Linux hates me [ 2 different distros, 2 fubared installs ]

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Komataguri

2[H]4U
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Jan 29, 2004
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I swear I'm a masochist, cause every 6 months or so I get the bug up my ass to try linux yet again to see how its developing because I wouldn't mind dropping windows if I could.


So, Today...I download the Fedora Core 4 DVD iso, burn the ISO, and run the install on my secondary harddrive which was going to be totally linux.


I do the thing where it checks the disk integrity before installing, Then I run the install.


Install completes completely, I take out the disk, I reboot.... Grub HD error.

Okay, fine. Maybe it just fubared after the first time.

So I wipe the drive and install again, same setup, Same end result. Grub HD error.


I run the disk integrity checker again, this time the disk comes back with damaged files.


How the fuck that happened...Who the hell knows.



So, I go and download ubuntu instead.

Download completes, burn the ISO to a CD and boot to it.


Boots fine, I run the integrity checker, it reports fine.

So I go with the install...and whadya know? The install errors in the first quarter and stops.

Oh great, I run the integrity checker again...and just like the damn Fedora DVD, This one magically got corrupted between the first check, and this check.


So here I am, out 2 disks [ a loss in cash I can't really afford ] with broken installs on them, and now my 13Gig which was supposed to be the linux drive is not even appearing in windows to be reformated.

Up and disappeared like a fart in the breeze.

Probably ahve to get a boot disk and delete the partition information with fdisk to get the drive back to use for XP.



Bah, Every damn time I try linux its like this...Something goes wrong. Always. Tho this is the first time during the install.


and yes, I have the most recent nero updates for Nero 6 Ultimate, and yes I burned the files as images. :p
 
the disks shouldn't be hosed, though i can't explain why there was a corruption in data.

even if you install linux on the second hard drive, grub should install to the primary hard drive. you can fix the primary hard drive with your window's cd, and use the /fixmbr command on the recovery console.

.... or does grub load fine, and then when you select the linux boot entry, you are greeted with a disk error when it tries to access the linux parition?
 
BriguyNJ said:
the disks shouldn't be hosed, though i can't explain why there was a corruption in data.
Click to expand...

Why not if their corrupt?

BriguyNJ said:
even if you install linux on the second hard drive, grub should install to the primary hard drive. you can fix the primary hard drive with your window's cd, and use the /fixmbr command on the recovery console.
Click to expand...

Grub installs to the mbr, it has to be on the primary HDD. I don't think you can change that o_O.


Fixmbr is how I was able to access Windows again, I need to delete the partition table for the second drive which I know I can do from a boot disk

BriguyNJ said:
.... or does grub load fine, and then when you select the linux boot entry, you are greeted with a disk error when it tries to access the linux parition?
Click to expand...

On Fedora, Grub wouldn't load. It said Grub HDD error when it tried to load the boot manager.


ubuntu just plain stopped in the first quarter of the install because of bad files on the disk.
 
acascianelli said:
set your processor to stock speed.
Click to expand...
good catch....

wouldn't the corruption just be related to the partition table and not the physical health of the disk? maybe someone else here is more of a grub expert than i, but i belive grub doesn't store the config file with the boot manager, but rather references it once the boot manager loads. therefore, it would still need access to the secondary hard drive if it is to read the config file.

and i know grub is installed to the primary drive's mbr, but technically one can install it to the mbr of the secondary hard drive, it just doesn't do any good.
 
Oh great, I run the integrity checker again...and just like the damn Fedora DVD, This one magically got corrupted between the first check, and this check.


So here I am, out 2 disks [ a loss in cash I can't really afford ] with broken installs on them, and now my 13Gig which was supposed to be the linux drive is not even appearing in windows to be reformated.

Up and disappeared like a fart in the breeze.
Click to expand...

Drive failure, as Adam W mentioned, seems to be the most likely cause, seeing as Windows Disk Management can't even find it. The fixmbr command should clear off Grub completely from the main drive.

BTW, when you say 'So here I am, out 2 disks [ a loss in cash I can't really afford ]' are you talking about DVD-Rs?
 
About the disks... I'll send you a couple of DVD's and CD's if you want. It's not that bad.
 
Sorry, I forgot about this thread :eek:


Yes yes, I dropped to stock before I began. Sorry I did not mention that at the start.
 
So...can anyone reccomend to me an install that is definately going to work, and preferably one that fits on a a single CD?
 
easy to use for a linux n00b?


and, does it support RPMs?


I have a hardon for RPMs because of my previous comment of being an linux n00b, and RPMs make installs much easier :D



Sorry I didn't mention that before :)
 
Thats True. Simply MEPIS is very easy to try out, without installing, and if you like it, you can run the install from the desktop. I really like it for my laptop. No, it doesnt use RPM. Its debian based, but it's package manager is very very easy to use, and does an excellent job with dependcies etc. I highly reccomend it.

If you like RPM, perhaps you should try Mandriva (formerly Mandrake) it uses its own package manager for RPM called urpmi and it works well. I use Mandriva (GOD I hate that name) on all my servers.
 
One_Eye said:
Thats True. Simply MEPIS is very easy to try out, without installing, and if you like it, you can run the install from the desktop. I really like it for my laptop. No, it doesnt use RPM. Its debian based, but it's package manager is very very easy to use, and does an excellent job with dependcies etc. I highly reccomend it.

If you like RPM, perhaps you should try Mandriva (formerly Mandrake) it uses its own package manager for RPM called urpmi and it works well. I use Mandriva (GOD I hate that name) on all my servers.
Click to expand...


I've got SuSE installed [ and honestly, I think Fedora installed fine, ubuntu never could complete install ]


Its just that, SuSE and Fedoera, the bootloader won't work. Tried LILO and GRUB, I keep getting a half screen of 01 01 01 01 01 0 1 and GRUB Hard Drive Error ,respectively.
 
Yep I have seen that before. That means that you do not have a boot area at all. Not sure how that happened. Where did you put the boot? MBR or a different partition? Perhaps you could boot to suse live, or just off cd and fix it. Or use the MEPIS cd, and from there see whats going on with your partitions and boot record, perhaps use QT Parted. SUSE should be able to fix this if you go off the CD and get into repair. But that you see ones and zeros means it is not reading from a boot record.
 
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