grub won't start

[Claudio Cilloni]

Hi all.

Scenario:
PC Dell P4 1.8Mhz. 2 disks (hda and hdb), 20GB each.
In the first there's installed win2k, using one partition that takes the whole hd.
I installed Redhat 9 in the second disk (hdb), three partitions (1GB swap, 4GB /, 10GB /home, 5GB unused). The installation process completed succesfully, and grub was installed selecting win2k as default boot OS. I'm pretty sure that grub is installed in /dev/hda (the win2k disk).

Immediately at the first boot after installing rh9 grub hangs... There screen is black, 'GRUB' is written in the top left corner, the cursor flashes... and nothing happens. No response from keyboard.

Now... It is important to restart win2k. I can start the installed linux using the rescue mode of the Redhat installation CDs, that mounts the whole system under /mnt/sysimage and gives me a root shell; the grub command is available.

How can I remove grub, in order to start win2k?
If useful, I can get help from other win2k and redhat 7.3 machines (to prepare some floppies, for example).

Secondarily, Why grub doesn't work? Do you think that lilo could be better in my case?

Any help appreciated.
Thanks,
Claudio

[Ragu_1]

What may have happened is that your win2k boot signature may have been overwriiten by grub's signature . After that win2k may have corrupted the grub loader. So you are in no-man's land. Now do not panic! Please come to the grub prompt using the RH rescue mode. Type these commands one after the other, rootnoverify (hd0,0) :: makeactive :: chainloader +1 and then boot the win2k system by typing `boot' at the grub prompt. Later you can embed grub in /dev/hdb itself from the grub prompt of the rescue disk. Type these commands in succession, root (hd1,1) :: kernel /vmlinuz :: setup (hd0) and reboot the system. It drops down to booting RH, once you are logged in, as root, `cd /boot/grub' and edit the file `menu.lst' to include these, one down the other,title Windows 2000 :: rootnoverify (hd0,0) :: makeactive :: chainloader +1 Reboot and you are set.

[Ragu_1]

Sorry, in my reply's 9th line change setup (hd0) to setup (hd1). This is to embed grub in the second hard disk at /dev/hdb.

[Jerome Henry · Accepted solution]

If you want to be safe fast, boot from 2k cd in rescue mode, get the prompt and type 'fixmbr'
It'll remove grub. You can't remove it from Linux.
Then take time to post your grub.conf file here...

Good luck

J

[Huc_1]

Hi Claudio,

Good one that Jerome ! I always use bootable dos floppy from where I type the following command

fdisk/mbr

did not know this method, but this is way better.

guess I can format my bootable dos floppy now !

J-P

[Jerome Henry]

Yes you can JP ! fixmbr is fdisk/mbr on 2k... Works just the same, that is to say sometimes doesn't fix anything...
:]

J

[Alexander Chuzhoy]

I suggest you to login again to RedHat and to execute:
grub-install /dev/hda

this will rebuild the boot loader in MBR

[Claudio Cilloni]

Problem solved. I installed LILO ("... maybe it works...") and it hanged just like grub. But LILO gave an error code that (reading the documentation) sent me to the BIOS configuration. I discovered that the primary slave harddisk was disabled. 3 hours of work wasted!!!!!!

I tried Jerome's suggestion... I didn't know that. And doing so I was able to start win2k. great! I always used, like Huc, a bootable dos floppy, but this time I didn't find it... maybe it is buried in a drawer. When I'll find it, I'll throw it away :-)

Thanks.
Claudio

[root_6]

the same problem happend to me on netserver .
SAVE AND READ THIS TEXT FIRST CAMLY!
first solution is if u had made the bootable floopy at the end of instalation u can use that to boot linux.
another way to make linux bootable floopy is give the commant at shell. (new throghout formated floopy works fine)
u can find the kernel version by cmd : uname -a
mkbootdisk -device /dev/fd0 kernel-version
rh9 which iam using got kernel 2.4.20-8
so the command will be
mkbootdisk --device /dev/fd0 2.4.20-8
B.put in ur rh9 first bootable cd and boot from cd.
write at the prompt boot: linux rescue
it will go forward and will ask u to find any linux partition .
it will find the linux partition on ur hd

when it take u to the shell prompt write there
chroot /mnt/sysimage
it will mount ur old partition at /
now cd /etc
edit using vi grub.conf
try to look is ther any problem
come out of the file
and then re-install the grub by
grub-install /dev/hdX
X=a,b,c,d,.... it will write grub on the MBR