ERROR LOADING OS, my partition mishap...

Hey
Ok well I tried to use partitionmagic to partition my HD for the first time so I could use SuSe linux, I went through the wizard then rebooted, it partitioned it and restarted again. It then went to POST and says 'error loading Operating System'.
My system is:

AV8 3rd eye motherboard
AMD 64 3500
2x 512mb ram
sony dvd-rw drive
HIS excalibur 5550 256mb
MAxtor 160gb hd

I'm not sure what to do and any help will be greatly appreciated as I've looked through other forums and found lots of similar problems but no replies....
thanks
eamonn

 

After creating partitions with any utility, you would still need to install an OS. Creating partitions do NOT make a drive bootable nor would it install any boot files.


PS. Do not use any partitioning program if you are installing Linux and especially if it is going to be a single-boot drive. Wipe out the existing partitioning info, boot to Suse CD and let its own partitioning utility take care of it.

 

I still have windows XP installed, the software should not delete any data so Xp is still installed. Do you know how I can completely wipe the drive without being in a OS because wen i try to install Xp again I can't it won't load even when I put the cd rom as the primary one.
Plz write back
Eamonn

 

1) In BIOS settings make sure the first boot drive is CD-ROM drive.
2) Make sure BIOS sees the Hard Drive.
3) Whichever OS CD you are going to use must be bootable!
4) If all above conditions check out OK but you still fail to get your system going One possibility is that you have multiple Drives (HardDisk or CD-ROM type)
5) USB peripherals connected that could be interfering so unattach/disconnect any extra components you have including CD and Hard Drives. Unplug all USB devices (except mouse/keyboard if applicable). Having multiple CD-Drive could confuse the OS/MBR for looking up files in a proper way. Have only one of each type of drive, so far everything checks out? Let's move on...
6) If BIOS detect both the HardDrive and the CD-ROM drive used yet setup fails to run, then try another CD-ROM drive, still no good then it is safe to say your media could be damaged. First, check for scratches and dirt, clean if necessary then try again.

 

Ok I did all that, I've managed to install the Linux SuSe OS because the disk booted but the windows XP disk won't boot. On my other computer it loads when I put it in the CD-rom but it ignores it in POST. What do I do?

 

you could try using a bootable floppy disk

when it boots up using the floppy you should see A:
type D: or whatever your cd rom letter is
type setup

 

It doesn't look for a bootable CD-ROM even if CD-ROM Drive is selected to be in a prior order in the boot configuration. It will display a message asking you to press a key (spacebar) if you wanted to boot from CD, this message comes up right after the BIOS info appears on the screen and the BIOS starts searching for an OS in the order defined in its settings. Even if there is an OS installed on the HardDrive (Suse) if CD-ROM drive is accessed first, XP setup should kick in, given the fact that you do get the prompt to hit a key to 'Boot from CD' and you do so within a few seconds.