Dual boot with XP - RH8 doesnt work ?

[pino]

Hi !
I've just completed installing RH8 on my XP machine, for the third time :).
In the process i have encountered some problems, namely that my XP doesnt work anymore ?
First time i installed i let GRUB find the 2 OS's. It gave me the Options DOS and RH8, but the DOS option didnt work, i got some error message i cant remember and it returned to the selection screen.

Being a total novice, i took the MS way out: formatted the HD and reinstalled it all. I have no important data, so i could afford it.
Second time i then reseached a little more after installing XP, and during RH installation i selected adv opt for GRUB. I selected the option "first part of..." for GRUB. This resulted in my XP working, but i didnt get the GRUB start up screen, and hence didnt know how to start Linux.
Solution: format - reinstall...

Before the third time (this time) I found this article :
http://www.linuxorbit.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=470

Henceforth i firstly installed XP, and during RH install i deleted the DOS entry GRUB found. When booting into Linux first time i opened the file /etc/grub.conf, added the lines :
title Windows XP
root (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1

And rebooted.
I then got the Windows XP option as expected, but when selecting it, my screen blinks, and i return to the selection screen. RH still functions normally, as expected.
Now my question is : What the h... am i supposed to do ? How do i make XP work ?
HELP MEEEE!!!! :'(

Kind Regards DPM

[gschimek]

Not sure what the problem is with your computer, but let me tell you exactly how I did it. Maybe it'll help.

First I installed XP normally on the first (primary) partition.

Then when I installed RedHat, I created partitions (/, home, tmp, etc) and made sure to create a small /boot partition, making sure that it was either the second or third partion on the hdd (you can only have 3 primary partions, and can only boot from a primary, not a logical)

I finished the install and used lilo for my bootloader and installed it to /boot instead of the MBR (master boot record). After RH was installed, I booted to windows prompt, ran fdisk, and selected the /boot partition to be the active partition and everything worked like it should. I've done the same since on a box with RH and Win98.

Hope that gives you some ideas, anyway.

[pino]

Let me get this straight!
R u suggesting i install my boot loader (GRUB) to the /boot partition? thereby leaving the XP boot intact ?
And when i've done this i should then somehow select /boot as MBR ?
Doing it the way u suggest (command prompt etc..) could cause me problems, cuz i aint got no floppy drive. Is there an alternate way to select /boot as the active partition.

[pino]

Ive now tried your suggested procedure...
When i reach the fdisk option for setting the active partition, it tells me
"The only startable partition on drive 1 is already set active"

[pino]

OMG!
I actually made it work !
Problem solved by using the fdisk supplied with the RH installer instead of the DOS version i used at first...
I am now a much happier person... thx ! :D

Anyone troubled by installing xp and linux should give me a call, i am now the almighty Sensei of Dual Booting, i know all



Who said Megalomaniac?

[gschimek]

Congratulations! Glad you got it to work. :)