From: Denis Vlasenko <vda@port.imtp.ilyichevsk.odessa.ua>
To: root@chaos.analogic.com, Andries Brouwer <aebr@win.tue.nl>
Subject: Re: Linux-2.6.8 Hates DOS partitions
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 20:45:28 +0300
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References: <Pine.LNX.4.61.0410131329110.3818@chaos.analogic.com> <20041013213519.GA3379@pclin040.win.tue.nl> <Pine.LNX.4.61.0410131833370.12624@chaos.analogic.com>
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> I just had to reinstall the "Fedora Linux 2" release from scratch the
> second time. What it does is, even though I told it to leave my
> SCSI disks alone, and even though I bought a new ATA Disk just for
> it, and even though I carefully told the installation program to
> use ONLY /dev/hda... Guess what? It installed a piece of GRUB
> on my first SCSI, /dev/sda, where the LILO boot-loader for DOS
> and linux-2.4.26 exists! It looks like it put it in a partition
> table!
> 
> So, every time I install a new Linux version, GRUB writes something
> else there. Eventually it probably gets big enough to make the DOS D: 
> partition go away, and soon DOS drive C: becomes unbootable. I can't
> find any other reason.

If you want to be sure that DOS boots, you may boot Linux by booting
into DOS first and then use loadlin/linld. I do it all the time.

> This is the second time I've had to reinstall everything from
> scratch in the past two weeks and I can tell you that there is
> nothing "free" about free software.

Bullshit. Commercial software can mess things up too.

Two weeks ago I personally witnessed how simple chkdsk
(standard one from NT install CD, not a fancy utility)
mangled NT4 domain controller's mirrored boot partition
to the point of "inaccessible boot device" BSOD.

It was not fun at all. Luckily I had a complete backup.
--
vda

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