My installation has disappeared!

[deviant9]

My first go at Linux has ended up a disaster! I got Mandrake installed ok but when I tried to boot into windows I got errors about missing files. In the end, I had to reformat and reinstall windows. Now ive gone from linux, but no windows, to windows but no linux!

My main windows partition is now "J" instead of "C". I can still see the Linux partitions in Partition Magic so they're still there. Why has Linux disappeared? How can I get it back? Windows now is working fine after the reinstall.

Here you can see a screenshot of what im seeing now in Partition Magic.. http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~sa1nt/Snap1.jpg

I think I need to set the Linux partition as active, but im afraid of doing even more harm and making myself another days work!

Thanks for any help.

[Slip]

I do not have a clue what happened there with your Windows install in the first place. When you install Linux you install a bootloader, either lilo or grub, and they write to a partition and when the computer boots up it goes to them for information.

BUT, if you first install Linux and then configure the bootloader and after that install Windows.. Windows will simply overwrite the bootloader with its own that does not recognize Linux.

You need a rescue disk or something along those lines, I will leave this part for someone else to answer.

[dufourro]

You can boot the Mandrake Install CD in rescue mode (Press F1 at first splash screen, type type 'rescue'
You'll go to the rescue menu. There is an option to re-install the boot loader.

[deviant9]

Ive managed to fix it through booting from cd1. Thanks.