[Omega_Shadow]

I am currently in a LiveCD session of PCLinuxOS. I just got this distro and liked how it worked so I decided to install it along side my Mandriva install. That did a number on my bootloader. Can't boot anything except this LiveCD. When my computer starts all I get after post is

99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99

So I am taking the hint that my bootloader is toast. This is a very bad thing as I did not want to spend my day off in front of a keyboard. But it does have a silver lining as I wanted to know how to install a bootloader from scratch since my dive into linux.

I have downloaded a tar-ball for a bootloader called grub-gnu and did the usual "./configure" "make" "make install" in the console, but don't know what to do next. I would welcome any help at this point. Any tidbits on how bootloaders work and how to properly configure them would be a bonus.

[lynch]

Mandriva and the Mandriva-based PCLinuxOS use Lilo as the bootloader by default. If you can boot with the 1st Mandriva disk and get a terminal, you should just have to type /sbin/lilo to have in restore itself. There may be an option to restore Lilo, IIRC.
lynch

[Omega_Shadow]

tried that already. It just gave me an error.

I would rather learn how to install a bootloader from scratch then persueing the "auto-fix" solutions. Gotta learn this if my next system is going to have 10+ distros on it

[Nurdle]

Is this any help to you m8?

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_setup_boot_loaders

As a side note....
Check your inbox

[saikee]

All the answers are in my last link of the signature.

In your case Task B3 refers.

When LIlo fails you should see 99 or L on the screen. Just restore the boot loader like you do it for the Windows MBR. Pretty routine stuff.

[killfactory]

B3 worked wonders for my errors. used auditor live cd. had to mount hda5 in my case.

Thanks Saikee!

[Serge_N_Gin]

What happened in your case, Omega_Shadow ? ? ?

'Cos I got those pesky 99's too, after I installed Mandriva 2006.

I got the Saikee link thing too when I posted, but I'm a noob and the info was way too advanced without a hand holder.

[Omega_Shadow]

oh, sorry, forgot about this thread. Messing around in the consoles I figured out that I overwrote my mandriva install when I installed PCLinuxOS instead of having them co-exist. I ended up saving my user information with the PCLinuxOS live CD and wiped the the "/" partion and started new with a fresh install of PCLOS

Let me know your situation and status. I would be happy to guide you though it

[saikee]

ilovedonna,

Restoring a boot loader, be it a Windows, Linux Grub or Linux Lilo, requires overwriting the Master Boot Record (MBR) which is the first 512 bytes of the first bootable hard disk.

For Lilo (same for Grub) the standard way is to boot up "another Linux" first. Create a tempoarary subdirectory on its /mnt directory, mount the Linux partition that has a failed Lilo (or Grub), change root to it and restore the boot loader with the command

lilo -b /dev/hda

I am sorry that I can't make it simpler but the fact of the matter is any Linux user can boot up a LIveCD and therefore can slavage another Linux with it.

Change root, with "chroot" command, is to jump from Linux A to Linux B thereby a Linux user can work inside the distressed Linux B with a failed boot loader.

Lilo is hard-coded boot loader that cannot tolerate any change to its system settings or responding back with a screenful of 99 display. Therefore to survive in Linux one must know how to get Lilo back and this is easily done by Lilo's own command with "-b" parameter with the designation "/dev/hda" indicating the device hard disk "hda" meaning the MBR.

The above "lilo -b /dev/hda" simply instructs Lilo to replicate itself in the MBR.

If you still have a problem with it list here the content of

fdisk -l

so that we know your partitioning arrangement and give you the precise instructions/commands if needed. At this moment we can't adivise which partition to mount..