Boot Problem.

[matthewking]

Hi,

I recently installed Redhat Linux 8, which in turn installed the Grub boot loader. I then attempted to resize my linux root partition which crashed, so I was left with a faulty linux system, so I wiped all the linux partitions.

Now my problem is that it has left grub behind, and when I try to boot, "GRUB" is displayed, which does nothing because I guess it cant find linux, so it crashes.

So I need to remove this from my MBR somehow, so It just boots windows XP as normal. Formatting is not an option because I have lots of work which cant be backed up on floppys.

Any Ideas? Im pretty sure I can get into DOS with a boot disk.

Thanks in advance.
Matt.

 

[smah]

I think to make certain apps work, you will have to make these users a member of the power users group. Use XP's Help & Support to search for power user. You will want to closely examine the capabilities of this group.

 

[smah]

How the **** did that end up there?

 

[smah]

Boot with the XP cd to get into the recovery console. Use the command fixmbr.

 

[nteldata]

Might try fdisk /mbr from a startup disk and then if that doesnt boot XP try using the Windows XP CD-ROM. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console and use the FIXMBR command from the Windows XP Recovery Console to repair the master boot record.
Good Luck!
Ref:Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 307654

 

[matthewking]

Thanks for the help guys, I've got as far as entering the recovery option on the windows xp cd.

It asks me for a Administrator password, which im sure I've never set, but it wont accept just pressing enter, or the password that I usually use for everything.

Any Ideas on this one?

Heh, the mission goes on.

Thanks in advance.

 

[linney]

Try the linux boot disk to reset your administator password in windows XP.

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

Or have a look here

http://www.securiteam.com/tools/6T00D0A35S.html

Here's something to look at too.
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - Q308402
Cannot Log On to Recovery Console After Running Sysprep in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/4/02.asp

"As a workaround, the following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center. These floppy disks are required only if the hotfix discussed in this article has not yet been applied, you cannot boot the computer, and you need to use the Recovery Console to make repairs.

Windows XP Home Edition:
Download WinXP_en_hom_bf.exe now
Windows XP Professional:
Download WinXP_en_pro_bf.exe now
Release Date: October 24, 2001"


HOW TO: Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition in Windows XP
Q305595 - HOW TO: Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q305/5/95.asp

 

[matthewking]

Thanks for your help everyone,

in the end using a boot disk and typing fdisk /fixmbr did the trick.

Thanks again =)