Hi everybody
I tried to install OpenSuse on my laptop, in a dualboot with Vista. But i messed it up.
OpenSuse didnt work at first so i ran a repair from the install-DVD but now, when i open my PC it says no operational system found.
I can find my Vista recovery disk. But can i recover my Vista OS in any way without it? Perhaps delete the OpenSuse partition from a live Linux cd?
Best regards from Denmark
Is it cold there? We froze in California last night and have been almost every night for a month.
Try reinstalling, but set your bootloader options the way you want at the beginning of the installation, when you choose your username and password and all that. There will be a bootloader option.
Booting from the disc and using the repair options is a waste of time, unfortunately. at least I had no luck doing that.
If that does not work, there are tons of other threads on this topic.
I had a similar issue. It seems related to the opensuse 11.1 grub setup, according to some other forum users. I solved this installing grub to the root (linux) partition with install dvd (install and then repair option) and finally using an external boot manager (not booloader!) like gag. My system multiboots again os11.1 os11.0 vista solaris and osx86 again!
The error message you are getting means there is no boot code in the MBR.
To repair from the Vista side, you need the Vista RE (Recovery Environment). For that your Vista media must be an actual installation disk. Do not confused that with a disk which simply recovers back to the hard drive a copy of Vista as it was delivered in the machine; it will not contain an RE. If you don’t have the RE, you can still get just it off the web and burn it to CD. Once Vista is booting again, you can set it up to boot openSUSE.
The other approach is to try installing openSUSE’s grub boot loader in the MBR. This can be done from the DVD in Rescue System (actually, if you also have a LiveCD that connects to the web, that makes this a bit easier). Then grub will boot Vista.
Which method do you want to try?
I would like to repair my Vista, but i dont have a installation cd.
You can get a Vista RE here Windows Vista Recovery Disc Download. From this you burn a bootable CD. This is a very valuable tool to have, regardless of circumstances.
Here are instructions How to use the Bootrec.exe tool in the Windows Recovery Environment. Everything you need is on this page. Basically, you boot into the RE, run the command window, execute the command as shown.
Once you’re back up with Vista, download and install this Download EasyBCD 1.7.2 - NeoSmart Technologies. It is a very easy gui interface to the Vista boot manager tool (but please read the short tutorial). When you’re ready, post back and we’ll give you instructions to install grub to the openSUSE partition boot sector - you won’t be touching Vista at all that way. Once that is done, you can use the Vista tool to set up the openSUSE boot. This method works perfectly.
I have downloaded the cd, and put it in my pc but when it asks what OS i whant to repair it doesnt list any.
To double-check: You booted from the CD, on the Main page you clicked on Repair Your Computer in the lower-left, then you got a windows titled System Recovery Options. The window had 2 buttons in the lower-right, a Next and a Load Drivers. You saw nothing in the list above the buttons. Correct so far? Did you try clicking the Load Drivers button, and did it show you a hard disk? Does your laptop have a floppy drive? Do you have a USB thumb drive or stick? Is the hard disk drive in the laptop SATA?
I decided to post a follow-up to the above because you may be in a difficult situation and want some time to think about it.
First, the Vista RE: I have a strong guess that your hard disk is SATA and that the Vista setup program (what you see at first boot from the CD that says "loading files) does not have the SATA driver necessary to see the drive. If you google about this (vista + sata + install) you will find a very large number of pages with users screaming for help and screaming at each other - and a lot of “this is what happens on my machine, yours should be the same”, which is b.s. The truth is that Vista has some SATA drivers built in, but often not. So sometimes Vista will see the drive while other times the user has to provide the driver separately on a floppy or CD or USB device.
Also - pay close attention here - sometimes there is a bios setting under the disk drive configuration like “PATA emulation” or “IDE emulation” or “legacy” which makes the OS think the SATA drive is a IDE/PATA drive and then Vista will see it. You should take a look for something like this but please carefully write down anything you change so you can change it back later, or you may have very serious problems. This trick is an outside chance; again, be extremely careful.
The driver is of course on your laptop recovery CD. But it must be there in its installation file (usually an .inf file), you can’t just make a copy the binary driver itself. And it is very probable that what is on the recovery CD is “packed” or compressed, so you may not be able to find it or get to it anyway. Remember, it is a copy of the OS after it was installed. It is not designed for installation or repair purposes, like the retail DVD is (this is a requirement Microsoft forces on the manufacturer, so send your hate mail to Redmond).
You may be able to get the driver from the laptop manufacturer’s website support page. If you can, you can download the driver and put it on a floppy or a CD or USB device and then use that in the Vista RE.
If none of the above is possible, the next option is to get things working again from openSUSE. There is a good chance this will work. This can be done from a LiveCD or the install DVD, but actually it is best if you have both. Do you want to try this, and if so, which do you have, CD or DVD or both? And if you have a LiveCD, can it connect to the web?
Hi there, i barrow the thread as i after many attempt did manage to install open suse from dvd,on pc with a c drive with windows xp and a partion fore the suse, it did all go pretty easy ,but when i would reboot pc no operation system was found at all. nee xp or suse, i will now try to throw a ubuntu studio where there aws xp, and see if i get a bootloader.
greetz
from a frozen newbee
Please allow me to suggest that you start a new thread for your problem. You will get more visibility, and so faster/better help that way.
I will do so, thx ! 
How do i acces the BIOS?
It depends on the machine. Do you have a manual? - it may tell you there. Usually it’s by hitting either the Delete or F1 or F2 key just as the machine starts up (when you see for just a moment a small amount of text in the upper-left). But it could be another key, it just depends on the manufacturer. Laptops sometimes bury this underneath a splash screen (but even then, you may see text at the bottom of the screen saying “do this to enter setup …”, that is the bios setup program). You have to do it fast, before the bios loads, in other words, when the bios is just starting up. You can hit the key quickly again and again, that won’t hurt anything. In fact, you can hit different keys one after the other, because the setup program is written to only recognize one key - it will ignore any others.
Allow me to caution you again, because it appears you don’t have experience with this. Anything that you change, you must first write down what the setting was before you changed it. Nothing you change will prevent you from getting back into the setup program, but a wrong setting may create some other problem later.
Don’t be discouraged if you can’t get into it. It’s very likely we can fix everything from the linux side. Just be sure to post back the answers to my questions in the last paragraph in my previous post #9.
I managed to enter the BIOS, but i couldnt find any options regarding the HDD, only a memory test.
I can find a driver for the HDD on the manufacturers webpage(HP). So i think it will be easier to fix from the linux side.
I have downloaded a install-DVD and can also make a liveCD if necassary, the pc is connected to the internet, so i assume it will have internet.
The reason the LiveCD will be easier is because you need to do some commands in a terminal window and post the output back here. With the LiveCD, you can just copy/paste from terminal to browser. With the DVD, you have to write it down by hand or take a picture or some other method. So I strongly suggest you make the LiveCD, and then test that you can open a browser and access the web. Let me know when you’re ready.
I have made a live CD now what shall i do?
OK. Expect that this will require several posts to gather the diagnostic data. Please be very careful to type the commands precisely as given. So please be patient and take your time.
Boot the LiveCD. Open a terminal window. Now do:
su -
fdisk -lu
(That is an “l” as in “lamp”, not the number 1.) Post the output back here - use the “wrap code” (the # sign) like I have done just above.
Which LiveCD are you using?
What is the make and model of your machine?
I have made a live cd but when i select the option “opensuse live(kde)” it doesnt load.
Did you do the md5sum check on the iso file you downloaded?
Did you do the “check media” on the CD menu (which verifies the burn)?
If you did both and both checked OK, then after you select “openSUSE Live” and press Enter, then press the Escape key to drop the graphic screen. Watch the text and when it stops loading write down the error message or what it was doing when it stopped, and post that back here. Also post back here the manufacturer and model number of the machine.