I think i will try the option of using disk 1 of fedora installation this weekend...seems easiest to me. :)
sid
PS: i am using thunderbird mail client..and have subscribed to fedora-list digest...so i get mails in bundled form..i cannot reply to a particular mail..so i wrote a new mail and copied the topic and contents from the mail i wanted to reply to..i hope this mail goes into the same thread..(should do unless information is read from mail header and not just topic..)
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Subject: Re: Reinstalling windows on a dual boot system From: V P <list307@xxxxxxxxx> Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2005 18:14:08 +0530 To: For users of Fedora Core releases <fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: For users of Fedora Core releases <fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx>
On 6/1/05, sid <sid@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I have Windows Xp prof and Fedora 3 installed on my laptop. I need to reinstall my windows xp cos its showing its native behaviour..like system hang.. Now i read that if I reinstall windows..it will overwrite my current boot loader(GRUB)..and then i will not be able to boot linux. Is there a way to do it without losing my linux installation??
ReInstalling windows will no doubt overwrite your grub, but it will not destroy your FC installation. There are two ways out of this problem.
1. Once the installation of WinXP is complete, boot with Disk 1 of FC into the rescue shell, chroot to the installation and run
$ grub-install /dev/hdX
replace X as applicable.
2. Before installing WinXP boot into your FC installation and as root run the command
$ dd if=/dev/hdXX of=bootsect.bin bs=512 count-1
/dev/hdXX would be your /boot partition (or / if you don't have a separate boot). This will generate a file (bootsect.bin) of size 512KB. Save the file to a floppy. Once the installation of WinXP is complete, copy the file to c:\ and edit c:\boot.ini as follows.
[boot loader] timeout=10 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" c:\bootsect.lin="Fedora Core"
Hope this helps.
VJP
