Jonathan Berry wrote:
On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 14:00:28 -0500, Nat GrossThere is quite a bit of work to implement this paragraph. And I have to play it safe, just in case I remember some Win specific data/program I forgot about. Also, since I write Java software for a living (why'd you think I can just continue working of Linux with the same data), I need to have the ability to verify stuff (basically gui l&f) under Windows.
<natgross.rentalsystems@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Jonathan Berry wrote:
Hidden files in Linux are different from in Windows. Windows has a file attribute that makes a file hidden. In Linux, a file with a filename beginning with a dot "." is hidden.
Thanks for the tip.
I have both Windows partitions mounted, and ntldr boot.ini is nowhere toWhat you need to do is to just mount your windows partitions and then list the contents of each partition. For instance, if you mount your NTFS parition on /mnt/windows/E (this is not a required place, just an example), then open a terminal and type the command: ls /mnt/windows/E If you see ntldr and boot.ini listed in the output, everything is fine. You don't need to search for them as they are necessarily in the root of the partition (this is, they will not be in a folder). Similarly, do the same with your vfat partition, just in case. If you do not find it in either place, then you do have a problem and you will need to restore these somehow. Probably with the recovery console and FIXBOOT as already suggested.
Jonathan
be found. Furthermore, my previous search found a lnk(shortcut) file
that I had named 'bootIniOnCdrive.lnk'! Evidently, after my previous
Windows crash, I used that shortcut quite a bit! (That was [relative]
eons ago.)
Looks like you won't be able to boot Windows without using the recovery console.
Now, in case you are wondering, why I am not *really* paranoid; I have
my data mounted on fc3 and usable (Java stuff).
Also, I made the decision to re-align everything and go with Linux
all-the-way. And for the minor stuff that I would like to boot Windows
for, *maybe* it can wait for a cd from MS. (I don't trust the ntfs mount
for writing.)
The new NTFS driver can only do limited writing, and anything it will
do will *not* mess anything up, or that is what they say. It was
rewritten to be failsafe, but as a result, it doesn't do a whole lot. You can change files as long as the size stays the same. If you need
to change files and don't want to use Windows anymore, why not just
move the files to a partition that you can write to? If you really
don't want Windows, you can then reformat (after you are sure you have
*everything* you might want copied elsewhere!!!) your NTFS partition
to ext3.
Not a hardware problem. The machine was not shutdown gracefully, and forgot how to boot properly.
And to let the great folks here in on a little secret, my drive C was
already crashed (this time around too) and was hoping that the fc3
install/grub will not only give me fc3, but also the Win back. (if grub
had ntldr-equivalent code....).
whew! off my soapbox.
Huh? If your hard drive "crashed" (meaning that the drive failed or
is beginning to fail) I would not trust it, get a replacement. If
there is something wrong with the drive, it won't last no matter what
OS you use. If you mean something else, please enlighten us.
And no,GRUB cannot directly boot windows, it can only "chainload" ntldr.
Now, having said this, I am a little afraid to boot the Win CD and run FIXBOOT, because a)some win gurus say that since my system has sp2, the original cd is useless; and b) I want to be assured that it won't blow my fc3/grub away. (too much invested in this, this week.)
So, if I get your vote(s) and assurance that it won't hurt running fixboot, I'll go for it.
THANK YOU ALL.
-nat
I'm not sure, but I don't think fixboot will touch the MBR. That is
what fixmbr does. It should not hurt FC3 as I would think it should
only touch the windows partition. Even if you had to run FIXMBR, or
FIXBOOT did replace GRUB, you can easily re-install it (you should be
able to find instructions with Google or the archives as this has been
asked too many times already :)).
Let me ask it again....just kidding.
I think this should be safe, justhttp://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1013670
be sure you know which partition it wants to play with before you do
it. I haven't heard anything about using an SP1 disk with an SP2
install, but I haven't looked for it. Could you provide links?
Also if you google 'slipstream sp2'.
And I just reread that page. Recovery console will NOT run, after an sp2 upgrade. (unless you slipstreamed a new cd earlier.)
I don't think you could make the situation worse, as at worst, Windows won't boot, and you're already in that boat :). If you have a way, back up all the data you want to save. Most things with computers can be undone (you may have to reinstall, of course) and data loss is the worst outcome (this is in general, I'm not making any specific comments about this situation). So if you save everything you might want, go ahead and give it a shot. The most you will lose is time, then :).
Jonathan
