"Quaoar" wrote in message
...

Concerning my Fedora dual-boot problems with Windows XP:

Joe Bachman wrote:
Too late, I realized that I should have set a "restore point" before I
attempted to install a Fedora Linux as a dual boot with Windows XP on
my Compaq Presario desktop. I did back up all my data files, for
whatever good that did.

What happened?!!? What triggered Windows into performing this
unneeded system restore, and how can I prevent it from doing so in the
future?

Is it possible for me to boot up Linux without having to reinstall it?

What's the best way for me to get my Windows applications running
normally again, as well as getting "my Documents" into its proper
folder?

This hasn't been totally bad, as Windows seems to run faster now that
a lot of my junk loaded in at startup and registry clutter is gone.
But I do want to get Norton antivirus and my firewall up and running.


AFIK, Fedora Core, in the initial public release, did exactly this on a
dual boot install. This *feature* was apparently fixed in a subsequent
re-release. Google Groups: fedora core for some info on this.

Q


Ah yes, my googling found quite a bit of net.taffic on this topic.
What seems to happen most frequently is that Windows XP just hangs
when one attempts to boot with GRUB, the bootloader supplied with
Fedora. If one reinstalls Windows, then GRUB is eliminated, and one
can't access Fedora without using a boot floppy or CD.

I suspect that COMPAQ's installation of XP has a command to do a
system restore if XP hangs when booted. Is there some way I can view
what commands the computer runds when Windows is booted up?

The real problem, however, lies not in Windows, but apparently in the
Linux 2.6 kernel. Installation alters the partition "geometry," in
some way. Apparently this can be fixed fairly easily. Then one needs
to re-load GRUB so one can dual boot without having to boot from a
floppy or CD.

So my understanding of what I need to do is as follows:

1) Set a Windows System restore point just in case I mess up again,
and back up any data (not much) I've added since the last system
restore.

2)Insert the Fedora "Rescue CD" I downloaded aburned, or Disk 1 of the
Fedora Installation CDs. This will allow me to start up Fedora.

3) Log on a "root" (I think this might be necessary, the writeup was
unclear on this pint.)

4) Fix the disk geometry using the command(s) recommended at:

http://lwn.net/Articles/86835/

http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedor.../msg02114.html

5) Reinstall/update the GRUB bootloader in the MBR ("master boot
record?")
(How to I view the contents of the MBR, and the message that are
generated whne the computer boots up?)

That should fix the problem.

Does this seem right?

Am I missing anything?

Thanks, Joe