Linux Format forums

grobledc · Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:02 pm Posts: 4

Hi there,

I tried to install the Gentoo Linux from Oct '04. I wrote the .iso file that was generated when the batch file is run on the CD with K3B in RAW mode. Problem is, the CD doesn't boot. My cd drive perfectly boots other bootable CDs, including the MandrakeMove from the Feb '05.

Can you please assist!

Thanks
D.

nelz

The correct option in K3b is Tools->CD->Burn CD image. If you get no errors using that, and there was no error message when you created the ISO image with mkiso, the disc should boot.

What happens when you try to boot from the disc?
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grobledc · Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:02 pm Posts: 4

Hi. I got no errors in K3B, I did burn the .iso image on a CD-RW though. Normally this works with all other Linux images I write (Suse, Mandrake, Redhat, etc.)
I used both Nero Express in Windows and K3B, and both successfully wrote the CD. When I boot up, the BIOS says:
Booting from CD-ROM: Failure...

Can you help?

nelz · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 7:40 pm Post subject:

It could be a dodgy disc, I've found booting from CD-RWs to be unreliable. Alternatively, it could just be that the Gentoo disc is incompatible with your BIOS. Can you boot from the DVD?

Try Smart Boot Manager, in the Essentials directory of the DVD.
_________________
Unix is user-friendly. It's just very selective about who it's friends are.

grobledc · Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:02 pm Posts: 4

I could not boot from the DVD (I don't think it is bootable) but I can boot from other DVDs, such as the DVD with the Sun Desktop System (Feb 2005). I have never tried Smart Boot Manager. I will give it a shot. Am not sure though whether it will solve the problem.

nelz · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 7:55 pm Post subject:

I think it will, because the DVD is bootable. So your hardware and the Gentoo boot stuff don't appear to like each other. SBM is generally the solution in this situation.
_________________
Unix is user-friendly. It's just very selective about who it's friends are.

grobledc · Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:02 pm Posts: 4

OK, I will try SBM. 2 more questions though: Does it overwrite the HDD boot sector? I currently have a dual boot Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Linux Suse System. I boot Suse from a CD, as I did have problems in the past with overwritten bootsectors. Can I run SBM from a CD?

Secondly, can one run multiple Linux distros on the same HDD, sharing the same swap drive (reiserfs), or not?

nelz · Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 12:18 am Post subject:

SBM should be written to a floppy disk, which is used to transfer the boot process to the recalcitrant CD/DVD.

Yes, you can share a swap partition between distros, but swap partitions don't use Reiser.
_________________
Unix is user-friendly. It's just very selective about who it's friends are.