Debian Triple Boot / MBR is gone

[bGE Design]

CPU: Intel III
OS: Windows 2000 / Red Hat Linux 7.1

Hi everyone,

I have 5G space available on my HD, and recently acquired Debian CD-ROMs. I want to try this.

First try,
during the installation process, I think I did install LILO on the first sector of boot partition, not MBR. The installation process restarted the machine.

Well, here is the problem.
I was not able to go through due to power failure. I restarted the machine, and thought that I would try installation tomorrow. Usually, MBR is dominated by NTLoader, and RH lilo is called from there. (NT doesn't let me load OS by anything other than NTLoader, does it? I think I read that from some How-to stuff.) I thought that doing the same procedure as I did with RH will let me boot Debian from NTLoader.

It looks like Debian erased MBR.
I really don't think I chose to install lilo in MBR.

Did I just make a mistake and din't realize it,
or does Debian automatically do something with MBR during installation?

If I am correct,
how do you install Debian on the machine which already has NT on it? I use Linux on daily basis, but I still need Win2000 to do some work-related tasks(Photoshop, Flash, etc.)

If you are successfully running Debian and NT on the same machine,
could you teach me how you did that?


bgedesign

[sans-hubris]

You have MBR and/or LILO point to NTLoader, so you will not actually be booting NT/2000 itself, but rather get into its bootloader and boot NT from there. That's how I had to do it.

[bGE Design]

Muad Dib,
thank you for your reply.

Which means, Debian does erase MBR during installatin, and NTLoader has to be called from Debian?s LILO?

I mean,
probably the current configuration of the system makes me a little hesitant to let Debian erase MBR. Now NTLoader is there, and it call LILO for Red Hat from there. I did spend some time with Tutorials and finally able to make the system dual-boot. So, quite frankly, I don?t trust myself that much. I am still learning the basic of things. I don?t know much about NT as OS, either. So that?s another reason I am not confortable tatching MBR.

Anyway,
I will study more on NT and Debian a little more.

Thank you.


bGE Design

[ThePyr0x]

Lilo will rewrite the MBR. What you have to do is edit lilo.conf to point to the partition on which Windows 2000 resides (dont forget to run lilo after), and then when the Lilo boot screen pops up it will give you the choice of booting Debian or Windows 2000, telling it to boot Windows 2000 will have it load the NTBoot loader for Windows or RH (i think thats how you said you had it set up). I think this is how I had it set up on mine. I created this myself
other=/dev/hda1
label=Windows
table=/dev/hda1
I think it kind of speaks for itself there.

[Linuxcool]

I believe the line with ' table ' should be table=/dev/hda

[private part peterson]

Originally posted by bGE Design:
<STRONG>
It looks like Debian erased MBR.
I really don't think I chose to install lilo in MBR.
</STRONG>


I don't think debian would write over the MBR unless you told it too... Although the only times I've installed debian I've put lilo in the MBR, if you know how to do it the other way you go ahead...

<STRONG>
Did I just make a mistake and din't realize it,
or does Debian automatically do something with MBR during installation?

If you are successfully running Debian and NT on the same machine,
could you teach me how you did that?


bgedesign</STRONG>

I'm running debian with win(lose)98, with lilo in the MBR of hda and win98 in the MBR of hdb, chainloading win98 the way the other guys suggested, and I havent had any problems.

If you want to make sure and put lilo in one of your partition's boot sector, do (as root in debian):
lilo -b /dev/(whatever the name is of the debian partition, say... hdb2)

Which should (although don't take my word for it, always RTFM =) install it into that boot sector, I think you could then write over the MBR with NTL again, and chainload debian the same way you do redhat.

Hope that helps =)

[ 27 August 2001: Message edited by: private part peterson ]

[bGE Design]

Thank you, everyone.

My work suddenly got busy, and I have been having trouble taking care of things. I am dying to try Debian installation again, but right now, I am handful and I have to wait a while.

However,
thanks to your suggestions, now I know which way should I take. I will use LILO to boot other OSes. I was a little hesitant because I was able to use NTLoader to boot RH, and I hadn't tried anything else. But I think it's time to try this, too.

I really appreciate your suggestions. I will post the result when I finish the installation.

Thanks!