OT: Major screwup in multiboot

[Tim Wood]

Hi,
i mainly run Linux - testing/unstable - and a part of the saga not mentioned below (posted to alt.os.windows.2000), was the trouble I had getting X to work. I was running kernel 2.4.17-686 and was only able to fix it after installing 2.4.19-686.

I've added a CD burner, and was dismayed to find that I need to build a new kernel - there is also the Athlon, and something else I'm too tired to remember.
Be kind:)

==============================================================================================================

I run Linux and Windows 2000 on both my laptop (Professional SP3) and desktop (Advanced Server SP2). My laptop is working fine, but I have completely screwed-up the desktop, which also runs 98. The only one I can boot, on the desktop, is Linux.

The drive is a Quantum Fireball CR8 8.4GB UDMA 66 drive.

It was originally loaded with Win98SE. I was interested in Linux so loaded that. I was not happy with the stability of 98SE, and it was suggested I load W2K AS. This took some time, hence the confused layout of the drive. As I can only access it on Linux, the partition table is in Linux format, but it agrees with that from Partition Magic (PM).

Partition Table for /dev/hda

First Last
# Type Sector Sector Offset Length Filesystem Type (ID) Flags Size MB
-- ------- -------- --------- ------ --------- ---------------------- ---------
1 Primary 0 755054 63 755055 Hidden Win95 FAT3 (1B) None (00) 386.5
2 Primary 755055 10169144 0 9414090 Extended (05) None (00) 5 Logical 755055 1927799 63 1172745 Win95 FAT32 (0B) None (00) 600.45
6 Logical 1927800 3196934 63 1269135 Win95 FAT32 (0B) None (00) 649.80
7 Logical 3196935 3919859 63 722925 Win95 FAT32 (0B) None (00) 370.14
8 Logical 3919860 4192964 63 273105 Linux swap (82) None (00) 139.83
9 Logical 4192965 4787369 63 594405 HPFS/NTFS (07) None (00) 304.34
10 Logical 4787370 9349829 63 4562460 HPFS/NTFS (07) None (00) 2335.98
11 Logical 9349830 10169144 63 819315 Win95 FAT32 (0B) None (00) 419.49
Pri/Log 10169145 11390084 0 1220940 Free Space None (00) 623.13
4 Primary 11390085 16498754 0 5108670 Linux (83) Boot (80) 2615.64


I have appended the size, as the last column. Here 1 MB = 1,000,000B, W2K uses 1,048,576.

I tried the W2k CD and it agreed with the above numbers, but has p5 as C:, and reports p1 as "Inactive (OS/2 Boot)".

I upgraded my motherboard and processor to an Epox 8K5A2 (Via KT333) and AMD Athlon XP 2000+.
For around a year W98 had crashed, somewhere around loading the video driver. I was not much bothered as Boot Magic (BM) was working, and I could boot W2K AS or Linux. The video adapter was also upgraded to a NVidia GeForce2 MX400.

I was determined to get W98 to work. Thus began the series of errors which have created the current disaster. With W2K AS runnign on a logical drive, it need boot data (boot.ini) on the C: drive. I forgot this!

After multiple attempts to fix W98, I decided to format and reload. This was problematic, but I continued and loaded verion 7 of PM and the associated BM. It was around this point I discovered the blunder with boot.ini. I had floppy rescue disks of PM and BM *Version 4*, and was able to reload the original BM - so could boot Linux and W98.
Foolishly I used the same foppies for PM and BM 7 - so could no longer boot anything but Linux.

The new M/B has USB2 and enhanced drivers for the IDE (UDMA 33/66/100), I installed these in W2K AS early on in the piece, but cannot say exactly.

At some point, when W98 was still working - but not W2k AS, I installed the Recovery Console for W2K.

By now you probably have a feel for the mess I have made! I'm very tired and disheartened so I thought I'd ask for some help before I kill linux as Well :).

I can still run my laptop, in both OS, over my 10Base2 LAN, using Linux on the desktop.

Any suggestions for how to fix this mess would be gratefully received. I don't much care if I lose W98. I have stuff on p5,6,7 I'd like to keep but it's 10 and 4 which I would most like to keep.


TIA,
Tim Wood




--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]