(Mandrake 10.1) Lilo screwing up MDR?? so Win2k no longer works

[AD-RS1600i]

I have a real problem with my machine, I installed Mandrake 10.1 and it worked ok, but I wanted to take this off again and install Windoze 2000 just to test my hardware for a bench mark on it's performance (new machine) etc.

On installing Windows 2k it informed me that it was going to modify the boot partition to allow Win2k to boot which was fine, I then deleted everything on the disk and repartitioned it with Windoze 2000 setup. So far so good everything normal at this point!

But on reboot it comes up with something like 'Invalid Partition'; on browing the net aparently in most cases this can be fixed with fdisk /mbr from a dos prompt, but this didn't work nor did using 'fixmdr' from the recovery console.....

Bit worried that the HD was knackered at this point I put Mandrake back on which worked fine!

Ironically I was going to stick with Mandrake anyway after sorting a DVD drive as I'm fed up of doing the Amiga stylie disk swaping with my CD version.

But the point is what has it done and how do I fix it? At face value it seems like a really dodgy dangerous piece of code limiting my computer's use to a particular OS, I thought the MDR is supposed to be written to in a standard manor so dual boot OS can be used?

I can't even find the LILO executable to do a lilo /u on.....

Help!!!!!eeeeeekkkkkkkkk Thanks

[oz]

I'm a bit confused with the steps you took, and exactly where you are in the installation at this point, but you could use a Knoppix live-cd to boot, then go in and delete all the partitions, reformat them, re-install the MBR, or any of a number of other admin tasks you might want to perform.

[bryansmith]

Why not try to install Windows and then Mandrake and use Lilo to boot both? That may work.

Bryan

[AD-RS1600i]

Thanks for the replys

The problem is on running Windows 2000 installation disk with an aim to install Windows 2000 over the top clearing the drive, and repartitioning the drive removing the Mandrake partitions, and formating within Windows 2000 setup, on reboot the machine says 'invalid partition information' or something along those lines and won't boot. Aparently this is because lilo has modded the MDR, the problem being, I then can't get it back how it was to make it see the Windows partitions (and now only partitions on the disk) and boot. Like it's done something a bit too clever somewhere..... Fdisk /mdr is supposed to reset this from a Win95/98 boot disk or 'fixmdr' from the console on the repair tool from the Windows 2k setup console. I even think the Win2k should reset this on installing Windows 2000, but no luck at all

It's definately not the harddrive knackered as I thought it might be, as on booting from the Mandrake installation disks and removing the new above Windows partitions, with it's setup tool, and reinstalling Mandrake, everything then boots and works fine....


??? I am totally stuck to be honest!

[bryansmith]

Just a helpful hint, I believe it is: fdisk /mbr. Check out here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q69013/ for more info.

Hope that helps,
Bryan

[AD-RS1600i]

Thanks again for the help

All sorted now