Problem with Linux Live Distros.

[mehulved]

You will need to edit grub. Just add a entry similar to the following depending on where your RH 9 partition is located and which kernel and initrd versions are there

title Red Hat Linux 9
    root (hd0,0)
    kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda1
    initrd /boot/initrd

Both the root entried will change depending on the partition number. If RH 9 is on hda7 and kernel is /boot/linux-2.4.31 and initrd is in /boot/initrd then grub entry will be

root  (0,6)
kernel /boot/linux-2.4.31  root=/dev/hda7
initrd /boot/initrd

You can check these by mounting the RH partition.

 

[~Phenom~]

I think u forgot that I m a Dumbo in Linux.
Please explain all this.
where to put the code above???In terminal in FC5???
I have posted my partitions and result of fdisk -l , earlier in this thread on ur demand , if u remember that.
Or u want me to show the result of fdisk -l from FC5????


Please excuse me , I know I m the dumbest u might have ever encountered.
Please elaborate...

 

[mehulved]

Well it's not about being dumb all newbies ask these questions time and again. You will learn with time if you put in efforts.
Well yes you showed me the output of fdisk, but there were two partitions of linux there and one swap.
So, I can't make out which one is RH and which one is FC.
These are not commands, you just add these lines to the file /boot/grub/menu.lst
You can open it by typing this in the console

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

There maybe some GUI tool in FC which tells you about your partitioning structure. I am not sure which one it is, as I don't use FC.

 

[~Phenom~]

hey , I m posting the output of fdisk and nano command which i run just now in FC5.
Let me tell u that I have installed RH9 two days back in 8GB partition and today I installed FC5 by deletting two 8GB partitions. I didnt used the same swap partition manually but did everything automatic.


[root@localhost ~]# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/hda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hda1 * 1 3040 24418768+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/hda2 3041 30401 219777232+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hda5 5081 5093 104391 83 Linux
/dev/hda6 5094 5950 6883821 83 Linux
/dev/hda7 5951 6080 1044193+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/hda8 6081 12159 48829536 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hda9 12160 18238 48829536 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hda10 18239 24317 48829536 b W95 FAT32
/dev/hda11 24318 30401 48869698+ b W95 FAT32
/dev/hda12 3041 3053 104359+ 83 Linux
/dev/hda13 3054 5080 16281846 8e Linux LVM

Partition table entries are not in disk order
[root@localhost ~]#






grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE: You have a /boot partition. This means that
# all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
# root (hd0,11)
# kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00
# initrd /initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/hda
default=0
timeout=50
splashimage=(hd0,11)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
hiddenmenu
title Fedora Core (2.6.15-1.2054_FC5)
root (hd0,11)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.15-1.2054_FC5 ro root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00 rhgb$ initrd /initrd-2.6.15-1.2054_FC5.img
title Other
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
[ Read 20 lines ]
^G Get Help ^O WriteOut ^R Read File ^Y Prev Page ^K Cut Text ^C Cur Pos
^X Exit ^J Justify ^W Where Is ^V Next Page ^U UnCut Txt ^T To Spell





now , please tell me exactly what should I add in boot menu???

 

[mehulved]

Well what you saw is the part of the file you should scroll down using the navigation keys next to the right ctrl button.
Anyways it's either hda5 or hda6 that's the boot partition I can't really tell from this.
Try mounting both the partitions and see where the boot resides. And what's the name of the kernel and initrd image.

 

[~Phenom~]

well I scrolled down and found nothing except a line "chain loader +1".
I also tried to mount partitions but couldnt mount .
I used sudo mkdir /media/c_drive
sudo -t vfat /dev/hda5 /media/c_drive


also please clear my doubt , is there a space between hda5 and /media/c_drive or not.I tried both with and without space but didnt worked.

Well earlier I mounted one partition in Ubuntu using above commnds sucessfully , so shall I do that again and try to find where the boot resides ???? Will x in hdax will remain same in ubuntu as it was in FC5??
I mean will the drive number remain same in ubuntu as in FC5 or will it be different????

 

[mehulved]

Oh well that's a linux partition not a FAT partition. You have specified filesystem as vfat which stands for FAT. And why c_drive? Linux has no c drive. Though the name won't really make any difference.
I don't know which partition type you made. It may be ext3 mostly. Then you will have to change vfat to ext3 in the command.
There's a space after hda5.

 

[~Phenom~]

ok , now I successfully mounted hda5.
then I saw the grub menu.lst in that folder , it is as follows:

# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE: You have a /boot partition. This means that
# all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
# root (hd0,10)
# kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/hda12
# initrd /initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/hda
default=1
timeout=10
splashimage=(hd0,10)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
title Red Hat Linux (2.4.20-6)
root (hd0,10)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.20-6 ro root=LABEL=/ hdc=ide-scsi
initrd /initrd-2.4.20-6.img
title DOS
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1



Now tell me , what exactly to add in menu.lst of FC5.
__________
Also , I wanted to know some good books on Linux to purchase.
Please suggest some books .
JGuru Recommended me "Fedora 5 & RedHat Enterprise Linux 4 Bible by Christopher Negus" but my teacher and other friends said That Linux Bible is a big NO purchase . Donno what to purchase now, please suggest some good books from Text Book point of view.

 

[mehulved]

title Red Hat Linux (2.4.20-6)
root (hd0,10)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.20-6 ro root=LABEL=/ hdc=ide-scsi
initrd /initrd-2.4.20-6.img

This is what you have to add to the menu.lst of FC and now RH should appear at the GRUB.
If you prefer reading online just startup with www.tldp.org/guides.html

 

[~Phenom~]

well I have already tried to put that code above "title other" but Its not working.
Though it puts the name of RH9 in Boot Loader but when RH9 is selected , it shows error like something missing and the text like below is also there

kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.20-6 ro root=LABEL=/ hdc=ide-scsi
initrd /initrd-2.4.20-6.img



what to do???

Is there something else to be edited also ???

Should the chain loader be increased to +2???
Am I adding the code at the right place(before title Other) ????

 

[mehulved]

Show me the contents of the /boot/grub.menu.lst now. And also what error you get.

 

[~Phenom~]

the contents of the /boot/grub.menu.lst now are :


# grub.conf generated by anaconda
#
# Note that you do not have to rerun grub after making changes to this file
# NOTICE: You have a /boot partition. This means that
# all kernel and initrd paths are relative to /boot/, eg.
# root (hd0,11)
# kernel /vmlinuz-version ro root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00
# initrd /initrd-version.img
#boot=/dev/hda
default=0
timeout=50
splashimage=(hd0,11)/grub/splash.xpm.gz
hiddenmenu
title Fedora Core (2.6.15-1.2054_FC5)
root (hd0,11)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.15-1.2054_FC5 ro root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00 rhgb quiet
initrd /initrd-2.6.15-1.2054_FC5.img

title Red Hat Linux (2.4.20-6)
root (hd0,10)
kernel /vmlinuz-2.4.20-6 ro root=LABEL=/ hdc=ide-scsi
initrd /initrd-2.4.20-6.img



title Other
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
root(hda,5)

chainloader +1





^G Get Help ^O WriteOut ^R Read File ^Y Prev Page ^K Cut Text ^C Cur Pos
^X Exit ^J Justify ^W Where Is ^V Next Page ^U UnCut Txt ^T To Spell




And the error on selecting RH9 in Boot Menu is:

"
Booting Red hat Linux (2.4.20-6)
root(hd0,10)
Filesystem type is fat, partition type 0xb
kernel /nmlinuz-2.4.20-6 ro root=LABEL=/ hdc=ide-scs
error15: File not found
Press any key to continue
"

on pressing any key, the boot menu appears again.

whats wrong????

 

[mehulved]

Just try to edit, (hd0,10) to (hd0.4) or if that does not work (hd0,5). See what happens then.

 

[~Phenom~]

yahoo!!!!!!!
(hd0,4) worked.
Now i can Boot into RH9.
Thanx a ton to you tech ur future. You really helped me a lot.

Now , few queries , why It all happened ???I mean is it natural that even if u do a fresh install of FC5 over RH9 , it deletes the option of booting into RH9 or I did a mistake while installing????
Also , when I just booted into RH9 , while booting it showed Kudzu software which said , "use Kudzu for the detection and installation of new hardware or wait 10 seconds for normal bootup"
I selected normal bootup and it was all fine. Just want to know why Kudzu showed up this time , while I have not seen it while booting earlier prior to installing FC5????

No matter if I get the answers of these queries or not , I thank u a lot . U really saved my system from getting completely lost.

 

[mehulved]

Well this happens when you are not so experienced in installation. While installation you could have selected this partition in grub configuration. So, if you reinstall grub again most probably you will have to write down this line again.
I don't know why Kudzu showed up. Did you make any changes in hardware since the last time you ran RH 9?
Don't really get worried over such things, you'll learn with time and these things will seem a cake-walk to you then.

 

[~Phenom~]

well yeah there was an option to configure GRUB while installtion of FC5 but I didnt did that . that must be reason.
About Kudzu , no I didnt made any changes to hardware since then but yeah recently mounted a partition in FC5 as u know , can that might be a reason???

And nope I m not at all worried now , I m feeling relaxed. Thanx to you.

 

[mehulved]

Nope mounting isn't the cause of the problem. Maybe there was something that was left unconfigured. Or maybe it's just a part of booting up process. I can't confirm as I haven't seen RH 9 ever.

 

[~Phenom~]

ok , what ever may be the reason. My system is working fine now. Thats what matters to me.

 

[~Phenom~]

Hey I m not being able to play mp3 or Dat or any music file in both RH9 and FC5.
It says something is missing or not installed.
Though I choose all the packages while installation.
Whats wrong????

 

[mehulved]

Is yum installed? If not install either yum and yumex or smart package manager for FC5 and RH9. Also, read the Stanton Finley Notes. Either google for it or search in this section, it's been mentioned many times. It will show you how to go on further.