Adding FC5 to an XP computer -

Tod Merley todbot88 at gmail.com
Sat Sep 2 01:35:16 UTC 2006


On 9/1/06, Bob Goodwin <bobgoodwin at wildblue.net> wrote:
> Rick Stevens wrote:
> > On Fri, 2006-09-01 at 19:29 -0400, Bob Goodwin wrote:
> >
> >> Rick Stevens wrote:
> >>
> >>> On Fri, 2006-09-01 at 17:13 -0400, Bob Goodwin wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> Bob Goodwin wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>> Tim wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> Just quoting the salient points:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Bob Goodwin wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>> XP Home is already installed and I have no way to reinstall it, no
> >>>>>>>>> o/s
> >>>>>>>>> CD's are provided.
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>> Tim:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> If you want to keep the XP installation as-is, and the Linux
> >>>>>>>> completely
> >>>>>>>> separate, I'd consider:
> >>>>>>>>      2. Modifying the XP bootloader menu so that *it* is used to boot
> >>>>>>>>         itself, or Linux.
> >>>>>>>>      3. Copying a file copy of the Linux bootblock onto the XP
> >>>>>>>> drive for
> >>>>>>>>         that XP bootloader to work with.
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>> Aaron Konstam:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Thhis used to be the wqay to do it in the RedHat Linux days. But for a
> >>>>>>> long time under Fedora grub does the job without any extra effort.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>> Ordinarily, I'd use GRUB to handle booting, too.  But the original
> >>>>>> poster mentioned not having any Windows install discs.  It seems prudent
> >>>>>> to avoid altering the Windows installation in that situation.
> >>>>>> Especially if one isn't familiar with fixing things up, after a problem,
> >>>>>> the hard way.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>> Prudent or not, the installation is now running with Grub and boot on
> >>>>> the mbr.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> If I break something I'll have to fix it somehow?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> So far things have gone smoothly, there was physical space for the drive
> >>>>> and I was able to set bios to recognize the new second drive.  Hopefully
> >>>>> the rest will go as uneventfully ...
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Bob Goodwin
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>> I have installed fc5 from the dvd twice now to be certain I've done
> >>>> things correctly.  I believe I have.
> >>>>
> >>>> The fc5 install is on the second drive, /dev/sdb.  XP is factory [Dell]
> >>>> installed and I have no install disk.  XP is of little importance to me
> >>>> but I would like to retain it is possible.  Both drives are 80G.
> >>>>
> >>>> It should boot Linux from the mbr, /dev/sda on which XP resides,  grub
> >>>> is installed with FC5 designated as the default, but I never see a grub
> >>>> display at turn on, it simply boots XP right off without offering any
> >>>> alternative.
> >>>>
> >>>> What am I doing wrong?
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>> grub should be installed in the MBR of the first SCSI disk (aka
> >>> /dev/sda).  That can be done by getting in to Linux and doing
> >>> "grub-install /dev/sda" as the root user.
> >>>
> >>> We need to know how you laid out the Linux stuff.  Is it all in one
> >>> partition or did you divvy it up?  Assuming you put it in separate
> >>> partitions, with /boot as partition 0 and / as partition 1,
> >>> this /boot/grub/grub.conf should work:
> >>>
> >>> #boot=/dev/sda
> >>> default=0
> >>> timeout=5
> >>> splashimage=(hd1,0)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz
> >>> hiddenmenu
> >>> title Fedora Core (2.6.17-1.2174_FC5)
> >>>         root (hd1,1)
> >>>         kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-1.2174_FC5 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb
> >>> quiet max_luns=256
> >>>         initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.17-1.2174_FC5.img
> >>> title Windows XP
> >>>     root (hd0,0)
> >>>     makeactive
> >>>     chainloader +1
> >>>
> >>> If Linux is all on a single partition, change the references above
> >>> that say "(hd1,1)" to "(hd1,0)"
> >>>
> >>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> - Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer     rstevens at vitalstream.com -
> >>> - VitalStream, Inc.                       http://www.vitalstream.com -
> >>> -                                                                    -
> >>> - Life:  That which happens while you search for the remote control. -
> >>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >> XP is installed on the original 80G h.d., untouched, still as Dell
> >> set it up.
> >>
> >> I installed a second 80G SATA drive and installed FC5 to that with
> >> the DVD, all pretty much as Fedora intended except where I told it to
> >> use the mbr and default to FC5 Linux.
> >>
> >> Grub looks pretty much as you specify.:
> >>
> >> sh-3.1# cat /boot/grub/grub.conf
> >>
> >> #boot=/dev/sda
> >> default=0
> >> timeout=5
> >> splashimage=(hd1,0)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
> >> hiddenmenu
> >> title Fedora Core (2.6.15-1.2054_FC5smp)
> >>        root (hd1,0)
> >>        kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.15-1.2054_FC5smp.img
> >> title Windows XP
> >>        rootnoverify (hd0,1)
> >>        chainloader +1
> >>
> >> [I typed this manually but it looks identical to the display
> >> on the Dell display.]
> >>
> >> It looks to me like Dell has somehow set aside about 3 gigs of
> >> the 80 apparently to provide a means of reinstalling Windows?
> >> I don't know it that has any effect on this problem?
> >>
> >
> > If you are CERTAIN you did a "grub-install /dev/sda", then it may be
> > that the BIOS virus checker keeps overwriting grub with the Winblows
> > boot loader (it considers grub to be a virus).  You'll need to disable
> > that in the BIOS.
> >
> I can't find anything that resembles a "BIOS virus checker" in
> the system setup screens.
>
> I'm beginning to think I'll pull the plug on the Windows drive and
> just put it back when I want to boot Windows!  Whatever, I've spent
> too much time with this today.  Tomorrow ...
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Bob Goodwin
>
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > - Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer     rstevens at vitalstream.com -
> > - VitalStream, Inc.                       http://www.vitalstream.com -
> > -                                                                    -
> > -                   "The bogosity meter just pegged."                -
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
>
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>

Hi Bob!

SCSI Drives now XP=sda FC5=sdb -- rearrange the SCSI addresses (should
be configurable on the drives - probably jumpers or through a utility)
and see if you can get FC5=sda XP=sdb.  Then install-grub sda and you
should have a working system.

Do copy the MBR and MBR plus 62 sectors and hold off disk.  When you
boot XP it may well (perhaps through the Dell machine management
software) replace the MBR.  You can tell if it did by checking what is
in the MBR with your copy through hexdump.

Good Hunting!

Tod




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