HELP! "Invalid Partition Table" at boot!

[6tr6tr]

I have a netbook (with no CD) that was dual booting Windows XP and OpenSUSE 11. I wanted to remove opensuse so I (in opensuse) changed the boot record to point to windows, etc but it screwed up.

I have a bootable Fedora on USB stick that allows me to see my entire disk including OpenSUSE. How can i fix this?

Are there files I can edit in the OpenSUSE disk? Is there anything in Fedora (it's a live dc on usb) I can do to fix this issue?

Thank you for any help you can give!

[caf4926]

Do you mean you changed the boot flag on the partitions?

[6tr6tr]

Originally Posted by caf4926

Do you mean you changed the boot flag on the partitions?

Yes.

I figured out the issue!

First in console, I did "/sbin/fdisk -lu" and it showed two active boot partitions (the windows XP install at sda1 and a "W95 Ext'd" at sda4. (What is that?)

So then I did "/sbin/fdisk /dev/sda" and then did option "a" and chose partition #4, and then "w" (to write the changes), and restarted and it boots perfectly into windows!

[caf4926]

Happy you sorted it

[spokesinger]

RE: HELP! "Invalid Partition Table" at boot!

Postscript: For the record. Not previously part of this thread.
SUBJECT: FYI: successful resolution of similar problem (my "how-to"), or how I did it).

Situation: Toshiba laptop, a few years old, originally had Win2K. Suse 11.1 installed in dual boot, w/ grub.

Objective: Replace Win2K with fresh install of XP.

Result: Initial install process (running from cd) runs ok. Used choice for existing NTFS partition with quick format. On first reboot to continue and finish install, I got black screen w/ "Invalid Partition Table" message displayed.

Tried: redid xp install, tried using existing NTFS partition, with full format. No go.
Redid xp install, removed NTFS partition, and replaced w/ new NTFS partition. No go.

SOLUTION:

First Fix: (SHOULD work most times something like this happens. The error message is received because XP doesn't like the MBR.)
Using XP cd, boot into rescue mode. From terminal, FIXMBR, then FIXBOOT. Ok thru all warnings. (IN MY CASE this DIDN'T work, but it usually will. This restores the Windows boot, and one can reinstall grub later.)

Second Fix: Used Supergrub rescue cd to fix the grub menu. This put grub back on the MBR, seeing both WinXP and Suse -- the way it was with the Win2K and Suse dual boot, except with WinXP in the Win slot. Windows booted a-ok, and I finished the installation, A-OK!
Alternate to Super Grub: there are lots of references to how-to fix grub after a windows install. In this case, super grub worked, and it was easy.
For more on fixing Grub, if needed, see:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Re...tallingWindows

Hiero2