Emergency

[Pappy]

I installed Red Hat Linux a few weeks ago and yesterday, I decided that I wasn't ready for it on my home machine. So I used partition magic and deleted the Linux native and swap partitions and expanded the dos partition to take up the entire drive. When I installed Linux, I installed LILO on the master boot record. So yesterday, after saving those changes to the drive, my computer worked fine. This morning, when I started it up, however, at the screen where I normally got "LILO boot:" and I type "dos" instead I just go the first two letters "LI" and nothing else. No keys did anything. CTRL+ALT+DEL did nothing. So I restarted using the Parition Magic Rescue disk that I had made. That brought me into partition magic. I ran the boot selector program and it had my windows partition as the one to boot. So I tried it again and got the same "LI". I am willing to format my hard drive but would rather not, and plus, would that even fix it? This is pretty urgent so, please, anyone who knows, tells me. Thanks.

[7DeadlySins]

you can use the linux fdisk utility with the mbr switch, to erase the master boot record.
i think its #fdisk /mbr

Then you need to install a valid boot record, whcih you'll be able to find on your dos disks. I'm not sure of the exact procedure tho...

The mini-howto on partitioning should help, if memory serves me correctly

7DS

[Eccentric]

I posted a direct link to a fix for this problem on your duplicate post on this subject at HardwareCentral.
<A HREF="http://
http://www.redhat.com/knowledgebase/kb/cache/6.html
" TARGET=_blank>
http://www.redhat.com/knowledgebase/kb/cache/6.html
</A>

Stop cross posting, I usually check both sites daily, so I'll get to one of them eventually! http://www.linuxplanet.com/discussion/wink.gif

[Pappy]

Thanks, Eccentric, that helps, but it only tells me how to get Linux working again. Is there any way to delete LILO from the master boot record?

[kball]

I noticed that that link wasn't working, so I thought I'd post here. Kinda new to this discussion forum.

If you have a dos bootdisk available, you can boot to that and F3 out of the installation program. Then at the a&gt; prompt just type fdisk /mbr and your master boot record should clear.

[Geoff]

Problem: You deleted the Linux partition, LILO is trying to find it and can't so it just hangs there.

Solution: Stick a boot disk in, boot to DOS, type in "fdisk /mbr" (without the quotes ok!!) and it'll reset the boot record. If the floppy doesn't have fdisk on it change directory to C:\windows\command and type the same thing in from there.

Geoff

[Pappy]

Thanks and I will try that but I don't have a DOS boot disk. How do I make one or get one?

[Geoff]

you can make a startup disk in windows by going to control panel, add/remove programs and clicking the startup disk tab.

Alternatively I found that you can boot from the redhat CD, select upgrade and do an upgrade, it won't install much but it'll re-install LILO for you and then you can boot again.

Geoff

[Pappy]

Thanks for sticking with me on this one, but I want to get it right the first time. I can't get into Windows 95 on my computer but I can on other computers. Can I make a startup disk on another computer, or does it have to be made on mine? I can get into DOS through the Partition Magic rescue disk, but it is weird DOS where commands like "edit" don't work and when I try "format /s a:" it asks for a DOS disk which I don't have. Also, when I do "fdisk /mbr" will I then have a good master boot record, or a blank one? If it is blank, where will I get what I need to put on it? Thanks.

[Popeye]

Any windows machine will work. Just put a blank 1.44mb floppy in the a: drive, go to the control panel|add/remove programs tab. There you will find something like "Windows startup disk". Click it. It will make a proper boot disk.
Go to a DOS shell and look for "format.com" on the a: drive. If it's there, you're set.
Take your new boot disk to your semi-dead box. Put it in the floppy drive and power-up. Eventually (since this is windows, it could be a while http://discussions.linuxplanet.com//wink.gif) you'll get a a: prompt. At the prompt, type:fdisk /mbr
Hit enter. remove the floppy and do a three-finger salute (ctrl-alt-del). Your machine will boot up into windows again, just like nothing ever happened.

[This message has been edited by Popeye (edited 05-17-99).]

[Pappy]

Thanks everyone, my box is back up and running.