-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On March 27, 2004 02:58 am, Rory wrote: > Summary: > My question now is HOW do I fix things so I don't need the bootloader each > time I start-up?
Well, that depends on whether you ever want to run Windows again or not. Or whether you ever plan to install any (possible) update kernels to use, and still be able to boot a "working kernel" if a newer one blows up in your face. Or whether you want to add a different GNU/Linux distribution or not. Any of these cases will require a re-write of the (a) bootloader, hard drive or removable media. The bootloader (please think about that word) is how you decide which installed operating system you want when you first start your system. It's also useful in some extreme circumstances for rescue and diagnostic tasks. There are many reasons to have a bootloader before the system starts an operating system. > Details: > I just installed Mandrake 10.0 and am very impressed with KDE 3.2. > > However, the post-install was a nightmare. This board helped me navigate a > number of headaches: > For example, having to insert CD2 before CD1 (How odd). Substandard drive behaviour. It will be fixed (worked around actually... probably...) before the ISOs for Mandrake 10 Official Edition is announced. > I installed on a freshly formatted extra HD in my computer, as I didn't > want to partition. So, I've just disconnected my XP drive and am running > straight off of my second Mandrake-only drive. If you reconnect the "XP drive" how will you ever boot to Mandrake if you don't install the (a) bootloader in the MBR of the primary master drive? Think about what you're asking here. There are choices even within GNU/Linux for flavours of bootloaders. Plus you could (maybe) use the NT-loader provided by Windows. Believe it or not that's much more trouble than Grub or LiLo or one of the other available bootloaders. > The install went perfectly, except for the noted CD2. HOWEVER, on reboot, I > got the dreaded flashing cursor. I changed my BIOS from Auto to LBA, as > suggested. However, that didn't work. Read the above comment. A bootloader has to be installed to control which operating system is called from hard drive to run. The LBA issue and the trouble with LiLo in your case may have no relation at all since the bootloader wasn't installed in the first drive. > Fortunately, I had made a bootloader during installation, so that got me > in. You must mean a boot disk here. Good, at least you can boot to a working system. > My question now is HOW do I fix things so I don't need the bootloader each > time I start-up? If you ever want to do any of the things mentioned above you can't really. The choices have to be presented to you at boot time or you'll never be able to pick the operating system you want to run, pick an updated configuration within that operating system, etc. Whether you do this from a removable disk or from the primary hard drive is irrelevant. No bootloader means no choices, period. > Any help would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I'm brand new to Linux, > so talk to me like I'm a Windows Lemming.... because I am! > > Thanks, I hope you find some benefit from this response. Now I have a request for you. Please don't set a Reply To: in your K-Mail client, since the Mandrake lists are archived and answers to questions should be available to all. While the answers you get are (hopefully) of benefit to you they may also help a "lurker" or someone looking for an answer in one of the list archives scattered around the 'Net. Thanks. How's the weather in T.O. anyway? Regards; Charlie - -- Edmonton,AB,Canada User #244963 at http://counter.li.org Writing about music is like dancing about architecture. -- Frank Zappa -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.3 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFAZbBKZqvqlrLPr5YRAtSqAJ90tVBvyK/V22C9O/43KnjVMQsbQQCffdZ3 9fuYRCOnMPu25/npMJl1OE0= =YUse -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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