Multibooting Win2000 and Linux

[gopherCG]

I have Win 2000 on my first drive plus several file partitions and a partition for XOSL. And I have my Linux Mandrake 8.2 on my second drive (slave), with a Linux boot partition, a Linux main part., and a Linux swap part.

I could configure XOSL to multiboot win or Linux, but selecting Linux, XOSL returns me to the black screen and says booting Mandrake Linux... But nothing happens afterwards. Is there a security thing or am I booting the wrong place (both boot part and Linux main doesn't boot)?

I've managed to "multiboot" by pulling power lines off and back on, but I hope this can be easier .

Note that I did not choose expert mode while installing Linux. And I don't know what bootloaders in Linux are for when they don't even execute, like LILO, Grub, and Syslinux. I've set LILO up (correctly?). So what exactly do these programs do?

I want to try to have booting software from the win/dos region because I'm afraid LILO will intimidate me with coding and guessing among these wierd partition names such as /dev/hda/, /sda, /bda1 etc.

BTW, is there a harddisk manager (in Mandrake) that gives info about each of the hda etc?

[snakeyes]

Just curious, in what order did you install each OS? From what I recall, Linux should be installed before you install Windows 2k. I am pretty sure this is with two seperate HD's as well. This might not be the answer to your question, but it might be a start.

[revelation]

Did you let it load LILO when you installed Linux? This is a very slick way of booting into different OS. I am using Windows XP and Linux Mandrake 8.2 and the machine boots from LILO.

[gopherCG]

I used normal instead of expert during install. It didn't mention about LILO I think but it did suggest me to create a partition for the aforementioned "bootloader" so I did. Is there a way to go back and choose expert mode without changing or reinstalling all that other stuff?

[MaXimum SMOKE]

Did you make a boot diskette for the Linux install? Otherwise it may be difficult to set up LILO correctly. The way linux normally sets up drives.. Usually you're running IDE stuff. The primary ide controller - Drive 0 or master is /dev/hda. Drive 1 slave is hdb. Second controller ide- master is hdc, slave is hdd Each physical drive is capable of many partitions, however only 4 can be of the 'primary' type. For the linux portion, lilo basically want's to know where the boot image is. Usually something like /boot/vmlinuz-2.x.xx (where the x es are the kernel version number) and also what the root partition is. For another os like win 9x it wants to know where the bootable partition is , like mine could be /dev/hda1 , the primary partition on the first ide drive. Hence, with this kind of system, a device like /dev/hda6 would mean partition number 6 (not necessarily the real 6th partition on the drive, Six would not be a primary partition, since primary parts are numbers 1 through 4 inclusive. On an install that I may create for a multiboot box with 9x as the system installed on /dev/hda1, the bootloader would be installed on the Master Boot record 'MBR" of the first hard drive, in this case /dev/hda. Under LILO, in Mandrake, The graphical system configuration called Mandrake Control center has wizards to help you set this up. If you understand partitioning, the wizard will serve you well. If you have the boot diskette that Linux usually tells you to create, you should be able to use it to boot to linux, log in as root, and go to the control center to the "BOOT" configuration area. Note I am not familiar with win 2000 or XOSL. The usual disclaimer ---> Backup any and all data that you are afraid of losing. When you're messing around with the Master Boot Record, or writing partitions, there is always a possibility that something could go wrong. If you are using a software that modifies the hard disk, like say your Bios doesn't really support your hard disk size, so the friendly software they gave you with your hard drive, corrects this, DON'T mess with the MBR! If you intend upon swapping the hard drives' position, master for slave to boot a linux install, then configuring lilo, you had better be 'good', because the boot loader wizard, won't be able to set this up correct so that you can switch the drives back, if you see what I mean. Good luck.

[gopherCG]

If the inside contains "syslinux," then I think I made a boot diskette. Thanks for clarifyng, I'll go try it then.

[gopherCG]

The disk doesn work. Well I can reinstall Linux because I only setup the internet, nothing more. XOSL and syslinux didn't boot, probably because all three Linux partitions are set to Logical, not primary (xosl showed this true). What programs can I use to change logicals into primaries without deleting all files? Even reinstalling might not solve the problem, since Linux seems to default to logicals. Am I right?

[MaXimum SMOKE]

There are actually 2 definitions for the term 'boot' disk in linux. In the days before motherboards allowed people to 'boot' a system with a cdrom, there was a way to install linux, by making up a boot disk using a dos based utility called rawrite. (Think i spelled it correct) . It was located in a directory called something like dosutils on the install cd rom. There was also a directory with iso images of 1.44 meg floppys, that this prg. could use to build an install froppy to start the install process to a point that it could be continued from ram and the install cd. After the time when cd devices could boot a system, the process was rarely used.
The type of disk I was referring to is kind of like the 'emergency startup disk' that windows urges you to create so you can boot a system to dos, if the traditional method doesn't work. The main difference here is that the linux start disk, generally doesn't leave you stuck in a console 'dos like' environment. The startup disk, takes into consideration where you have placed your / (root), /boot, and other partitions and boots your system pretty much like a normal boot, leaving you where you would normally be (usually runlevel 5 graphical gui, if that was your choice for system startup) The other level would have been level 3, a text console.
It is good to have emergency startup disks for all the systems you have on your drives if possible. In theory you could create a linux install with 2 parts. one / (Root) , and the other linux swap. The idea of multiple partitions gives you latitude to adjust your system later. I do generally create a separate /boot partition, for the linux kernal. You see in the old days, there was a hardware limitation, that would not let you start up an operating system, if the startup was placed too far inside a drive. ie too many cylinders in. I think lilo has pretty much eliminated that problem, but a separate /boot partition still isn't a bad idea. Make it an early primary one. The rest of it, if I'm not mistaken, could all be non primary partitions in your linux install. During your install, make the suggested linux boot floppy, when it asks you. That way if you install another OS, or something else messes up lilo, or grub, you can probably start your OS up, from floppy. All though there are commercial partition products out there, I have never used one to change a partition type. Generally when they asked you where you wanted to install the boot loader and offered you a separate partition to put it on, it's because nobody wants to catch the grief, if someone puts lilo or grub on their MBR, and wipes out their access to the data on there other OSes. I've seen people have other boot managers put on their drives for hardware compatability, not even know that they were there, then mess with the MBR for any number of reasons, even the old fdisk/mbr dos command and lose all access to their hard drives. Since I know the structure of my drives, and OSes, I put the boot manager in the mbr of the first hard drive. But then again, I am not familiar with the NT, 2000, XP or XOSL os requirements. Therefore I always caution users to back up all their important data, since messing with Master Boot Records, partitioning, and formatting can be the most destructive things you can do to a drive. Does this sort of clear things up any? ;)

[gopherCG]

Sort of. Yeah, I agree the mbr is very fragile. The syslinux disk "is" the emergency disk, and it does allow me to choose an OS to boot (under the dos style you mentioned), but when I press enter for linux, it gives some error and ask for a second/correct disk. But I only have one, where can the other be?

Since I know of no software that safely changes logical to primary, I have an idea. I can format the three Linux parts. as NTFS, FAT16, or FAT32 and install on there. Just that I'm not sure if Linux can be installed there. It should be able to, since Linux supports them. Once I know this, I can reinstall.

[MaXimum SMOKE]

I'm really not sure what happened there. If a) the partition scheme was not changed. b) the boot disk was made in the middle of the current install, c) you booted the boot disk and just pressed the enter key at the boot prompt. d) You installed the system to boot to the graphical gui (level 5)
Then the boot disk should have left you at your graphical login. I know someone that can't modify their MBR because of some compatability software that has to be in the MBR to translate a new disk to an old PC, and that is the way he boots his linux part. He starts it with a boot floppy in a: drive! side note: I recently tried redhat's new beta on this box, and then returned it to Mandrake 8.2 To make a long story short, just for fun, I had the old bootdisk I created in the middle of the rh install. I had not changed the partition table, (just the os) and stuck this disk in and booted to my mandrake gui. Some device drivers didn't load because of the kernal / os difference, but it actually got me to a graphical log in. Linux expects to be on a linux native partition either ext3 the new journalized one or ext2 the old type. The swap should be on a linux swap partition. If a small /boot partition is the first partition made on that drive, then it should become partition 1, like /dev/hdb1 a primary partition. Mine was toggled as bootable. The boot partition is only occupying about 10 megs. (I made it bigger than that however) If your swap partition is next then it will probably be configured as part #5, like /dev/hdb5 (say 300 meg or so) If root (meaning filesystem root or / not the one named root ) is created next it should be part #6. If you are using the graphical linux disk partitioner from mandrake, a second primary partition should (automatically)be created like /dev/hdb2 which would be an extended type partition, covering the entire space used up by numbers 5 and 6. you probably would not be able to see hdb2 in the listing of a graphical partitioning program. You would be able to see it in a text based linux prg, like linux fdisk, but that's another story. See I am assuming that you are installing on an empty slave disk, you have chosen to manually set up the partitions from within the linux install program. I am also asuming that you chose to remove the old unwanted partitions with the partitoning program, and build new ones of the proper type, not try to convert something. After you would do something like this and write the new partition table to disk, the program would show you your new linux partitions and ask you to confirm ones to format for linux. Then the install continues. When installing to a box that has an os like WinMe on the first physical hard drive and I know I will not have quirks or problems if I modify the MBR of that harddrive, then I tell the installer to put the linux bootloader on that MBR. It generally will setup lilo to default to linux as the default image to load, if the other is not selected in the 'countdown time' if the other is not selected during boot. The bootloader can be reconfigured in Mandrakes' control center after you boot up and log in as root. This is the way it worked on my box anyhow ;) Read the instructions on the screens of the manual partitoning program carefully. Please note you have to select the mount points for the partitions: /boot and / on that screen. As always backup your important data, before proceeding with the install. Happy computing.

[gopherCG]

a) I partitioned for Linux during instal
b) yes
c) yes
d) no idea (I configured the graphical gui when I used the Control Center)

Your assumptions are mostly correct. I'll just mess with the reinstal and LILO.