[ltp] Suse Linux and Windows XP in a R40, problem with predesktop

[Marcel Selhorst]

Hi Jose,

since your recovery partition is corrupt anyway now, the easiest way for =
you is to
enter BIOS, disable the Pre-Desktop-things (which will unhide the predesk=
top-
partition in your partition manager). Then you can delete all partitions =
and
repartition your disk as you like. Start installing windows on your first=
 partition
and afterwards you can install Linux on the second (or whatever you like)=
 partition
(but make sure to leave one partition for swap / suspend-to-hdd).
Installing GRUB in the MBR does no harm to Windows, you just have to crea=
te a menu
entry in your menu.lst in order to boot windows after installing GRUB.

Good luck,

Marcel

JOSE IGNACIO SANCHEZ VENZALA schrieb:
> I'm a new member, so hi everybody!=20
>=20
> I have a R40 with windows xp.  Some days ago i decided to reinstall the=
=20
> computer and install both WindowsXP and Suse Linux.  First of all i use=
=20
> recovery utility (which is in a hidden partition) to format and install=
=20
> windows xp. After of that i use a partititon manager to resize the wind=
ows=20
> partition and install linux in the new free disk space.  That was ok, b=
ut=20
>=20
> when i installed suse linux and configured Grub in the mbr my problems=20
> started.  The predesktop subsistem (i think) launch an error when the c=
omputer=20
> starts, the error say: "1810: Hard disk partition layout error. A hard =
disk=20
> partition layout recognition problem has halted computer startup.  Eith=
er the=20
> IBM Predesktop Area has been deleted or hard disk data is corrupt." The=
n it=20
> give me two option: to enter in predesktop area or in the bios. In pred=
esktop=20
> area, i can choose start from hard disk, and then it runs the grub.  Bu=
t the=20
> message is always showed at startup.  I don't know how to make it dissa=
pear.=20
> Any ideas? Trying other solutions, I formated the computer and try to r=
ecovery=20
> again windows, but the=20
>=20
> recovery utility gave me an error when the process is on the 3% which s=
ay that=20
> the image file is corrupt... Ok, more problems.  I have called ibm to a=
sk=20
> recovery cd's. My computer is out of guarantee, so it cost 60=80... Ok =
i take a=20
> deep breath, and format the hard disk, with a partition manager, instal=
l=20
> windows from a cd, and the problem dissapear.  Thats great! but then i =
install=20
> suse linux again in the other partition, install grub at mbr, and the p=
roblem=20
> appear again.
> i don't make the correct disk partition?
> is grub the problem? is lilo the solution?
> is the install of grub in the mbr the problem?
> i suspect grub modify partition layout to make the second partition (li=
nux=20
> partition), which is over the first 1024 =BFcylinder?, bootable... I'm =
not sure=20
> of that.
>=20
> Summarizing, i wanna know how to install linux and windows in an ibm r4=
0 hard=20
> disk without the problem i describe at the startup. Thank you very much=
. Any=20
> help is welcomed. I'm lost.
>=20
>=20