fix MBR?

[mbuntu]

I've used windows for a number of years, but am very new to Linux. A few months ago I needed to format my bloated PC and I thought I would put Kubuntu on. I made 3 partitions, one for Linux, one for Windows (although I was not putting windows back on at that stage) and a swap partition.

I installed Kubuntu v6.06 from the live CD on the second partition and all worked fine. A month or so ago I had to put Windows 2000 back on for certain software compatibility which went on the first partition just fine.

At this point I discovered that windows likes to overwrite the Master Boot Record and so I can now only boot into windows.

There is plenty of help for installing Linux AFTER Windows, but it all seems to be a bit sketchy for fixing the MBR when installing Windows AFTER Linux, plus some fixes seem to be distribution specific. I have tried a fix, but to no avail (probably due to my ignorance).

Is there a way I can fix the MBR so I can access Kubuntu and Windows 2000 (i.e. dual boot)?

Please help as I'm getting to the stage where I'm considering abandoning Linux (mainly through frustration at my lack of knowledge)

[jo_kubuntu]

Re: fix MBR?

Yes, windows likes to overwrite the MBR when you install it

Restoring an overwriten MBR ? That sounds like you will need to look for a special tool.

From experience, I think it is good practice to leave Windows the MBR and put linux boot record in its own partition. That means next time you install linux when windows already exists, you have to tell linux to NOT install in the MBR. I tried it once using the grub boot loader and it failed, so you better don't take the risk.

What you want is the possibility to boot different OS, using a boot loader. There are different boot loaders such as lilo and grub for linux. It's indeed a bit sketchy when it comes to windows+linux installation as you said. Suse Linux does a fairly good job, but even then I couldn't get it working with Suse9.3 as mentioned above with grub.

A simple way out is to leave the MBR as it is now and to put a reference in the boot.ini of windows to the linux boot record (which is still there if the linux partition still exists). This is done through the linux dd-command and it is quite straightforward: "dd if=/dev/... of=/dev/..." + some parameter. You will have to fill in the dots by googling for the exact syntax, but it is not difficult to find.

The result is a file that you will have to enter in the boot.ini of windows. Google for an example for a boot.ini and correct syntax

Good luck !

[DaMoGan]

Re: fix MBR?


Hi, you might check out Super Grub Disk http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzo...bDiskPage.html, which should help you to fix the MBR. Basically, grub is one of the more advanced boot loader options under kubuntu, and this disk gives you access to grub functions in a menu format, making it quite a bit easier to use than the default 'command line' grub.

[javierrivera]

Re: fix MBR?

Also, if the required software doesn't need 3D graphics or lots of cpu power, using some kind of virtual machine is much more convenient than double booting.

For example:
http://www.virtualbox.org/

There are a couple of others.

Javier.

[Arch]

Re: fix MBR?

Because you installed Windows after you did Kubuntu, bootmanager Grub doesn't detect Windows.

You can solve this by reinstalling Grub.

Boot from the Kubuntu Live Cd
Open terminal
Sudo -i (passw)
grub
find /boot/grub/stage1 (you will see probably (hdo,1)
root (hdo,1)
setup (hdo)
exit

Now restart ...you'll see the grub menu