Contemplating Linux (1 Viewer)

[Rob Gillespie]

Just to add to what Iain said...
I've had the Mandrake installer mess up the partition table on one of my HDs by adding Linux partitions after FAT32 ones were already in force. The only way I could get it working properly again was to Ghost the entire drive and reapply that image back onto the disk.
I'm not saying that will happen to you, but it's something I'm very wary of now. I always use GDISK to set up partitions (FDISK replacement that comes with Ghost), but obviously I format the Linux partitons within the Linux installer.

 

[Steven K]

The 4 GB NT limitation has been fixed in Service pack 2 (it's an old, old issue)

 

[Bill Catherall]

Steven - That's odd. The IS guys just installed WinNT service pack 6 on my computer at work a few weeks ago and had to split my 8GB drive up into 2 4GB partitions to install it. So I'm only going off what they told me. (I'm starting to think maybe I shouldn't put much stock in what these guys at work say or do.)
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Bill

 

[Iain Lambert]

Aaah, but you've got to install before you apply a service pack, so the install partition on NT4 does have to obey the rule. You can always partition the rest later.

 

[Steven K]

Iain is correct... about a year ago, I installed NT then installed a bunch of software. I then installed the service pack. Well, needless to say it didn't work (and NT is no easy install).
Anyway, I ended up having to reinstall everything. First the OS, then the Service pack BEFORE rebooting, then installing my apps.

 

[Bill Catherall]

Well, if anybody is still reading this thread...it seems I need some more help.
I downloaded Mandrake Linux (all 3 cd images), burned them to CD and have begun installation. Since I've been having so many problems with my computer I didn't mind doing a full reformat and reinstall of Windows. So I repartitioned my drive and reinstalled Windows. After I got all the hardware drivers installed I set up the computer to use the internet again. At this point the only software I've installed is Win98 SE and its accompaning software. We'll, just a few minutes into using IE, it freezes up again. So now I'm really suspicious, because this is the exact same software that I originally installed when I built the computer, no updates at all, and yet the thing is freezing still.
So I figure it's an OS thing and when I get XP or 2000 I'll have it behind me. So I go into installing Linux. Well, part way throught he install, it freezes up. Now, I've booted from the Linux install disc, so I'm not even running DOS, yet the thing freezes during install. So I hit the reset button and start to install all over again. I get past the part where it froze before, but it freezes again later. I try again and again. It keeps freezing on me during the Linux install. All the points where it's freezing have one thing in common...accessing the hard drive. It freezes when detecting IDE drives. It freezes when formating the drive, it freezes while copying files. I can't get it to work. So now I'm thinking this problem is hardware related. Anybody got any idea? I'm thinking it could be the hard disk, but I've run Windows Scan Disk multiple times, including the thorough scan, and it found no bad sectors. I also, just successfully updated the motherboard bios, but it didn't make any difference in the Linux install. (Well, Windows hasn't crashed yet...knock on wood...cross my fingers.)
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Bill

 

[Rob Gillespie]

This doesn't sound too good Bill. I'd say a hardware issue is the most likely candidate. It could be RAM or it could be the motherboard giving you grief. If it feezes whenever the disk is accessed it there could be a problem with the IDE controller. There's a lot of possibilites with this, unfortuantely.

 

[Jesse Leonard]

Windows NT 4.0 can have an 8G boot partition. The partition must be made during the install and can only be expanded to the 8G by using a switch during an unattended install (ie. using answer.txt). Where I work, all the servers still running NT4 have the 8G boot partition.

 

[Bill Catherall]

It seems that my computer is now fixed (after installing a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM) and I was able to finally install Linux. Woohoo! (I think.)
So I'm using Mandrake Linux 8.1. My first question is...how do I change the default selection in Lilo to be Windows instead of Linux? The 4 choices are in the following order: Linux, Failsafe, Windows, Floppy; with Linux selected and a countdown of 4 seconds. I'd like it to default select Windows, forcing me to select Linux if I want to boot in Linux. I'm just using the standard graphical Lilo display, and I'm pretty sure the installer installed it in my master boot record.
Your help, if anybody is still watching this thread, is much appreciated. Once I've got this figured out, I'm pretty sure I can handle the rest.

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Bill

 

[Bill Catherall]

Just for clarification... http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/demos/Demo/Mandrake8.1/Install/Expert/pages/expertGrLilo.php3

 

[Rob Gillespie]

I use the NT bootloader myself which in turn kicks off Lilo.
Have a look in the /etc/lilo.conf file and see if there's anything in there. If there is you'll need to edit it and reinstall Lilo to put the change in place.

 

[Bill Catherall]

Thanks Rob. I tried looking for the /etc/lilo.conf file last night but couldn't find it. I was probably looking in the wrong place. I'll try again tonight when I get home.
Another question regarding Lilo. Now that I have Linux installed with Lilo in the MBR, if I reinstall Win98 now will it rewrite the MBR and ruin my Lilo installation? If so, how can I prevent Windows from installing its own bootloader (if any)? Just getting ready should the need arise. Will the MBR get ruined if I reformat my FAT32 partition? Like if I were to install WinXP?
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Bill

 

[Rob Gillespie]

quote: if I reinstall Win98 now will it rewrite the MBR and ruin my Lilo installation? [/quote]
Yes it will.
quote: If so, how can I prevent Windows from installing its own bootloader (if any)? [/quote]
You can't, but you can reapply Lilo afterwards. You'll need the boot floppy created during the Linux installation to get into Linux first though.
quote: Will the MBR get ruined if I reformat my FAT32 partition? Like if I were to install WinXP?[/quote]
They are two different issues there. Formatting your Primary DOS partition will not affect the MBR. However if you install XP (which is the same as NT or 2000) then it will overwrite the MBR and put the NT bootloader in place.
Personally I prefer using the NT loader. It's very easy to configure it so that you can select Linux from there. I can give you the exact details if you need it. I have my NT loader set up for Windows 98, Windows 2000, Mandrake 7.2 and Slackware 8.0
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"We shall never surrender"
Winston Churchill.
[Edited last by Rob Gillespie on October 16, 2001 at 01:44 PM]