UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Hey all,

I hope there is an easy fix for this. I have Linux Mandrake 7.2 installed and completely configured on it's own set of partitions, but I had to reinstall my windows partition and hence wiped out my LILO boot option. My BIOS isn't seeing the partitions with Linux on it, so I can't just go in there and change that to boot into Linux that way.

Is there any way to make a linux boot disk? Or is there a file under Win98 that I can adjust to boot to Linux? Any help would be appreciated. (I know it's probably a cardinal sin to mention Windows in here, but I need it for work!)

Thanks,
ober5861

Me again...

Well, I never did find a way to get back into Linux, because I had never made a Linux boot disk, so I now have a clean reinstall to play with. However, if anyone does know how to do what I posted before, please inform!

I'm not sure but i think there should be boot disks on the installation cds that you have for your linux. At least on my rad hat 7.1 cd i have boot diskettes in .img format. Of course if you boot from those diskettes you will have to reinstall linux, but as i know from my windows experience nothing should happen to your existing files. If you don't want to try that idea or you don't have the diskettes, i can send you either the one that boots for install or the one that you should have made during the installation. But remember that i have red hat linux 7.1, i don't think there's a big difference. And tell me the format you want them in either in .zip or .img or something else...
Just trying to help

Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it. However, I am now the owner of a fresh install of Mandrake. I needed a fresh install anyways... and being my 3rd attempt at it, I have a cleaner system too. However, if someone else was looking for a way around the "crash and burn" method, I did get a reply from a friend of mine who is quite a bit more experienced than myself. Here's what he suggests:

"You need a linux boot disk or linux rescue disk. Another way, most distributions when boot from cd usually give you a rescue option of some sort. If you get into linux all you have to do is type "/sbin/lilo" and it will reinstall lilo. and yet one more option is to install linux bare with nothing on it onto another partition. When it boots, edit the lilo.conf file and tell it to boot the origional linux partition. Run "/sbin/lilo" then reboot and it should boot into the origional linux then you can delete the dummy version."

With Mandrake, you can simply pop in the 1st cd, hit F1, use the rescue option, and do as above to fix LILO, if you're lucky. Regardless, thanks for the offer once again. People on this forum just rock!