*BSD News Article 91526


Return to BSD News archive

Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.mira.net.au!news.netspace.net.au!news.mel.connect.com.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!news.wildstar.net!news.ececs.uc.edu!news.kei.com!news.mathworks.com!rill.news.pipex.net!pipex!tank.news.pipex.net!pipex!news.utell.co.uk!usenet
From: brian@shift.lan.awfulhak.org (Brian Somers)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: HELP: boot question
Date: 20 Mar 1997 18:39:35 GMT
Organization: Awfulhak Ltd.
Lines: 40
Message-ID: <5gs097$l71@ui-gate.utell.co.uk>
References: <5gqqi5$unt@newsman.murdoch.edu.au>
Reply-To: brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk, brian@utell.co.uk
NNTP-Posting-Host: shift.utell.net
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
X-Newsreader: knews 0.9.8
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:37394

In article <5gqqi5$unt@newsman.murdoch.edu.au>,
	haig@cleo.murdoch.edu.au writes:
> Please be sure to send replys to
> 
> haig@cleo.murdoch.edu.au
> 
> as I don't read this list regularly.
> 
> Some time ago I installed FreeBSD (4 meg version) on my 386/4meg.  It
> installed ok but due to lack of disk space was severely limited.  As a
> result I restored my system to the way it was (backed everything up,
> formatted the hard disk, restored the software).  Or so I thought.
> 
> When FreeBSD was installed, the boot manager would prompt me for my
> choice of os with the lines.
> 
> F1 . . . dos
> F2 . . . unix
> 
> Default: F1
> 
> This question seems to have survived the hard disk format and now
> prompts me each time:
> 
> F1 . . . dos
> 
> Default: F1
> 
[.....]

Use the undocumented "fdisk /mbr" from dos.  This rewrites the master
boot record (the bit on sector 0 surrounding the partition table).

Format uses the partition table to decide what to format - it won't
rewrite the stuff around the partition table.

-- 
Brian <brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk> <brian@freebsd.org>
      <http://www.awfulhak.demon.co.uk>
Don't _EVER_ lose your sense of humour !