBR (else it wouldn't load the menu at boot)
-- Lilo knows perfectly well how to execute an accurate jump to boot
Linux
-- Lilo knows how to jump to Win98's boot loader _location_ (since
Win98 was already on the machine when you installed Linux)
-- Lilo knows nothing about how to execute a jump instruction to boot
XP (so computer hangs)
-- when you choose Win98 from Lilo's menu, Lilo accurately jumps to
the _location_ to execute a boot loader, but when you installed XP, XP
placed its multi-boot loader where the Win98 boot loader used to be.
That's why you get the XP loader.
The problem with loading MS OSs _after_ Linux is that they are largely
ignorant of those Linux partitions. Fortunately, you had some free,
unformatted disk space when you installed XP, XP saw the extended
partition and placed itself after that. Notice how your last Linux
partition ends at the end of the extended partition (hda6). MS tools
are not always so mindful of partition tables which hold records for
unsupprted formats. A very big reason I don't like this setup.
MS strongly suggests that for multi-booting MS OSs, the oldest version
should appear on disk first, next oldest MS version second, newest MS
version last. That means some Win tool or code is going to assume
that's the way it actually is. OUCH!
Also, Lilo is dead on RH. Grub is, in fact, a much better, more
robust way to go. Use Grub as your boot loader.
If you can uninstall XP cleanly, and Lilo then boots Win98 properly,
you're OK. My fear is that you're going to lose Linux in the process
(or at least Lilo's code in the MBR). Make sure you make copies of
your partition tables and the MBR before trying to uninstall XP.
On the other hand, if you restore the MBR to MS while XP is installed
what will you get in the MBR; XP's loader? You could use your RH cd
to boot (?) into Linux and clean up the Linux partitions. MS's fdisk
ususally craps out trying to delete Linux partitions, especially those
in the extended partition. I know! You can't believe how it corrupts
the hd.
It sure would be nice if you could back out of XP, leave Lilo in the
MBR, clean up and delete the Linux partitions, restore the MBR to boot
Win98, then install XP, then install Linux. If you try it, be sure
you have a confirmed way to boot up with each of the OSs.
Best/easiest if you could just wipe everything and start fresh.
This will be time comsuming, but it's the only way I would have
confidence in the long term stability of this PC. And we haven't even
mentioned what a virus might do on a system laid out this way.
Sorry to sound so gloomy, but the longer you put it off the harder it
will be to backup data/configuration files before you do try it.
Wishing I had good news,
prg
email above disabled
- Next message: Joseph B. Tillman: "Re: how to update RHL 7.2"
- Previous message: Brad B: "NFS soft mount NOT timing out with error when client is not 'alive'"
- In reply to: Zalek Bloom: "Dual (triple) boot problem (win98, Linux, WinXP)"
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