GRUB problem when Dual Booting Win XP and Fedora core 4

[Wildcard26 0]

Hey there all I came across this web page and I found it particularly interesting since I am just now venturing into the world of Linux (Yeah I'm really green)at 9 for a long while and I tried to install it once before and failed so I just didn't bother. I took it up today and I decided I wanted to go into it indept today. I parttioned my second hard drive with Partiton Magic 7.0 with an 11 GB partition for the installation and again to no avail. It worked a couple times up to a point and froze when I tried different parameters (noprobe, skipddc, text). I am frustrated now and this is my last ditch efforet to find out what to do. Can anyone HELP PLEASE.....Here are my system specs. :

 

Dell 8250

Intel Pentium 4 2.4Ghz

512RDRAM

Phoenix Bios Ver. 4.0

64MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420 with TV Out (Dell)

C-Media CMI8738/C3DX Audio Device

Storage:

* Maxtor 6E040L0 (40 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)

* Seagate ST380013A (80 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)

* NEC DVD_RW ND-2510A

* SAMSUNG CDRW/DVD SM-348B

* Intel® PRO/100 M Network Connection

* Intel® 537EP Modem

 

Partitions:

C: (NTFS) (Seagate) 37.2 GB for Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2

 

D: (NTFS) (Maxtor) 27.39 GB for Data

E: (NTFS) (Seagate) 37.25 for Microsoft Server 2003 SP1

Free Space (10.89) on Maxtor formatted in ext2 for linux by Partition Magic.

 

Pretty simple stuff. At first I thought it might have been the BIOS causing the system to hang so I flashed it a couple of months ago from the Version 1.0. Hook me up here...

 

[danleff 0]

Wildcard26, look at your original thread that you started. You are using Redhat 9, not Fedora. Try moving to Fedora Core 4 for your system, which should have better hardware detection for your system.

[Wildcard26 0]

Ok thanks I'll get my hands on a copy of it and give it a go. I'll get back to you

[danleff 0]

15,225 reads on this thread????

 

Someone should do a how-to article.

[msvista 0]

Glorioso idea seems to fix this issue; but when I had two different disks for install; I dont see /dev/hda instead I have /dev/sda; and doing so; all worked. Here is the steps:

 

1. Boot the Fedora cd disk #1/DVD (installation disk).

2. At the installation menu, type in linux rescue (hit the enter key)

3. Once the system loads, at the terminal prompt, Type in chroot /mnt/sysimage

4. then; grub-install --recheck /dev/hda or grub-install --recheck /dev/sda

 

then reboot

 

Thanks

http://www.msvistablog.net/

[danleff 0]

If your booting straight into sata drives, there is no hda, but only sda (unless you also have ide drives on the system).

 

grub-install --recheck /dev/sda rechecks the disk order and assigns designations in that order, installing grub on sda. If your Windows installation is on the first sata drive, and you have the bios set to boot sata first, then this is good.

 

grub-install --recheck /dev/hda installes grub on the primary master ide drive. If Windows is on the primary master, in an ide only system, then this is fine.

 

Where folks get into trouble, is thinking that they need to switch out the boot order in the bios. You should not change the boot order in the bios before or after installing Linux. There is no need to do this. Doing so only complicates matters, confuses grub and your windows boot.ini is also pointing to the wrong drive and partition as well.

[oxxo 0]

Hi Danleff,

 

I tried everything and still no success. I read everything regarding this topic.. maybe i'm doing something wrong..

I have a 80G sata drive alone.

First situation:

Win XP is on the first partition: hd0,0 or sda1 (15G)

other 2 ntfs partitions (sda4=extended) sda5(30G),sda6(25G),remaining free space is 5G.

I installed Fedora Core 4 (making a separate /boot partition) on the last 5G free. Everything works fine (i've tried it many times with different configs) but in the end no matter where I install grub, mbr or the first sector of the /boot partition (i've tried the solution with dual-booting by using boot.ini) the same stupid thing happens:

I get a grub > prompt and from there nothing goes.. the root command shows the right /boot partition (hd0,</boot_partition_number>).

devices are ok: fd and hd0=/dev/sda

 

Second situation:

Everything is the same, but I moved the Windows system partition 350 M to the right and I created the /boot partition there, thinking it might have been because of the location outside the first 1024 cylinder boundary.. the same result: no matter how I try to dual boot I just get the grub prompt.

 

Third situation:

I burned the Fedora core 5 beta iso and installed it. Grub menu showed with the two options:FC4 and Win XP, after installing it on the mbr. So although the system didn't boot properly (I wasn't interested to) the loader installed itself on the mbr perfectly with no "extra" options as some would say...

 

I've reviewed your advice to the others many times and couldn't get the boot menu.. it just gives me the grub prompt.

 

Any ideas?

 

 

[danleff 0]

OK, let's be clear on what is happening.

 

You can currently boot into FC4, but not Windows?

 

Always start out with a plan. What you did is start out with a plan and changed it several times. When something does not work right off, folks panic and start changing things randomly.

 

As you can probably tell, Fedora has been a problem, as there are several posts on the subject of dual booting.

 

In my opinion, it's related to folks not sticking to a plan and not knowing how to set up a dual boot system properly. Not good for newbies.

 

Fedora, by default, makes a boot partition on your hard drive, if you allow the installation to handle to partitioning for you. it assumes that you are installing Fedora as the only OS on your system, or on a seperate hard drive (waits for flames from Fedora users).

 

This is a problem and also a feature.

 

Fedora, I believe, is a Linux OS meant for moderate to expert users of Linux. My opinion.

 

I wish we had more experienced Fedora users here to respond.

 

First, you don't need a /boot partition when installing Grub to the MBR. My opinion. this complicates things and frustrates new users. That said;

 

 

Quote:

but in the end no matter where I install grub, mbr or the first sector of the /boot partition (i've tried the solution with dual-booting by using boot.ini) the same stupid thing happens:

 

First issue. Do not randomly change where Grub is installed, or how the sysem boots. Better to figure out what the problem is if Fedora is booting OK.

 

Most of the time, I believe is that folks pick the wrong options during the Fedora install as the default OS to boot. It should always be Fedora.

 

Quote:

Second situation:

Everything is the same, but I moved the Windows system partition 350 M to the right and I created the /boot partition there, thinking it might have been because of the location outside the first 1024 cylinder boundary.. the same result: no matter how I try to dual boot I just get the grub prompt.

 

Now what you did is change the order of the partitions. Was this change done as a re-installation of Fedora, or how did you change the actual location of the /boot partition?

 

Does Fedora still boot?

 

What you have now done is change the physical logical location of the partitions, so if the Windows boot.ini is found at all, it points to the wrong system files location for Windows.

 

Quote:

Third situation:

I burned the Fedora core 5 beta iso and installed it. Grub menu showed with the two options:FC4 and Win XP, after installing it on the mbr. So although the system didn't boot properly (I wasn't interested to) the loader installed itself on the mbr perfectly with no "extra" options as some would say...

 

So, what does this mean? Are you able to boot Fedora at all, or neither Fedora or Windows? And...I assume this is the last thing that you tried? Where is the /boot partition now?