XP cd - disk geometry problem

[none]

I installed linux FC3 and I have some free space where I want to install XP
my bootloader is in MBR
I copied the bootloader with dd into a file on an existing fat partition
so I can access it later when my xp overwrites the MBR

I have a problem starting the pc with the windows XP cd
it stops when detecting hardware, I believe the XP cd can't read the
geometry of the disk

I can start the pc with win98 cd I ran the dos fdisk /mbr that overwrote
my bootloader I could not boot the pc at all so I had to restart again
with FC3 cd in single user mode and run grub-install /dev/hda to get my
bootloader back

I have no clue how to get the xp setup working I have a free partition
all have to do is just format it and install XP
the XP just does not want to recognize the hard drive
is there any dos tool I can use to make it work?

here is my partition table if it helps

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1* 1 10 80293+ 83 Linux (/boot)
/dev/hda2 2161 14593 99868072+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)

/dev/hda3 11 2160 17269875 83 Linux >>> free partition I want my XP here

/dev/hda5 8202 10107 15309913+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda6 10108 14593 36033763+ b W95 FAT32
/dev/hda7 2161 4072 15358077 83 Linux (/)
/dev/hda8 4073 4333 2096451 82 Linux swap
/dev/hda9 4334 8201 31069678+ 83 Linux(/home)

any help apreciatd

 

[b_baka]

I installed linux FC3 and I have some free space where I want to install XP
my bootloader is in MBR
I copied the bootloader with dd into a file on an existing fat partition
so I can access it later when my xp overwrites the MBR

I have a problem starting the pc with the windows XP cd
it stops when detecting hardware, I believe the XP cd can't read the
geometry of the disk

I can start the pc with win98 cd I ran the dos fdisk /mbr that overwrote
my bootloader I could not boot the pc at all so I had to restart again
with FC3 cd in single user mode and run grub-install /dev/hda to get my
bootloader back

I have no clue how to get the xp setup working I have a free partition
all have to do is just format it and install XP
the XP just does not want to recognize the hard drive
is there any dos tool I can use to make it work?

here is my partition table if it helps

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1* 1 10 80293+ 83 Linux (/boot)
/dev/hda2 2161 14593 99868072+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)

/dev/hda3 11 2160 17269875 83 Linux >>> free partition I want my XP here

/dev/hda5 8202 10107 15309913+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda6 10108 14593 36033763+ b W95 FAT32
/dev/hda7 2161 4072 15358077 83 Linux (/)
/dev/hda8 4073 4333 2096451 82 Linux swap
/dev/hda9 4334 8201 31069678+ 83 Linux(/home)

any help apreciatd

You are going down the same path I took some time ago and you might get
burned. I had DOS, Win 3.1, OS/2, and LINUX on one drive until I tried
to '''upgrade''' to Windows 95 and it ate the MBR. That was lots of fun.
Recently (last month) I had DOS, W2K, and LINUX all booting from the C:
drive. Then I tried to install a SUSE distro from IBM and the Grub boot
loader killed my MBR <GRRR>. Now I have W2K Pro, LINUX, and XP home on 3
separate drives with a BIOS that allows me to boot from and drive. The
DOS found a home on another computer that was getting too slow for
windows stuff. Bottom line is buy another hard drive and see if your
BIOS will support dual boot on startup. It should be noted hear that I
am a tech head and my computer has not seen its' case for some time.
Bill Baka