[PLUG] Mandrake 8.1 installation problem

Rick Konold cccs at teleport.com
Tue Mar 26 03:15:25 UTC 2002


On Monday 25 March 2002 16:22, you hammered the keyboard to write:
> --- Rick Konold <cccs at teleport.com> wrote:
> > On Sunday 24 March 2002 18:45, you hammered the
> >
> > keyboard to write:
> > > My newly-installed Mandrake system boots Windows.
> >
> > It
> >
> > > also boots itself from a floppy (which drive isn't
> > > usually connected). It doesn't boot from the
> >
> > "linux"
> >
> > > option on the boot menu:
> >
> > Which bootloader did you use, Grub or LILO?  Did you
> > install it before or
> > after Windows? Did you install the bootloader in the
> > MBR?
>
> Good question. In the MBR. "LILO with graphical
> interface." (This was the starred option, so I didn't
> quarrel with them.) After Windows.
>
> Mandrake support told me to get a boot prompt and type
>
>
> linux root=/dev/hda3

> =====
> Robert "Tim" Kopp
> http://analytic.tripod.com/

If <linux root = /dev/hda3> did not find the boot info, I suspect it may not 
be at that location.  My first question would be, did you create a separate 
/boot partition.  If you did, you need to point LILO/GRUB there.  When you 
get into Linux, try the df command to show your partitions and where they are 
mounted.  That will allow you to verify where Linux /boot really is.  Unless 
you put it in a separate partition, it should be in root (/).

Once you know where on the drive to boot linux, you can examine your 
bootloaders to see if they are pointing to the right place.

I am dual booting Mandrake 8.1 on my laptop, so I will add my lilo and grub 
configurations below for you to look at.  Before you edit, be sure to make a 
backup copy or just # the sections you edit and add notes so you can put it 
back together if you need to.

If it is LILO, then look at, and edit if necessary /etc/lilo.conf  This is 
what mine looks like for the Linux image:

Image=/boot/vmlinuz
	label=linux
	root=/dev/hda5    #your location is probably different
	initrd=/boot/initrd.img
	append=" devfs=mount"
	read-only

If you edit lilo, be sure to run the lilo command again.


If you are using GRUB (I thought it was the Mandrake default?)  Then you can 
look at /boot/grub/menu.lst  mine looks like this:

title linux
kernel (hd0, 4)/boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda5 devfs=mount
initrd (hd0, 4)/boot/initrd.img

I am not too familiar with editing GRUB, but I do know the info you need to 
work with GRUB is located by typing "info grub"  no quotes of course.
I am not sure, but I don't think you need to do anything more before you boot 
from it, like you do with lilo. [someone will correct me if I am wrong]

I hope that will help narrow down the problem.

Rick Konold
Linux Advocate




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