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The membership of the Philadelphia Linux Users Group will be glad to help you. First of all, I really think that you want to set up a dual boot system that will enable you to both boot Linux an MS Windows. >From what I see, you destroyed your windows partition completely. If you didn't the fix is easy. Easy Fix: edit the /etc/lilo.conf to include something like: other=/dev/hda3 label=dos table=/dev/hda Now I don't know where your windows partition is, but as you can see mine is in /dev/hda3. The label is what you type at the lilo prompt to enter the Windows partition. the table=/dev/hda references the entire physical hard drive. Now if you totally blew away your windows partition and totally destroyed windows, the fix will take a little longer. fire up Linux and log in as root. run fdisk on your hard drive. fdisk /dev/hda Only the Linux fdisk will work, and not Microsoft's version. fdisk help: Command (m for help): m Command action a toggle a bootable flag b edit bsd disklabel c toggle the dos compatibility flag d delete a partition l list known partition types m print this menu n add a new partition o create a new empty DOS partition table p print the partition table q quit without saving changes s create a new empty Sun disklabel t change a partition's system id u change display/entry units v verify the partition table w write table to disk and exit x extra functionality (experts only) p shows the partition table. Command (m for help): p Disk /dev/hda: 64 heads, 63 sectors, 525 cylinders Units = cylinders of 4032 * 512 bytes Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/hda1 101 227 256032 5 Extended /dev/hda2 228 253 52416 82 Linux swap /dev/hda3 1 100 201568+ 6 FAT16 /dev/hda4 * 254 525 548352 83 Linux /dev/hda5 101 227 256000+ 6 FAT16 As you can see on my system I have 2 FAT (win/dos) partitions and a small linux partition. If you don't have any windows partitions and your Linux install blew Windows away then there is a two step process to restore the MBR and delete the linux partitions. 1. run fdisk -mbr 2. run fdisk /dev/hda 3. delete all partitions 4. reboot system with Microsoft boot disk and reinstall Windows 5. Microsoft will take over the entire disk for the install, so you should run scandisk and defrag before continuing. 6. On the Linux CD there is normally a directory called tools. This directory has DOS utilities for shrinking the FAT partition There is usually a fips?.exe which is a utility that will shrink a MS FAT partition. 7. After you have shrunk the FAT partition you have free space to load Linux on. You need to create a minimum of 2 partitions, one for the swap and one for the ext2 partition. One word of note, the fips.exe program made a new FAT partition that is empty and needs to be deleated prior to adding the Linux swap and ext2 partitions. Hope that this helps anyone dealing with loading Linux. LeRoy Robin Blinder wrote: > > i just installed linux mandrake on one hard drive.. > but, i am about as computer illiterate as they get.. i > can't re-install windows because it changed the MBR, > and i want to run linux because i have heard it is > really a lot better then the cursed windows (which > crash waay to much for my liking) > i am in philly, and want to know what the best > approach to learning linux are.. it doesn't configure > to my modem right.. (if i dial directly to a BBS it > works. but, when i set it to dial my isp.. it doesn't > work.. it kinda gets stuck..) > well, any ideas of where i can learn linux? or maybe > someone that could help point me in the right > direction? i am not knowledgeable about computers > (well, since the days of vic-20 and c-64).. please, > some help or advice.. > > AIM- zugabezugabe > yahoo messenger - tanzwut0 > anything appreciated.. > thankx. > robin > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. > http://im.yahoo.com > > ______________________________________________________________________ > Philadelphia Linux Users Group - http://plug.nothinbut.net > Announcements - http://lists.nothinbut.net/mail/listinfo/plug-announce > General Discussion - http://lists.nothinbut.net/mail/listinfo/plug -- 0 0 Linux Force, Inc. http://www.LinuxForce.net " Home Page: http://www.netaxs.com/~ldc/ _______ooO ~ Ooo_______________________________________________ LeRoy D. Cressy /\_/\ mailto:ldc@netaxs.com Computer Consulting ( o.o ) Phone (215) 535-4037 > ^ < Fax (215) 535-4285 ______________________________________________________________________ Philadelphia Linux Users Group - http://plug.nothinbut.net Announcements - http://lists.nothinbut.net/mail/listinfo/plug-announce General Discussion - http://lists.nothinbut.net/mail/listinfo/plug