Re: Dual boot GNU and Windows 7

[kf]

There's a long thread on alt.os.linux titled 
   "Please recommend partitioning schemes for Linux"
that might interest you.

Remember that with the dd command you can make a low level
iso image of any partition be it windows or empty and 
recover it by more or less reversing the command arguments.
A backup isn't a backup if you need the original system 
to recover it.


On Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:00:34 +0000
Sebastian Tennant <address@hidden> wrote:


>  1. When I install the first of these GNU operating systems (Debian Squeeze),
>     should I opt to overwrite the existing Windows bootloader in the Master
>     Boot Record (MBR) with grub2?

I would, actually I would use grub1 for a while yet 

>  2. If Windows won't boot from grub2 (for whatever reason) after I've written 
> a
>     suitable grub stanza for it, is there a way of restoring the original
>     Windows bootloader to the MBR so that I can continue to use Windows while 
> I
>     think about an alternative approach?

There is if you back it up beforehand. I haven't done it 
in ages so I'll only say that much but I believe both linux 
and windows provide for it. 

Dire straits booting ANY bootable partition is real easy 
with grub1 and all you need for that is any popular bootable 
linux installation optical disk or live-cd/dvd. Or just an 
old grub boot floppy. The thing is to get to a linux command 
line prompt and launch grub. Once that is done, with grub1 if 
partition 2 is an otherwise autonomous bootable windows 
partition

grub > root (hd0,1)        [observe filesystem recognized]
grub > hide (hd0,0)        [unconditionally hide any #1 windows partition]
grub > hide (hd0,2)        [unconditionally hide any #3 windows partition]
grub > unhide (hd0,1)      [unconditionally unhide the #1 partition]
grub > rootnoverify (hd0,1)
grub > makeactive
grub > chainloader +1
grub > boot 

Note that humans don't start counting by raising the thumb and saying "zero".
grub2 uses human partition numbering, but still not so for drives :-) 

for partition #2 with gub2 it might be like 
  set root=(hd0,2)
  chainloader (hd0,2)+1
  boot
but validate that first, I'm very new to grub2


For a linux partition (grub1 again, partition #12)
  root    (hd0,11)
  kernel  /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda12 splash=0 3
  initrd  /boot/initrd
  boot


HTH