Fixing Boot Loader

[arynn]

I am currently running Windows XP and have just installed Mandrake Linux.

When I installed Mandrake, it automatically overwrote my Windows boot loader (I may have made a selection for it to do that, but I don't remember doing so). I plan on installing Red Hat over Mandrake and will need to alter my boot loader.

What's the best way to go about switching to a Windows XP / Red Hat Linux dual boot?

Thanks for the help.

 

[greeneagle79]

after installing redhat or waterver,

go to /ect directory edit lilo.conf file, add these lines at the end

other=/dev/hda1
level=winxp


then restart lilo, by typing

lilo -D winxp

 

[cleverhandle]

I'm fairly sure that LILO cannot use the "other" tag to boot to an NT-kernel Windows version. Grub might be able to, never tried it. It would be easier to use the XP bootloader described here. I'm not sure how to save your XP installation exactly - I've never used it without 98 around in the first partition. But I imagine the XP CD would be useful.

 

[ivwshane]

Do what cleverhandle said. Once you get into linux and do the required things in linux you can boot from the winXP cd and use the recovery console to fdisk mbr, which will rewrite your boot record and allow you to boot into windows, where from there you can finish the rest of the how-to in the above link.

 

[arynn]

Thanks for the information.

I just finished installing Reh Hat using the Grub Boot Loader. (It seemed to allow me to label my first drive as XP, so I gave it a shot.) I just booted up and it gave me a Red Hat splash screen with options to pick Linux or XP.

I expected it to be much more challenging.

 

[ivwshane]

Not when you do it right the first time😛

 

[Prince]

Whenever i install linux, boot loader is alway on the floppy. Easier, and safest.