oops .. kernel panic after partiton merge?

[srshort]

I recently merged two windows partitons on my dual boot machine (Window2k Pro/ Mandrake9.0) Now because of that I can no longer boot into Linux. I get a kernel panic error. I know why. My installation is no longer were the loader expects it to be. How do I fix this without re-installing anything (except maybe the loader) I am using lilo.

One quick fix is to recreate the partiton I merged ( all be it substatially smaller) Wanted to free up the 15 gigs XP was polluting

Thanx in advance ...
Will edit post with partiton info after I get into Linux.

[srshort]

Ok .. recreated the partiton (just to get in Linux)
hda1 = Win2k => ntfs
hda5 => ntfs (no os)
hda6 => fat32 (no os) this is the one I just made.
hda7 => EXT3 Journalised.

Should I reconfigure LILO to point to hda6 before I reboot into Windows to merge this partion. I prefer to use Partionmagic as it has proven to be dependable and reliable. This is not to say I am not open t suggestions on how to do this thru Linux.

[Dolda2000]

I'd say that you should simply use the rescue boot on the installation cd (mandrake has this, doesn't it?) and run lilo from there. Remember that you must mount the boot partition in its correct path and so. Also check if the partition numbers are the same after you merge partitions.
You also have the option of using GRUB instead, which I'd recommend.

[wassy121]

or pass the correct root=/dev/hda[6,7] option to the kernel so it knows where to look for the damn thing.