SideshowMel

I posted a few minutes ago with a question about reformatting my HD, but this post is to ask about the original problem that started it all, and how I can avoid making the same mistakes again. I followed posted instructions on several websites regarding mounting an NTFS partition under Fedora 5. I had trouble with sevral techniques, but I was finally able to get one working. My only problem was that it didn't mount the ntfs partition on bootup. I added a new line in the /etc/fstab file which I had THOUGHT would mount the ntfs drive on bootup. Well it actually prevented me from booting up. I had done the smart thing by making a backup copy prior to the issue, so I thought I could use the rescue linux utility to: #rm /etc/fstab #cp /etc/fstab-backup /etc/fstab This didn't work because the return I got was that I was in "read-only" mode. I tried from the command line I got when trying to boot, and also on the command-line I got from the rescue utility. Unfortunately, I don't have any way to post the line I added to the fstab file because I ended up reformatting. I know this is kindof a broad question, but how can I avoid this in the future? Is there a way to "test" the fstab file prior to implementing it, just to make sure it is valid? Is there something else I could have tried to copy the correct file overtop of the bad one? Is there an application for Windows that would hyave allowed me to copy n paste over the bad file (I searched but couldn't find what I was looking for)? I also tried to use Puppy Linux to access my Fedora partition, but I had driver problems getting Puppy to load, and I was too frustrated at the time to mess around with Puppy. If I had continued to troubleshoot Puppy, would it have allowed me access to my Fedora partition so I could paste over the bad fstab file? One more question, what is the /etc/mtab file and what problems might I run into after editing that file? The reason I ask is that some tutorials for mounting other drives say I should edit the mtab file and some don't.

Well downloading or ripping is fine, because most downloads are RAR files, and ripping you can choose to use the VIDEO_TS method, which gives you several files, all smaller than 4 GB. I am going to repartition my storage drive to half FAT32, the other half 8E. That way I can still share btwn Win and Linux, but have a significant amt of Linux free space. Also, with Puppy, I am going to need to post on their website, because I think perhaps some HW on my mobo is unsupported... lots of keyboard and mouse errors (can't type more than a few characters and it throws an error code, so I need to go WAY back to the old school HID devices. the mouse is very buggy, but it works sometimes) and the NIC adapter (built-in on mobo) doesn't have drivers in Puppy, so I can't get on the internet to DL more drivers for the other HW. Also, Puppy doesn't see my SATA HD at all, which would have been a real problem if I had tried to use it to troubleshoot my fstab issue from the other day... Wanna know what else is funny about that? There are no drivers for that nic card in Windows, either, so I have to install from disc whenever I reformat, but in Fedora 5, the NIC worked right off the bat!

The link you just posted about NTFS is the one which finally worked, but like I said, I couldn't get it to mount on bootup, so I added the new line to fstab. I had used the syntax as closely as I could to the FAT32 lines I had previously added, except I changed the crucial parts (path or drive, path of mount file, and data type). Obviously that created a huge issue. With regards to Puppy, I couldn't even get the initial load to start because it wouldn't accept any keyboard commands. It accepted the very first one (where is gives you a command prompt) but then when it got to the point where you choose your default keyboard layout, Puppy wouldn't accept any input. I tried reseating the keyboard plug several times and rebooted several times. I think the issue was that I use a wireless USB keyboard/mouse combo and my old PS/2 keyboard is buried somewhere in the garage. Soon I intend to get Puppy working, but first I should dig out that old keyboard... I have new, although closely related, questions: I just found out last night (I recall running into this problem years ago, but I completely forgot about it until now) that FAT32 has a maximum single-file size of 4GB. As you can imagine, this is a huge problem when trying to create an ISO image of a DVD. In Linux, there is no indication of said limitation, it simply stops creating the file at 4GB. I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why, so I just gave it a shot in Windows, which is when I received the error message and subsequently smacked myself in the head for forgetting about this limitation! My new questions are these: What file system should I use which both Linux and Windows read/write is fully supported and does not have a 4GB file-size limitation? What limitations should I be aware of when migrating to the new filesystem?

I had previously posted some questions related to GRUB and a dual-hard-drive, dual-boot issue and had very helpful responses. Although my new problem may be Windows-related, I thought somebody here may have a suggestion, as it is hard to tell what is happening. First let me say that my dual-boot is working fine, although I recently thought it wasn't. To make a long story short, I had incorrectly thought I needed to re-install Windows and reformat all partitions on my Seagate SATA HD because GRUB was loading Fedora fine, but for Windows it came up with a GRUB error. The actual issue of not being able to boot into Windows was solved with a simple #gedit /etc/grub.conf then I changed the WinXP entry from "hda(1,4)" to "hda(0,0)". Prior to trying that method, I simply tried putting the WinXP boot CD into the drive to reformat, which is where my actual question comes into play... When the machine first begins to boot up, it says to "press any key to boot from CD," which I did. It then says "Checking hardware configuration" or something to that effect. It is at this point that it completely locks up. It never even gets to the blue install screen. I left it for 2 hours. I tried other install discs. I even tried it again just for giggles once I had fixed the GRUB issue, but the issue was still the same. Again, I know this may be a Windows issue, and not only that, but it isn't at all critical (because I can boot into either OS just fine). I am only posting because if I ever need to reformat completely I will have this problem recur. The reason I am posting this here is because I have Linux partitions, so it would be best to to ask a few questions here: -Could this problem be that the Win install doesn't properly see the Linux partitions and is locking up trying to read from them? -Is there a bootable, stand-alone utility which I can burn to cd which will just do a complete wipe of the HD? Thanks for reading. I know I am more likely to get a good answer from Linux gurus than from Microsoft gurus. No rush, I'm sure other people have more critical issues to deal with before mine...

...and before you ask, at every command-line I got, I typed "su" and entered root pw prior to attempting maintenance. Thanks.

I am very new to Linux, so I installed a clean FC5 onto a separate HD than my Windows XP drive. In FC5, the package manager says grub is installed, but I still have to switch the HDs in the BIOS to determine which OS to use, there is no Grub prompt of any kind. I may have missed a step, as I'm not really sure exactly how to prodeed. When I was first installing FC5, it said it could not read the partition data from either drive, which is why I installed it on the smaller drive. I'm guessing I need to run some software on my Windows drive to restructure the partitions or something, I'm not sure. If that is the case, what software? Also, FC5 sees my XP drive and vice versa, but neither can read data from the other. This doesn't surprise me with Windows (which is partly why I'm migrating), but what do I need to do to set up FC5 to read my Windows data? Intel D915GAV w/ P4 3G IBM Deskstar IDE 40GB HD (Linux) Seagate SATA 120GB HD (Windows) Does anybody know what I should try next? Thanks

thanks for all the suggestions. I feel like SUCH A n00b!! I have succesfully mounted all FAT32 partitions and can read/write in Windows and Linux. I'm still having problems mounting my NTFS partition, but I have plenty of FAT32 space, so I'm good for now. I really appreciate the suggestions for editing the bootloader. Any GUI-friendly alternative is always preferable for me. I really like the ABILITY to use the command-line as a failsafe, I'm just so new to Linux that it's difficult for me to look at a line and be able to "see" what it's going to do before I actually implement it. I know the more I work with command-line entries, the easier they will be. I will try the system-config-boot install tonight and reply back. Does anyone know a good Linux version of EphPod or any other iPod-compatible program that won't put a bunch of DRM b.s. on my hard drive like iTunes does? Thanks.

Well I had been repartitioning to suit my needs, and Partition Magic had a critical error and froze. I had to reformat my Windows parition and create new unpartitioned space for Linux. I wanted a FAT32 partition too, which I now have. So basically, I started from the beginning and actually did it right this time. The Fedora installer saw the hda, and I deselected it, selecting only the sda and chose to use free space to install linux. Well Fedora and Windows are both installed on separate partitions on sda, and Grub works fine to boot either one, but Fedora does not see the other hard drive at all, even though the installer did. Weird. I don't realy know how to get it to detect the hda, but at least now I have a stable system w/ working grub and dual-boot procedure. BTW, how do you change the default OS that grub chooses? Thanks again for your help.

So, you do not have a full installation CD for Windows (one CD), but recovery CD disks for recovering the whole system? I DO have an installation CD, and I DO have all my crucial data backed up. I DO NOT have an image of my current setup. I am going with the fedora repair / grub install option, and I will set the partitions I previously created to unpartitioned space first. Here we go...

Sorry for all the multiple posts, but I re-read your entire tutorial, including the section about sata drives, and I thought perhaps I should try this first: make SATA drive primary, then run linux rescue, then #chroot /mnt/sysimage #grub-install --recheck /dev/sda Will that install grub on the sata drive (and hopefully give me a menu when I boot off that drive)?

To answer your last question, I have all the installation discs I need to start from scratch. Complete data loss, including MBR and key OS files, is OK, as long as I've tried every other possibility first. Thanks again...

Also, not that it matters at this point, but I neglected to state in my intial post that I have WinXP Pro, not home.

Also, that link you sent is great, except that I am trying to get this dual HD / dual-boot wirking with a combination of SATA and IDE. That being said, I have decided for many reasons that I would prefer to have my SATA drive be primary, with the bootloader loading off this drive. (the SATA connection is faster, that particular HD spins at a faster RPM, and the IDE isn't actually mine, although the friend who loaned it to me hasn't asked for it back in over 1 year). So, between my previous post and this one, what should I try next?

I have a new idea of something I want to try. First of all, let me tell you what I've tried since I last posted: I used partition magic to re-partition 25GB to FAT32 and added the new partition as a logical partition (on the end of the drive). I rebooted and ran the repair utility twice, once with the fedora drive as primary and second with the SATA drive primary. Each time I ran the shell command #chroot /mnt/sysimage then used the exit command to reboot. The problem is unchanged, but I guess the good news is that it hasn't gotten any worse, I can still do what I've been doing, but that's annoying. I even tried the "upgrade" utility on the fedora install disc, hoping taht would change the MBR, which it would, except that it never actually completed the update process because (big surprise) there were no available updates on the disc. (I had hoped it would do it anyways, but no such luck). Here's what I want to try, please tell me if I'm gonna completely hose myself with this plan: I would like to create a new 10GB partition as the PRIMARY partition on the windows drive (SATA, and of course I will have that set in the BIOS first). This will have the unfortunate side-effect of overwriting the existing MBR and not letting Windows boot. I intend to immediately run the full Fedora 5 install on this new partition, which SHOULD see both drives, and both of the existing OS's (plus the new FC5 I am about to install). From there, I want to set GRUB to load off that partition, where I can choose FC5 of secondary drive, FC5 of primary drive, or WinXP. I know this would leave me with two copies of Fedora 5, and I really plan to only use the one I have installed already, but this way I can remove that IDE (secondary) HD at any time and I won't affect the boot order of the computer. Now, as you may already know, there are 2 separate MBR's on each drive. I have 3 questions about this procedure: -WIll creating this new primary partition have a catastrophic effect on my existing WinXP iunstallation? -Will this "new" installation of FC5 overwrite the existing MBR's on BOTH drives and subsequently fix this problem while preserving all existing data? -Does this sound like a wise step? (again remember that, AS A LAST RESORT, I have considered the possibility of complete data loss) Thanks again.

Also, for the sake of experimentation, and to help everyone out there, I don't care if I lose all data on both drives, but I want to try every possible option first so everyone out there can learn from my mistakes...

So you recommend I start over with Fedora? Should I at least try the repair utility on the FC5 core disc? In the meantime, I am going to backup some Windows data then try to use partition magic or something similar to create a FAT32 partition. And by the way I have plenty of free disc space on both drives. Thanks again.

So I read all of the posts and it seems like it is POSSIBLE to get it working without re-installing. If I have to reformat the Fedora drive that's ok, I just really don't want to lose any windows data. So before I go through that again, exactly what changes (and how) should I make to the Windows drive so that the Fedora installer will see it properly?

Also, your article specifically states not to disconnect my XP HD before I install FC5. You also say not to change the boot order in the BIOS. Oops, there was no info about dual HDs on the Fedora website. Man, I wish I had read that first. So I guess my new question is, would it be better to start over with a fresh install of FC5 (keeping the XP drive installed but re-partitioning it first) or is it possible to fix now? Also, what tool in XP do I use to repartition (I know it's a Windows question, and if you don't know I will figure it out). Thanks again.

Thanks for the info, even though I'm sure you probably hate repeating yourself I am really appreciative. I had search through the threads but I couldn't find anything which applied to me. I will read your article and perhaps wait until it is fully completed before I try to get it working.