Linux boot loader like GRUB and Lilo can virtually boot to any Operating System but we can also load linux from windoz boot loader. This how to describe how we can do that!
This will work if you have win2K or WinXP.It don't work on win98 and winME. 1. First install your win2K or winXP as usual. 2. Now install linux. During install when prompted, choose Lilo as bootloader and install it on first sector of linux root partition instead of MBR.(This all is asked during the installation of most Linux distributions).At the end of installation create Linux boot floppy so that we can boot linux for first time. 3.After installing the linux, boot linux from the floppy which we have created during install. 4. Now log into Linux as root and find lilo.conf. It is situated in /etc.Edit /etc/lilo.conf. In the begenning find a entryCode: boot=/dev/hda If this entry is not pointing towards your linux root partition then edit to do so. Here I am taking /dev/hda9 as your linux root partition. So now entry should look like.Code: boots=/dev/hda9 If you don't remeber where is your Linux root partition then see the entry "image" containing the entry "root" which tells the root partition like below Code: root=/dev/hda9 5. Now execute lilo by giving the followinbg command so that it can write boot record to /dev/hda9 Code: lilo If you see any errors here ignore those because it is not going to harm our main MBR. 6. Here we have created the boot sector now we have to copy this to file so that windoz boot loader can refer to it. Code: cd dd if=/dev/hda9 bs=512 count=1 of=bootsect.lnx 7. Now we have created the file of linux boot sector. Copy this file to windows C:\ drive so that windoz boot loader can read it.You can do this by copying this file in a floppy then to c:\ drive if u don't have access to windoz partition from LInux. Code: mcopy bootsect.lnx /mnt/floppy Or If you have access to windoz partition from Linux. (Here I am assuming that windoz C:\ drive is accessible under /mn/windows/C) Code: mcopy bootsect.lnx /mnt/C 8. After copying start windoz and write the following line to boot.ini found on C:\ of windoz. Code: C:\bootsect.lnx="GNU/Linux/POM/NBSOD" Finished in eight Steps. Next time when u start the computer you should see the choice to boot to windoz or LINUX.
