2 Hard Drives - XP Pro on 1 and Linux on the other

[2nd Base]

My Computer came with Linux. I added another HD and installed XP. I would
like to have the option at start up. As it stands (with the case open) I have
to unplug 1 and plug the same strap into the other. Please help. Thank You

 

[Gordon]

My Computer came with Linux. I added another HD and installed XP. I would
like to have the option at start up. As it stands (with the case open) I
have
to unplug 1 and plug the same strap into the other. Please help. Thank You

You should be able to edit Grub (or LILO) to give you a menu to include
booting into XP. I'm not that expert at this so I suggest you ought to post
in a Forum for your particular Distro...

 

[Paul]

My Computer came with Linux. I added another HD and installed XP. I would
like to have the option at start up. As it stands (with the case open) I have
to unplug 1 and plug the same strap into the other. Please help. Thank You

Are you sure the BIOS doesn't have a "pop up boot menu" ?

On my motherboard, I press F11 at startup, and a small menu
appears, listing all disks. I select the disk I want to
boot from. The choice of boot disk, is not permanent,
and if I don't press any keys the next time, the
boot choice in the BIOS boot page, is what is used
instead.

Your motherboard may use a different function key for
the pop up boot menu. Read the BIOS screen at startup.
My BIOS tells me the available options are F2 and F11,
where F2 gets me into the BIOS, and F11 gives the
popup boot menu. I can press the "Pause" key, to
stop the BIOS boot up screen long enough to read the
options. If your BIOS uses a "full screen logo", you
may need to disable that, to read the BIOS text.
(Consult your motherboard manual, for how to enter
the BIOS, and disable full screen logo.)

I don't use a boot loader to manage the entire computer,
and the BIOS boot options are sufficient for my needs.
I only install one OS per disk, as that makes it simpler
to manage.

Paul

 

[Malke]

My Computer came with Linux. I added another HD and installed XP. I would
like to have the option at start up. As it stands (with the case open) I
have to unplug 1 and plug the same strap into the other. Please help.
Thank You

Just repair Grub.

I could be nasty and just say "man grub", but here's the nicer answer:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=repair+grub+after+xp+install&aq=2&aqi=g5g-
m1&oq=repair+Grub+after&fp=2cca7b2e99206b9c

;-)

Malke

 

[Stefan Patric]

Just repair Grub.

I could be nasty and just say "man grub", but here's the nicer answer:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=repair+grub+after+xp
+install&aq=2&aqi=g5g-m1&oq=repair+Grub+after&fp=2cca7b2e99206b9c

It's going to be a little bit more involved than just "repair." We don't
even know if grub is the bootloader. Could be lilo. And . . .

This is not a simple case of an XP install overwriting Linux's
bootloader. Since both OSes will boot normally from the same drive
cable, I'm guessing that the OP unplugged the Linux drive and plugged the
same cable into his new second drive to install XP on, which since it was
the only drive connected became the C: drive. So, you have two OSes
installed on two drives, both of which are configured as C: or hda or sda
in Linux-speak.

To get Windows to boot off a second drive with Linux on the first with
the Linux bootloader configured correctly is possible, but not trivial.
Most times it involves, among other things, remapping the Windows drive
into thinking it's the C: drive to avoid inherent Windows problems:
Windows "likes" to be on the first partition of the first drive.

I would suggest the OP install both drives making sure that the one with
XP on it is recognized as the first drive. Then get--buy or download a
free one--a Windows-based boot manager that recognizes other OSes,
particularly Linux, and let the wizard set up the system for dual
booting. This is a much easier solution for someone who knows nothing
about the inner workings of Linux.

If Linux fails to boot when selected after doing the above--it probably
will--after all, it's now the second drive and all the configuration
files are written as if it were the first, then the OP can come back here
or, better, one of the Linux groups for advice. I suggest
comp.os.linux.setup.


Stef

 

[WinDy]

| My Computer came with Linux. I added another HD and installed XP. I would
| like to have the option at start up. As it stands (with the case open) I have
| to unplug 1 and plug the same strap into the other. Please help. Thank You

Is it possible for you to have both discs plugged in?

Are you willing to purchase third party software?

If you answered yes to both questions, look at;

TeraByteT - BootIt Next Generation

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/index.htm

Easy to work out how to use, and you can hide one disc\partition from another, and
much more. I admit I no longer use it, I removed my SuSE Linux partition.

Regards,
- WinDy

 

[Alias]

+1

In a three hard drive (each is partitioned differently) Ubuntu/Ubuntu
Studio 9.10 rig I too do an independent install of one OS per drive (by
powering the PC down, disconnecting the data cables of all the HD's
except the one I'm installing to, then repeating the process for the
remaining drives) in order to avoid wasting more time dealing with
broken GRUB2's.

For anyone else who may wish to explore this approach, there's a
caveat:

Twice since installing '9.10, Ubuntu's updates have included a few for
GRUB2. The first time this occurred I let the updates proceed and the
updated GRUB2 tied all the hard drives together thus defeating the
purpose of doing an independent OS install per hard drive.

Since I was setting up a new (to me) machine anyway, I reformatted the
drives and reinstalled the operating systems while making a mental note
to scrutinize each new list of updates for any future signs of an
impending GRUB2 update.

Upon eventually finding said signs, I powered down, disconnected all of
the drives except the one whose OS I wished to update, and then repeated
the routine for each of the other drives.

I realize this is not the correct way of dealing with a broken GRUB2
but I'm spoiled from my Mac days.

Are your disks SATA or PATA?

 

[paul_36]

Are your disks SATA or PATA?

An easier method is to use "bootpart" to configure the winxp boot.ini.
The boot-drive must have winxp installed while the 2nd drive can be
linux only; works even if the linux os is 64-bit.

The other requirement is that linux must be configured to have its
boot loader/sector also installed in its root partition. Have use both lilo
& grub at different times & had suse's yast install the loader in BOTH
the mbr of the windows boot drive (c & linux's root/boot partition.

Most linux want to avoid using winxp to be available to boot linux or
have anything to do with winxp controlling the boot. I use it as a
suspenders & belt now as found that windows "fixes" also "fix" the
mbr so that linux can no longer be booted from the mbr sector.

Bootpart is a very long time freebie & may have been developed by
the windows users group.

However, it was interesting that when I did a "clean" install (without
formatting the drive) of win7 x64, the new win7 boot method did
recognize the winxp's boot.ini & I still had the option of booting
into either win7 or linux! Couldn't figure how it was done &
my win7 crashed very badly after 1 1/2 weeks before I reloaded
all that I wanted to use by win7. Will let win7 sit for another day
as the constant rebooting crash by win7 tells me to wait for the
sp1 later this year.