I wanted to install Linux on my second HD, next to Windows XP. I suspected no problems. Fuck, was I wrong.
During the Mandrake 8.0 installation process, there's suddenly an unspecified error installing LILO.. Not bad in itself, but the automatic installation wizard had already decided to install it OVER my WinXP boot sector.. without asking me. Result: a fucked up MBR on my XP disk.
No problem, I thought. I went on installing Red Hat Linux (since Mandrake couldn't get past LILO install). Everything went pretty much OK, Linux bootdisk and all. I have Linux working!
But... When I start up my pc without the linux bootdisk, all I get is "LI 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 .." etc etc. It keeps printing 01. No way to get into the advanced startup options of XP. Fine, just boot from the XP install disk. Tried that, pressed R for Repair...... and it aks for an Administrator password... which I left blank during install. But I tried all my standard passwords, plus blank, spaces and tabs. Nothing. It just won't accept my pw.
So.. now I have a working Linux on one disk, and an unbootable 40 Gb XP disk. All my documents, drawings, MP3s, schoolwork, websites, savegames, programs, ENT eps are probably gone. There's simply no way to boot the disk. And what's really frustrating, is that it's SO simple to repair the boot sector if Windows Repair only that accepted fucking (yes, fucking) Admin Password .
Does anyone here have any suggestions for repairing the MBR without Windows Repair? Is there any way I can access the unbootable XP disk from Linux, so that I can at least save my data?
[ September 03, 2002, 08:18: Message edited by: Harry ]
Posted by E. Cartman (Member # 256) on :
What you need is a bootdisk along with a recent version of FDisk, so you can repair the boot sector manually.
Moral of this story: don't, under any circumstances, install Linux on anything but a spare and empty drive, unless you're a fan of Russian roulette.
Posted by E. Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Another thing... I'd like to see your configuration file (/etc/lilo.conf). Try adding
code:
lba32
to the beginning of the file, then see what happens when you run LILO.
BTW, Mandrake's boot CD contains a rescue option (accessible via F1) that might help you out.
Posted by Toadkiller (Member # 425) on :
quote:Originally posted by E. Cartman: What you need is a bootdisk along with a recent version of FDisk, so you can repair the boot sector manually.
Moral of this story: don't, under any circumstances, install Linux on anything but a spare and empty drive, unless you're a fan of Russian roulette.
E. Cartman - you must have had a typo in your moral. Felt free to correct below
Moral of this story: don't, under any circumstances, make large changes to operating system(s) on your computer without backing up all your important data elsewhere, at least once, unless you're a fan of Russian roulette.
- meanwhile, bummer man.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Okay.. an update. My father took the pc to his work (most of his collegues are Unix pros). The current status: boot sector and index are irreversably destroyed. They tried all possible ways of booting the thing with disks, and XP won't reinstall or repair because of the non-functioning Admin Passw. Basically, the HD is unusable.
Tomorrow they're trying to recover data with specialised tools. If that doesn't work.. I've lost 3-4 Gb of documents and personal files. All my CorelDRAW stuff... ALL my PHP scripts.
quote:Moral of this story: don't, under any circumstances, install Linux on anything but a spare and empty drive, unless you're a fan of Russian roulette.
I DID install it on a fresh new drive. But somehow Mandrake thought it would be cool to put Lilo on XP's boot sector, and then crash in the middle of installing Lilo, thus completely obliterating the MBR.
Damnit... I probably lost everything. I'm depressed. I don't care about programs or stuff that I can re-download. But my e-mail archives and countless drawings and documents. AAAAARGH!!
So much for Linux being reliable.. even before installing it fucks up about two years of work. Thanks Mandrake.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Well, it is reliable, as long as you don't try to mix it w/ Windows...
Posted by E. Cartman (Member # 256) on :
quote:Moral of this story: don't, under any circumstances, make large changes to operating system(s) on your computer without backing up all your important data elsewhere, at least once, unless you're a fan of Russian roulette.
Didn't feel like rubbing it in.
"I wanted to install Linux on my second HD, next to Windows XP..."
vs.
"I DID install it on a fresh new drive..."
I misread the first line - assumed XP was on its own seperate partition on the second drive. In Mandrake's defense, however, I have never had the install wizard fuck up like that. Tough luck man...
Posted by Captain-class, Mike-variant (Member # 709) on :
I learned this last time i tried to alter my system's make up.. i lost both partitions of my HD on an install, complicated by an untrustworthy tech who wanted to sell me a hard drive so he nuked my recoverable directories.. i later was able to recover about a quarter of the data on my drives, but it was still a huge loss, especially considering i recovered replacable MP3s, but lost art and personal correspondence.. and i also lost gigabytes of porn.. GIGABYTES!.
next time i do anything involving my OS, im going to lock all my data on a drive, take it out and put it on the other side of my room disconnected.
and i'll have gun just in case that isnt far enough, and the new OS leaps towards it.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Eric C: Two harddisks, one with XP, and one with Linux. Linux is now working... and laughing with an evil laugh. Damn that pinguin!
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Damn, that DOES suck! I remember the time back in 1997 or so when I lost all of my files on a corrupted ZIP100 disk. (I had to keep all of my files on a removable disk because the computer was my dad's business computer -- he works from home -- and we hadn't yet managed to buy a new system.) For whatever reason, the system decided to destroy the disk's directory, making all of the data inaccessible. I lost two years of high school assignments, all of my computer drawings, my only truly successful SimCity 2000 city, and four years of compiled records contained in my Starfleet Reference Databank! (Luckily, I had a backup of the database from a few months previously, so I didn't lose EVERYTHING there...) I could've gotten the data recovered, but this was '97, when they charged loads of money for the procedure.
That's why I decided to back up all of my documents before I upgraded to OS 10.2 -- just in case the "Archive and Install" feature didn't work like Apple told me it would.
Though why the frell any install routine would decide to try to overwrite data on a SEPARATE hard drive is beyond me...
Hope you get your stuff back, Harry!
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Well, if the XP drive was the one the computer was using to boot, and he was installing LILO, it would have to write to the boot sector of the XP drive. Otherwise, the computer would just boot right into Windows and never run LILO.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
Well, it is reliable, as long as you don't try to mix it w/ Windows...
Could have fooled me.
Posted by Snay (Member # 411) on :
A mouse on crack could do that.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
A good rule of thumb is to consider any data you store on only one disk lost, because it's only a matter of time.
Having said that, I backup nothing, and will be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
I's still hoping (and waiting) for an update on the recovery operation ... Hooray.
I never suspected Linux would need to overwrite my other HD :S... and suspected even less that it would crash right in the middle of overwriting it.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
There isn't a default password, admin or some such thing?
I was thinking of doing the dual install, but I am having second thoughts... and the fact that my D: is my backup drive, so I have no spare IDE connections open. I may try it on an older HP I have kicking around, no windows... mmmm
good luck to your recovery Harry...
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
quote:Originally posted by Sol System: A good rule of thumb is to consider any data you store on only one disk lost, because it's only a matter of time.
Having said that, I backup nothing, and will be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.
LOL, Sol. I specifically bought a CD-RW FireWire drive about two weeks ago so that I could make sure to have everything backed up, and also so I could share files without worrying about internet transfer -- for example, if professors want work submitted on CD's.
But I haven't done a single thing with the damn machine yet... I'm just too lazy. (I'm sure I'll get my comeuppance some day when my trusty Jaguar OS decides to try something on me...
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
HOORAY!!!
So mindboggling trick worked. I don't know what they did, but everything's okay now. All data intact, boot sector repaired, Linux running.
Learning Moment: MAKE BACKUPS! REALLY! And never ever think any significant installation will go right. I'm sure there's a Murphy's Law in here somewhere.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Well, that's good news, Harry! Glad you didn't lose everything...
Note to self: Make sure to back up EVERYTHING tonight! Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Congrats....
Posted by Jack_Crusher (Member # 696) on :
Leo Laporte from TechTV and I cannot stress this enough: INSTALL PARTITION MAGIC ON YOUR HD BEFORE INSTALLING A SECOND OPERATING SYSTEM!
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