glebspy
asked on
bootloader fails to install, then fails to work, also cant make rescue diskette
I'm installing Mandrake 9.2 for dual boot on an XP machine.
Everything was fine but when it got to the bootloader (lilo, as default) installation stage, it gave an input-output error. I then installed grub, and it continued without error messages but whenever I reboot it just puts me straight into windows XP without any error messages. What do you think the problem is, and how should I fix it?
As well as fixing this I would also like to try out the version of linux I just installed, but I don't know how to make a rescue diskette with the system in this condition. I can get into rescue mode but because the system is so minimal, it seems not to have the mkbootdisk command. Can I download a boot disk from somewhere.. the system is a fairly standard i586? Or can you suggest a way to make one?
Everything was fine but when it got to the bootloader (lilo, as default) installation stage, it gave an input-output error. I then installed grub, and it continued without error messages but whenever I reboot it just puts me straight into windows XP without any error messages. What do you think the problem is, and how should I fix it?
As well as fixing this I would also like to try out the version of linux I just installed, but I don't know how to make a rescue diskette with the system in this condition. I can get into rescue mode but because the system is so minimal, it seems not to have the mkbootdisk command. Can I download a boot disk from somewhere.. the system is a fairly standard i586? Or can you suggest a way to make one?
ASKER
I did install XP first and then put Linux into the free space. I've never had any problem like this in the past.
I got back to the stage where it lets me make a boot disk, but it then says "mkbootdisk failed". I tried with LILO and grub, and with hda hda1 and sda for the boot device.
I got back to the stage where it lets me make a boot disk, but it then says "mkbootdisk failed". I tried with LILO and grub, and with hda hda1 and sda for the boot device.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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You should always make your partitions first and then you have to install XP first on the windows partition and Linux on the Linux partition. That should solve your problem.
The order of OSes you install matters here.