[opensuse] total system crash
Hello, I have a new hard drive that I just put on an old pc. I am experimenting around with things, and this is the sequence of what has happened. - first, I installed suse 11.4 and ran it ok for a few days. Had some problems with the monitor and networking. - I installed windows xp in place of suse 11.4, over-writing the hard drive with windows xp files. I needed to check some things. - I reinstalled suse 11.4 and again it ran ok once. On the install I wiped over completely all the windows xp files (using the suse installation utility) - the next day I brought my computer to a tech store to purchase a new motherboard. Before the purchase, we turned it on to boot up to suse 11.4 from the hard drive, and it would not boot up. It said "error loading boot system" or something like that. It did not make it anywhere even near loading anything from the hard drive, as if the hard drive failed. This was only the 2nd time that I powered up the pc after re-installing suse 11.4. - I installed the new motherboard (to get more memory) and again tried to boot from the hard drive, and it would not boot from the hard drive - I booted from the cd and went to re-install suse completely again. It ran through the whole setup sequence and did not indicate any errors. I did a complete re-install from the beginning. It performed the initial re-boot as part of the install sequence and brought up KDE. There was a problem with my video driver or something, as my screen only showed a series of horizontal lines of alternating green white and black colors. There was nothing readable. - I did a ctrl-alt-f2 and brought up the terminal window, but I didn't really know what to do from there because I am not really familiar with the commands. At this point I thought my only problem was the video driver. - I powered off the pc. - later I tried to boot up again, and again I got the same error as before "error loading boot system" and it did not get close to loading linux at all. That is the way it is now when I try to boot up from the hard drive. - I put in the install disk again and went to "rescue system". I typed in "root" as the login with a blank password, and got a terminal command. That is where I am now. I can get into the rescue system but not much else. I can't imagine that my hard drive has failed, as it is only 1 week old. I think that when I installed windows xp on it, microsoft did something to prevent me from installing another system over the top of xp, and now I can't access anything. I remember on the setup having 3 partitions, as swap, a root, and a home. I had the max size on all 3, I think they were 2gb, 20gb, and 465gb or something like that. I have a 500gb drive. So, can someone help me first of all to get my directories back? I only know enough to get into the rescue system. I don't know the commands to use from the rescue system, or what to do from there. If I need to provide any more information, please tell me what commands I need to use to find it out. Thanks in advance! George -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 2011/08/01 20:51 (GMT+0800) george olson composed:
I have a new hard drive that I just put on an old pc. I am experimenting around with things, and this is the sequence of what has happened.
- first, I installed suse 11.4 and ran it ok for a few days. Had some problems with the monitor and networking. - I installed windows xp in place of suse 11.4, over-writing the hard drive with windows xp files. I needed to check some things. - I reinstalled suse 11.4 and again it ran ok once. On the install I wiped over completely all the windows xp files (using the suse installation utility) - the next day I brought my computer to a tech store to purchase a new motherboard. Before the purchase, we turned it on to boot up to suse 11.4 from the hard drive, and it would not boot up. It said "error loading boot system" or something like that. It did not make it anywhere even near loading anything from the hard drive, as if the hard drive failed. This was only the 2nd time that I powered up the pc after re-installing suse 11.4.
The old motherboard and/or power supply might be failing. The new motherboard and CPU might require more power than the old can provide. How many watts is the PS rated for? What are your new motherboard and CPU model numbers?
- I installed the new motherboard (to get more memory) and again tried to boot from the hard drive, and it would not boot from the hard drive
Likely the HD driver installed for the old motherboard didn't match that required by the new.
- I booted from the cd and went to re-install suse completely again. It ran through the whole setup sequence and did not indicate any errors. I did a complete re-install from the beginning. It performed the initial re-boot as part of the install sequence and brought up KDE. There was a problem with my video driver or something, as my screen only showed a series of horizontal lines of alternating green white and black colors. There was nothing readable.
Maybe your new motherboard has an onboard video chip that isn't recognized by openSUSE by default. Run the lspci command and share with us the information from the line that includes "VGA".
- I did a ctrl-alt-f2 and brought up the terminal window, but I didn't really know what to do from there because I am not really familiar with the commands. At this point I thought my only problem was the video driver. - I powered off the pc.
Bad practice. You should run 'init 0' or the shutdown command to shut the system down before powering off, or 'init 6' or reboot to reboot.
- later I tried to boot up again, and again I got the same error as before "error loading boot system" and it did not get close to loading linux at all. That is the way it is now when I try to boot up from the hard drive.
Did you try the "Failsafe" menu option?
- I put in the install disk again and went to "rescue system". I typed in "root" as the login with a blank password, and got a terminal command.
That is where I am now. I can get into the rescue system but not much else. I can't imagine that my hard drive has failed, as it is only 1 week old. I think that when I installed windows xp on it, microsoft did something to prevent me from installing another system over the top of xp, and now I can't access anything.
More than likely you accepted the defaults when installing Windows, allowing XP to do as it pleased with the HD, overwriting all that was there.
I remember on the setup having 3 partitions, as swap, a root, and a home. I had the max size on all 3, I think they were 2gb, 20gb, and 465gb or something like that. I have a 500gb drive.
So, can someone help me first of all to get my directories back? I only know enough to get into the rescue system. I don't know the commands to use from the rescue system, or what to do from there. If I need to provide any more information, please tell me what commands I need to use to find it out.
If you need or want to have a computer with both Windows and Linux, probably the place to start is learning what multiboot is, e.g. http://fm.no-ip.com/PC/partitioningindex.html and http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Partitioning If you want to start by installing Windows again, just be sure to have it use only as much of the HD as you want it to, reserving for Linux however much you choose. While stuck with a non-working X desktop, you can nevertheless accomplish much even without knowing a whole lot about commands. Midnight Commander (the mc command from a text login) provides utility similar to Windows Explorer and various Linux X file managers, allowing to navigate, view, edit, copy, rename and other things with files and directories, all the while viewing the filesystem in one or two panes. If mc is not installed but you can log in and access the network (test with 'ping www.google.com'), then you can do 'zypper in mc' to install it in a matter of a minute or so. You should be able to use mc to copy the /var/log/Xorg.0.log file somewhere we can see it. It will tell many things about X, giving us clues why you didn't get an expected usable desktop. http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Configuring_graphics_cards should help you get a working X, maybe without our help. -- "The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation) Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks! Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
That is where I am now. I can get into the rescue system but not much else. I can't imagine that my hard drive has failed, as it is only 1 week old. I think that when I installed windows xp on it, microsoft did something to prevent me from installing another system over the top of xp, and now I can't access anything.
More than likely you accepted the defaults when installing Windows, allowing XP to do as it pleased with the HD, overwriting all that was there.
That is exactly what happened. I used the default options when installing Windows. I think it erased the master boot record or something. I now recall that this happened to me before, about 2 years ago, when I was trying to install a dual boot system. Windows erased the grub loader at the time, and whoever helped me get my system back had me do something in a terminal with adjusting the grub loader. It has something to do with the grub loader. So anyone have any ideas? I need to get the new system I installed back, and then I will be able to worry about fixing the video driver. I am right now making a live cd for kde and for gnome, to see if booting from either of those will help me get access to the hard drive and fix the master boot record, or something like that. But I have no idea what to look at when I get there. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 08/01/2011 06:21 PM, george olson wrote:
That is where I am now. I can get into the rescue system but not much else. I can't imagine that my hard drive has failed, as it is only 1 week old. I think that when I installed windows xp on it, microsoft did something to prevent me from installing another system over the top of xp, and now I can't access anything.
More than likely you accepted the defaults when installing Windows, allowing XP to do as it pleased with the HD, overwriting all that was there.
That is exactly what happened. I used the default options when installing Windows. I think it erased the master boot record or something.
I now recall that this happened to me before, about 2 years ago, when I was trying to install a dual boot system. Windows erased the grub loader at the time, and whoever helped me get my system back had me do something in a terminal with adjusting the grub loader. It has something to do with the grub loader.
So anyone have any ideas? I need to get the new system I installed back, and then I will be able to worry about fixing the video driver. I am right now making a live cd for kde and for gnome, to see if booting from either of those will help me get access to the hard drive and fix the master boot record, or something like that.
But I have no idea what to look at when I get there.
Since you obviously have access to some computer, look for a program that will boot itself from a floppy* and completely erase the hard disk. (Write all ones or all zeros to the entire drive.) Then install XP, if you're ever going to want it. Then boot the Linux live CD. In the install routine, tell Linux that you want to keep the existing os and make new partitions for Linux. Let it modify the mbr as it wishes, so as to dual-boot. Now everything should work. (Since you just "installed" Linux, there would be nothing to save on it, so a new install should be exactly equal to the one that didn't work, except, of course, that now it will. * If you don't have a floppy drive, maybe nowadays there is a wiping program that will boot and run from a CD. --doug -- Blessed are the peacemakers...for they shall be shot at from both sides. --A. M. Greeley -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Doug
On 08/01/2011 06:21 PM, george olson wrote:
That is where I am now. I can get into the rescue system but not
much
else. I can't imagine that my hard drive has failed, as it is only 1 week old. I think that when I installed windows xp on it, microsoft did something to prevent me from installing another system over the top of xp, and now I can't access anything.
More than likely you accepted the defaults when installing Windows, allowing XP to do as it pleased with the HD, overwriting all that was there.
That is exactly what happened. I used the default options when installing Windows. I think it erased the master boot record or something.
I now recall that this happened to me before, about 2 years ago, when
I was trying to install a dual boot system. Windows erased the grub loader at the time, and whoever helped me get my system back had me do something in a terminal with adjusting the grub loader. It has something to do with the grub loader.
So anyone have any ideas? I need to get the new system I installed back, and then I will be able to worry about fixing the video driver.
I am right now making a live cd for kde and for gnome, to see if booting from either of those will help me get access to the hard drive and fix the master boot record, or something like that.
But I have no idea what to look at when I get there.
Since you obviously have access to some computer, look for a program that will boot itself from a floppy* and completely erase the hard disk. (Write all ones or all zeros to the entire drive.) Then
install XP, if you're ever going to want it. Then boot the Linux live CD. In the install routine, tell Linux that you want to keep the existing os and make new partitions for Linux. Let it modify the mbr as it wishes, so as to dual-boot. Now everything should work. (Since you just "installed" Linux, there would be nothing to save on it, so a new install should be
exactly equal to the one that didn't work, except, of course, that now it will.
* If you don't have a floppy drive, maybe nowadays there is a wiping program that will boot and run from a CD.
--doug
-- Blessed are the peacemakers...for they shall be shot at from both sides. --A. M. Greeley
-- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Ultimate boot cd. It wipes hard disks and also fixes grub so offers both solutions but just fixing grub should be enough as long as he didn't delete the partition whilst installing windows -- Kind Regards Mr Stuart Tanner Bolton Linux 24 Vincent Street Heaton Bolton BL1 4SA United Kingdom TEL:+44(0)1204410474 MOB:+44(0)7868028028 Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 2011/08/01 18:49 (GMT-0400) Doug composed:
maybe nowadays there is a wiping program that will boot and run from a CD.
One is the Windows XP installer. To start from scratch, wiping first is not necessary. One need only tell Windows to not use the whole disk. Better yet, decide in advance how you want the HD partitioned, and consider using some other partitioner in advance of beginning to install anything, like the one built into the openSUSE installer. -- "The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation) Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks! Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
george olson
That is where I am now. I can get into the rescue system but not much else. I can't imagine that my hard drive has failed, as it is only 1 week old. I think that when I installed windows xp on it, microsoft did something to prevent me from installing another system over the top of xp, and now I can't access anything.
More than likely you accepted the defaults when installing Windows, allowing XP to do as it pleased with the HD, overwriting all that was
there.
That is exactly what happened. I used the default options when installing Windows. I think it erased the master boot record or something.
I now recall that this happened to me before, about 2 years ago, when I
was trying to install a dual boot system. Windows erased the grub loader at the time, and whoever helped me get my system back had me do something in a terminal with adjusting the grub loader. It has something to do with the grub loader.
So anyone have any ideas? I need to get the new system I installed back, and then I will be able to worry about fixing the video driver. I am right now making a live cd for kde and for gnome, to see if booting from either of those will help me get access to the hard drive and fix the master boot record, or something like that.
But I have no idea what to look at when I get there.
-- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Download ultimate boot cd and that can fix your grub automatically or if you download the opensuse install DVD that also has repair options but ubcd is smaller and will restore grub. Windows knows no other operating systems and if you do dual boot becareful because it displays all your Linux partitions as uknown or corrupted partitions and so if you delete them or format them you will loose your grub again and have neither Windows or openSUSE. If you want to dual boot Windows and openSUSE you must first install Windows and then do Linux it must be in that order to avoid the situation you are in now. -- Kind Regards Mr Stuart Tanner Bolton Linux 24 Vincent Street Heaton Bolton BL1 4SA United Kingdom TEL:+44(0)1204410474 MOB:+44(0)7868028028 Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 2011/08/01 23:57 (GMT+0100) Stuart Tanner composed:
Windows knows no other operating systems
True, but standing alone, potentially misleading. NTLDR can chainload to Grub, which means you can install Windows after Linux and yet boot Linux after adding a mere one line to Windows' boot config file, boot.ini.
If you want to dual boot Windows and openSUSE you must first install Windows and then do Linux it must be in that order to avoid the situation you are in now.
Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong, no "must" involved: http://fm.no-ip.com/PC/install-doz-after.html -- "The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation) Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks! Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Stuart Tanner wrote:
Windows knows no other operating systems and if you do dual boot becareful because it displays all your Linux partitions as uknown or corrupted partitions and so if you delete them or format them you will loose your grub again and have neither Windows or openSUSE.
If you want to dual boot Windows and openSUSE you must first install Windows and then do Linux it must be in that order to avoid the situation you are in now.
Not so. It is entirely possible to install Windows after Linux, if you know what you're doing. I did just that a few weeks ago. What you have to do is run fdisk to see what the bootable partition is, then after installing Windows, run fdisk again (from the Linux CD/DVD) and reset the bootable partition. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 2011/08/02 06:21 (GMT+0800) george olson composed:
I now recall that this happened to me before, about 2 years ago, when I was trying to install a dual boot system. Windows erased the grub loader at the time, and whoever helped me get my system back had me do something in a terminal with adjusting the grub loader. It has something to do with the grub loader.
If you don't let your Linux installation get dependent on Grub living on the MBR, then reenabling Linux boot after installing Windows is a very very small and simple procedure. Just put Grub on the / partition instead of the MBR. Then when Windows reinstallation is again necessary, Windows won't destroy anything of consequence. Grub does not need to be on the MBR. What you experienced is normal and expected when it is put on the MBR of a multiboot system that later needs Windows installed or "repaired".
So anyone have any ideas? I need to get the new system I installed back,
You just installed, and already you have something there that needs saving? That's highly unusual.
and then I will be able to worry about fixing the video driver. I am right now making a live cd for kde and for gnome, to see if booting from either of those will help me get access to the hard drive and fix the master boot record, or something like that.
FDISK /MBR from a floppy boot will get your Windows back, if you haven't done anything to corrupt its installation partition. So will any number of other partitioning programs capable of writing _standard_ MBR code. At least one lives on a CD made from an iso from http://ultimatebootcd.com/. The openSUSE installation process saves the original MBR, which can be restored from a rescue boot if Windows is still on the HD in an uncorrupted state. -- "The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation) Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks! Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
george olson wrote:
That is exactly what happened. I used the default options when installing Windows. I think it erased the master boot record or something.
I now recall that this happened to me before, about 2 years ago, when I was trying to install a dual boot system. Windows erased the grub loader at the time, and whoever helped me get my system back had me do something in a terminal with adjusting the grub loader. It has something to do with the grub loader.
Run fdisk from a Linux CD to set the Linux partition containing /boot to be bootable. That should undo the damage Windows caused. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 8/2/2011 9:39 AM, James Knott wrote:
george olson wrote:
That is exactly what happened. I used the default options when installing Windows. I think it erased the master boot record or something.
I now recall that this happened to me before, about 2 years ago, when I was trying to install a dual boot system. Windows erased the grub loader at the time, and whoever helped me get my system back had me do something in a terminal with adjusting the grub loader. It has something to do with the grub loader.
Run fdisk from a Linux CD to set the Linux partition containing /boot to be bootable. That should undo the damage Windows caused. What is the command line and options for fdisk that I need to type in to make it so it is bootable?
I think that /sda2 is supposed to be the bootable partition. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 8/2/2011 9:39 AM, James Knott wrote:
george olson wrote:
That is exactly what happened. I used the default options when installing Windows. I think it erased the master boot record or something.
I now recall that this happened to me before, about 2 years ago, when I was trying to install a dual boot system. Windows erased the grub loader at the time, and whoever helped me get my system back had me do something in a terminal with adjusting the grub loader. It has something to do with the grub loader.
Run fdisk from a Linux CD to set the Linux partition containing /boot to be bootable. That should undo the damage Windows caused. I used fdisk to swap the bootable partition (command a) on and off and it still didn't get my system to boot up. Still working on it.
-- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 8/2/2011 9:39 AM, James Knott wrote:
george olson wrote:
That is exactly what happened. I used the default options when installing Windows. I think it erased the master boot record or something.
I now recall that this happened to me before, about 2 years ago, when I was trying to install a dual boot system. Windows erased the grub loader at the time, and whoever helped me get my system back had me do something in a terminal with adjusting the grub loader. It has something to do with the grub loader.
Run fdisk from a Linux CD to set the Linux partition containing /boot to be bootable. That should undo the damage Windows caused.
Ok, I fixed the boot problem. I did some research on grub and found the following as what I needed to do, and so I did it, and got my system back. 1. booted with a live linux cd 2. opened a terminal with ctrl-alt-f2 3. typed in the system login: root (no password) 4. went to the grub command system by typing the command "grub" 5. found the partition with the GRUB boot loader with the command find /boot/grub/stage1 6. the partition was noted as (hd0,1) - that is GRUB syntax for the first hard disk, 2nd partition 7. set the GRUB root device to the partition above by typing the command root (hd0,1) 8. installed GRUB on the MBR of the hard drive with the command setup (hd0) Now I can boot again, but I still have to deal with the display problem. I will start a new thread for that. George -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 2011/08/02 13:44 (GMT+0800) george olson composed:
1. booted with a live linux cd 2. opened a terminal with ctrl-alt-f2 3. typed in the system login: root (no password) 4. went to the grub command system by typing the command "grub" 5. found the partition with the GRUB boot loader with the command find /boot/grub/stage1 6. the partition was noted as (hd0,1) - that is GRUB syntax for the first hard disk, 2nd partition 7. set the GRUB root device to the partition above by typing the command root (hd0,1) 8. installed GRUB on the MBR of the hard drive with the command setup (hd0)
So now you've set yourself to go through the same process all over again next time Windows needs reinstalling. If instead you did 'setup (hd0,1)', left the standard MBR code put there by Windows intact, and changed the active partition (one bit move) in the partition table from the Windows partition to the Linux partition, then next time Windows installation was completed you'd only need to boot something to merely move the active partition bit once again, even Windows, using its FDISK. And, you wouldn't even need to do that much if you create a chainload menu entry in Windows' boot.ini that loads the Linux partition's boot sector stored as a 512 byte file on the Windows boot partition. -- "The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation) Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks! Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/ -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 8/2/2011 2:13 PM, Felix Miata wrote:
On 2011/08/02 13:44 (GMT+0800) george olson composed:
1. booted with a live linux cd 2. opened a terminal with ctrl-alt-f2 3. typed in the system login: root (no password) 4. went to the grub command system by typing the command "grub" 5. found the partition with the GRUB boot loader with the command find /boot/grub/stage1 6. the partition was noted as (hd0,1) - that is GRUB syntax for the first hard disk, 2nd partition 7. set the GRUB root device to the partition above by typing the command root (hd0,1) 8. installed GRUB on the MBR of the hard drive with the command setup (hd0)
So now you've set yourself to go through the same process all over again next time Windows needs reinstalling. If instead you did 'setup (hd0,1)', left the standard MBR code put there by Windows intact, and changed the active partition (one bit move) in the partition table from the Windows partition to the Linux partition, then next time Windows installation was completed you'd only need to boot something to merely move the active partition bit once again, even Windows, using its FDISK. And, you wouldn't even need to do that much if you create a chainload menu entry in Windows' boot.ini that loads the Linux partition's boot sector stored as a 512 byte file on the Windows boot partition.
Yes that is true, I will have to go through all that again if I want to load windows again. Ultimately I do not really want a dual boot system, but I want to run suse alone and for my few windows applications run them on a windows platform installed in virtualbox. I have seen that some people do that from time to time. In any case, thanks again for your help! I think I learned a lot about grub, the mbr, chainloaders, and things like that. George -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 02/08/11 08:37, george olson wrote:
On 8/2/2011 2:13 PM, Felix Miata wrote:
On 2011/08/02 13:44 (GMT+0800) george olson composed:
1. booted with a live linux cd 2. opened a terminal with ctrl-alt-f2 3. typed in the system login: root (no password) 4. went to the grub command system by typing the command "grub" 5. found the partition with the GRUB boot loader with the command find /boot/grub/stage1 6. the partition was noted as (hd0,1) - that is GRUB syntax for the first hard disk, 2nd partition 7. set the GRUB root device to the partition above by typing the command root (hd0,1) 8. installed GRUB on the MBR of the hard drive with the command setup (hd0)
So now you've set yourself to go through the same process all over again next time Windows needs reinstalling. If instead you did 'setup (hd0,1)', left the standard MBR code put there by Windows intact, and changed the active partition (one bit move) in the partition table from the Windows partition to the Linux partition, then next time Windows installation was completed you'd only need to boot something to merely move the active partition bit once again, even Windows, using its FDISK. And, you wouldn't even need to do that much if you create a chainload menu entry in Windows' boot.ini that loads the Linux partition's boot sector stored as a 512 byte file on the Windows boot partition.
Yes that is true, I will have to go through all that again if I want to load windows again. Ultimately I do not really want a dual boot system, but I want to run suse alone and for my few windows applications run them on a windows platform installed in virtualbox. I have seen that some people do that from time to time.
In any case, thanks again for your help! I think I learned a lot about grub, the mbr, chainloaders, and things like that.
George Hi George,
you are describing a odyssey that most of us here have been venturing for a few years. It has a steep learning curve from Win(x), but very rewarding. Trial and error with some web searches and forms like this one is our schoolroom. I have built a system that allows me some flexibilty to use all systems; Linux (various Distros), Windows (2000 up to 7 Ultimate) and Mac OSX SnowLeopard. I have 2 workstation systems, a PC and an older first generation Intel MacBook. On both systems I have various partitions, both almost the same build-up. I need the following: Partitions for Linux and Mac OSX, work environments for Linux and Windows on Virtual Machines for testing and some odd Win-only apps. On my PC I have multiboot on a 500GB drive for: 3 x Linux versions - each a 20 GB Partition - 1 Live System I use all the time - 1 Test system for new versions of my main system to test before I migrate to it - 1 Test System for other distros like CentOS, Ubuntu, KBuntu and Debian. - 1 MacOSX partition only on the Macbook. It has problems with other FS's like Reiser and Ext3/4. It is the most negative part of Mac OSX, its HFS+. 1 x 2GB swap partition for the Linux partitions I do not make a separate partition for /home, because I mount a /home drive afterwards as the data directory, with a Data NFS mount from the server. What I learnt from the Windows days after loosing a lot of data, I never mix Data and OS on the same drives. A small partition on the same drive as the OS's is used to mount as /home into every system, thus keeping the same environment even with newer versions of Linux. A data mount is made under /home/<user>/Data by a NFS share. I have just last week migrated all Data to a RAID 10 Server I built up with Linux over NFS, used an older PC and added 2 3Ware controllers and 4 2TB disks for 300 Euro total. The previous Data Partition is now free for more testing of OS's. Two PC's and the MacBook now use the same data pool. I also do a Backup of the server onto two external 2TB USB disks alternately. I also use Samba on the Server for Microsoft virtual systems. I have all the Microsoft versions from Win 2000 up to the latest and greatest Win 7 Ultim as virtual machines, which run in VirtualBox on all machines. I also test all Linux distros in VirtualBox first. I only have one virtual machine of each OS on the server. It is a little slower over NFS, but it is only for testing and the odd MS-only usage or programme. I f I need speed, I just copy the image file to the PC or MacBook, use it and delete it afterwards. I used to also have a Windows partition, but it is all now in VirtualBox. In this way I have completely flexible workstations and a central data server (just a good PC with Linux and a raid controller). :-) Al -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 08/03/2011 04:04 AM, LLLActive@GMX.Net wrote:
On 02/08/11 08:37, george olson wrote:
On 8/2/2011 2:13 PM, Felix Miata wrote:
On 2011/08/02 13:44 (GMT+0800) george olson composed:
1. booted with a live linux cd 2. opened a terminal with ctrl-alt-f2 3. typed in the system login: root (no password) 4. went to the grub command system by typing the command "grub" 5. found the partition with the GRUB boot loader with the command find /boot/grub/stage1 6. the partition was noted as (hd0,1) - that is GRUB syntax for the first hard disk, 2nd partition 7. set the GRUB root device to the partition above by typing the command root (hd0,1) 8. installed GRUB on the MBR of the hard drive with the command setup (hd0)
So now you've set yourself to go through the same process all over again next time Windows needs reinstalling. If instead you did 'setup (hd0,1)', left the standard MBR code put there by Windows intact, and changed the active partition (one bit move) in the partition table from the Windows partition to the Linux partition, then next time Windows installation was completed you'd only need to boot something to merely move the active partition bit once again, even Windows, using its FDISK. And, you wouldn't even need to do that much if you create a chainload menu entry in Windows' boot.ini that loads the Linux partition's boot sector stored as a 512 byte file on the Windows boot partition.
Yes that is true, I will have to go through all that again if I want to load windows again. Ultimately I do not really want a dual boot system, but I want to run suse alone and for my few windows applications run them on a windows platform installed in virtualbox. I have seen that some people do that from time to time.
In any case, thanks again for your help! I think I learned a lot about grub, the mbr, chainloaders, and things like that.
George Hi George,
you are describing a odyssey that most of us here have been venturing for a few years. It has a steep learning curve from Win(x), but very rewarding. Trial and error with some web searches and forms like this one is our schoolroom.
I have built a system that allows me some flexibilty to use all systems; Linux (various Distros), Windows (2000 up to 7 Ultimate) and Mac OSX SnowLeopard. I have 2 workstation systems, a PC and an older first generation Intel MacBook. On both systems I have various partitions, both almost the same build-up.
I need the following:
Partitions for Linux and Mac OSX, work environments for Linux and Windows on Virtual Machines for testing and some odd Win-only apps.
On my PC I have multiboot on a 500GB drive for:
3 x Linux versions - each a 20 GB Partition - 1 Live System I use all the time - 1 Test system for new versions of my main system to test before I migrate to it - 1 Test System for other distros like CentOS, Ubuntu, KBuntu and Debian. - 1 MacOSX partition only on the Macbook. It has problems with other FS's like Reiser and Ext3/4. It is the most negative part of Mac OSX, its HFS+. 1 x 2GB swap partition for the Linux partitions
I do not make a separate partition for /home, because I mount a /home drive afterwards as the data directory, with a Data NFS mount from the server.
What I learnt from the Windows days after loosing a lot of data, I never mix Data and OS on the same drives. A small partition on the same drive as the OS's is used to mount as /home into every system, thus keeping the same environment even with newer versions of Linux. A data mount is made under /home/<user>/Data by a NFS share. I have just last week migrated all Data to a RAID 10 Server I built up with Linux over NFS, used an older PC and added 2 3Ware controllers and 4 2TB disks for 300 Euro total. The previous Data Partition is now free for more testing of OS's. Two PC's and the MacBook now use the same data pool. I also do a Backup of the server onto two external 2TB USB disks alternately.
I also use Samba on the Server for Microsoft virtual systems. I have all the Microsoft versions from Win 2000 up to the latest and greatest Win 7 Ultim as virtual machines, which run in VirtualBox on all machines. I also test all Linux distros in VirtualBox first. I only have one virtual machine of each OS on the server. It is a little slower over NFS, but it is only for testing and the odd MS-only usage or programme. I f I need speed, I just copy the image file to the PC or MacBook, use it and delete it afterwards.
I used to also have a Windows partition, but it is all now in VirtualBox.
In this way I have completely flexible workstations and a central data server (just a good PC with Linux and a raid controller).
:-) Al
Wow. That sounds like a great system! Maybe I will arrive at something like that some day! I just installed virtualbox 4.1 and ran it, set up a windows xp machine, ran it, installed what I needed to last night, and then shut down the computers for the night. When opening up my pc this morning, my kde and linux is running fine, but my virtual box machine has an error that says "inaccessible". I will start a new thread with the details on that to see if I can get that started again. ~G -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Monday 01 August 2011 02:51:50 am george olson wrote:
Hello, I have a new hard drive that I just put on an old pc. I am experimenting around with things, and this is the sequence of what has happened.
- first, I installed suse 11.4 and ran it ok for a few days. Had some problems with the monitor and networking. - I installed windows xp in place of suse 11.4, over-writing the hard drive with windows xp files. I needed to check some things. - I reinstalled suse 11.4 and again it ran ok once. On the install I wiped over completely all the windows xp files (using the suse installation utility) - the next day I brought my computer to a tech store to purchase a new motherboard. Before the purchase, we turned it on to boot up to suse 11.4 from the hard drive, and it would not boot up. It said "error loading boot system" or something like that. It did not make it anywhere even near loading anything from the hard drive, as if the hard drive failed. This was only the 2nd time that I powered up the pc after re-installing suse 11.4. - I installed the new motherboard (to get more memory) and again tried to boot from the hard drive, and it would not boot from the hard drive - I booted from the cd and went to re-install suse completely again. It ran through the whole setup sequence and did not indicate any errors. I did a complete re-install from the beginning. It performed the initial re-boot as part of the install sequence and brought up KDE. There was a problem with my video driver or something, as my screen only showed a series of horizontal lines of alternating green white and black colors. There was nothing readable. - I did a ctrl-alt-f2 and brought up the terminal window, but I didn't really know what to do from there because I am not really familiar with the commands. At this point I thought my only problem was the video driver. - I powered off the pc. - later I tried to boot up again, and again I got the same error as before "error loading boot system" and it did not get close to loading linux at all. That is the way it is now when I try to boot up from the hard drive. - I put in the install disk again and went to "rescue system". I typed in "root" as the login with a blank password, and got a terminal command.
That is where I am now. I can get into the rescue system but not much else. I can't imagine that my hard drive has failed, as it is only 1 week old. I think that when I installed windows xp on it, microsoft did something to prevent me from installing another system over the top of xp, and now I can't access anything.
I remember on the setup having 3 partitions, as swap, a root, and a home. I had the max size on all 3, I think they were 2gb, 20gb, and 465gb or something like that. I have a 500gb drive.
So, can someone help me first of all to get my directories back? I only know enough to get into the rescue system. I don't know the commands to use from the rescue system, or what to do from there. If I need to provide any more information, please tell me what commands I need to use to find it out.
Thanks in advance! George
George, it sounds like you picked up your pc, put it in ca car, moved it to another location, plugged it in, and...it did not work. If that's the case, before trying anything else, please unplug it from the wall and open up the case. unplug and plug again every plug you see inside. remove and reinsert every memory stick. remove and reinstall every card if you have any. do that twice. Then recheck how things are connected in the back (video cable, keyboard, mouse, audio etc); then plug the computer to a power strip and it should work. when a computer is moved from one place to another and it stops working, the most likely thing that happens is some connection goes down. or the things we plug in the back get mixed up. been there, done that myself. so far, using the screwdriver to take the case cover off has worked *every* time. good luck, d. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
participants (8)
-
Doug -
Felix Miata -
george olson -
George OLson
-
James Knott -
kanenas＠hawaii.rr.com -
LLLActive＠GMX.Net -
Stuart Tanner