[gogalthorp]

remove the lines that refer to ISO's You should not mount an iso in fstab.

If you install Windows again it will take you back to where this all started. Windows will overwrite grub and you will have to reinstall grub. Sorry Windoz is just that way.

[seifullaah73]

so what do you recommend i do to install windows successfully

and do know which partition to chose of the opensuse installation if i do a reinstallation after installing windows do i install it on to the root partition.
so that i do not erase my data from the custom partition selection option after going to custom partition.

how about installing vista will that make it more harder or easier.

remove the lines that refer to ISO's You should not mount an iso in fstab.

what do you mean, please clarify

[gogalthorp]

The only way is to reinstall grub after Windows takes over.

If anything Vista may introduce new problems.

There is a file /etc/fstab it defines what partitions are to be mounted. In that text file you have some extra lines referring to mounting an iso file these should not be there. If you are unsure post the contents of fstab here and some one will tell you exactly what lines to remove. Note you must be root to edit this file and as always you should back the file up before making any changes to a system configuration file just in case you goof up. Just save the file to /etc/fstab.bak before making changes and saving the changed file to /etc/fstab

[silentsoldier]

This is the GRUB MANUAL--ENJOY


GNU GRUB Manual 0.97

[seifullaah73]

Originally Posted by gogalthorp

The only way is to reinstall grub after Windows takes over.

If anything Vista may introduce new problems.

There is a file /etc/fstab it defines what partitions are to be mounted. In that text file you have some extra lines referring to mounting an iso file these should not be there. If you are unsure post the contents of fstab here and some one will tell you exactly what lines to remove. Note you must be root to edit this file and as always you should back the file up before making any changes to a system configuration file just in case you goof up. Just save the file to /etc/fstab.bak before making changes and saving the changed file to /etc/fstab

here is the contents of fstab

/dev/hda4 / reiserfs acl,user_xattr 1 1
/dev/hda2 swap swap defaults 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs noauto 0 0
usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs noauto 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts mode=0620,gid=5 0 0
/dev/hda3 /data1 auto noauto,user 0 0
/dev/dvd /media/dvd subfs noauto,fs=cdfss,ro,procuid,nosuid,nodev,exec,iocha rset=utf8 0 0
/dev/dvdrecorder /media/dvdrecorder subfs noauto,fs=cdfss,ro,procuid,nosuid,nodev,exec,iocha rset=utf8 0 0
/dev/cdrecorder /media/cdrecorder subfs noauto,fs=cdfss,ro,procuid,nosuid,nodev,exec,iocha rset=utf8 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy subfs noauto,fs=floppyfss,procuid,nodev,nosuid,sync 0 0

so what lines are you referring to
how do i create a fstab.bak file i tried saving it through kate but i do not have root access.

what effect does messing with the fstab file have on the computer.

[seifullaah73]

so i will install windows and that will overwrite the grub boot loader and i will have to reinstall grub to make both OS run properly.

and to reinstall GRUB i will have to download it and the install it via the terminal.

is this correct or is there another way to reinstall GRUB.

[gogalthorp]

Run the install CD and chose repair. Take all the default options after that.

[seifullaah73]

do you mean the installation dvd and then choose repair install system at the menu correct.

could you give me instructions on how to start fresh lets say i delete the partitions and start with one partition of the hard drive no operating systems.

should i insert windows xp in the computer create a patition not too big but reasonable as to have 2 partitions 1 for each os and 1 spare partition for something else

it then format the partition as ntfs or fat32 and then do installation on that partition.
after installation is finished i insert OpenSuse 10.3 dvd and do a fresh installation on the second free partition and that should install grub properly and after the installation i should have a fully working dual boot system.

is this correct.

[gogalthorp]

Yes

If you are starting from scratch remove all the partitions. When you install windows it will at some point ask about partitions you can set up the Windows partition there. Pay attention since as I remember the partition option does not jump out at you. Leave room for the Linux partitions but do NOT create them.

Install Linux and the install will take whatever space is left after you installed Windows and it will setup the partitions.

It is best to allow the installer to create the partitions. Just leave it some space.