Solved: Restoring the Master Boot Record (MBR) to the boot drive

Context: Missing or corrupted Master Boot Record (or MBR) can and usually will prevent booting a computer.


Problem: Having botched a Linux installation, the Master Boot Record (MBR) was destroyed. To recover and boot the computer again, the MBR must be restored to work order.


Constraints:

1. No floppy drive
2. BIOS doesn't support USB booting
3. CD ROM limited on ability to read different CDs
4. Windows booted from the MBR directly so I could not use Microsoft's fdisk
   
5. Lilo was not found on the Fedora 9 Live CD
6. Grub-install on the Fedora 9 Live CD did not function according to expectation
   

Details: Installing Fedora 9 Live CD to an Dell Latitude C600, I didn't allow enough room for the Live CD install (I misremembered options for a selective install.) Additionally, a previous GRUB installation on the Master Boot Record was not clean off before installation started. Near the end of the installation, an error occurred (out of space.) The result was a damaged MBR record. The exact cause of the damage was not known.


Solution: Restore MBR from

1. Boot Fedora 9 Live CD
   
2. Confirm presents of file usr/lib/syslinux/mbr.bin
3. Open a Xterm or other shell
   
4. Log in as root or superuser
5. Umount the targeted drive partition. In my case:
• umount /sda1
6. Write the replace MBR to the drive:
• dd if=/usr/lib/syslinux/mbr.bin of=/dev/sda bs=1
7. reboot

Note!: This was a "long shot" action on my behalf and thus a risk on anyone following these instructions. The contents of the file mbr.bin were a guess on my part as was the correct use and application of dd. While this works, you should know that your results may vary greatly. Use these instructs only as a last resort! Please read the disclaimers section.


References:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_boot_record
• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/69013
• http://linuxmini.blogspot.com/2007/10/restore-grub-in-ubuntu-if-your-mbr-is.html
• http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FedoraLiveCD/USBHowTo#MBR_appears_to_be_blank.21
  

Disclaimer:
This solution worked for me. It may or may not work for you. I am not responsible for your actions nor the your results of your actions should you act on what you read here. I do not claim expertise in this very specific area and only convey my experience. There is no warranty on this (and most) free information.

Solved: Adding NVidia Support to Fedora 9

Context: Installing correct, high performance NVida drivers for Fedora 9.


Problem: The default video drivers provided by the Fedora project work fine. However, enhancements such as 3D Desktop are only available with updated drivers. If you do not have an NVidia video card, this blog entry may not assist you with video card concerns.


Details: The Fedora project is stated that is wishes to avoid any contentious software, either from ownership or patent concerns. NVidia is a privately own company and thus their video drivers appear to fall under this concern. See the first link in the reference section for more details.


Solution: Add an additional third-party repository to your "Update Sources":

1. Do a full system update with existing installed software
   
2. Go to http://rpm.livna.org/rlowiki/
3. Download Fedora 9 repository RPM and install it
4. Perform an "Update System", search, and install "akmod-nvida-xx", where xx is the latest (or last known good) version of the drivers.
5. Follow the directions after the installation. I usually reboot after large installations since Fedora 9's update mechanism does not seem to be notifying or enforcing reboot-needed rules.
   

Note: the Livna source provides other package updates that Fedora 9's default repository sources do not provide.

Note: In general, adding additional repository sources is a security risk and should be under taken with this in mind.

Note!: I would advise that you limit the inclusion of software from third-party sites to only those specific items you want and only if they are well separated from other elements of your operating system. You can easily have conflicts between different built libraries which can cripple your operating system in the matter of a few button clicks. Know what you are installing, where it's from and how it will (or won't) "Play Nice" with other elements.


References:

• http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/ForbiddenItems
  
• http://www.fedorafaq.org/#nvidia

Disclaimer:
This solution worked for me. It may or may not work for you. I am not responsible for your actions nor the your results of your actions should you act on what you read here. I do not claim expertise in this very specific area and only convey my experience. There is no warranty on this (and most) free information.

Solved: Booting Fedora 9 Live CD on Dell Latitude C600

Context: Booting Fedora 9 Live CD on Dell Latitude C600

Problem: split screen into 2 or three panels at 800x600.

Details: Fedora 9 Live CD detects built-in video card as "ATI Rage 128 M 2G and display type as "Autoconfigured".

Solution:

Note: this solution requires you to "deal with" the incorrect video settings for a brief period of time.

1. Boot from Fedora 9 Live CD and log in to default login


2. If the the screen is divided into sections and generally not working, continue. If it's perfect, you're done. Don't make any changes based on what I say in this blog entry.
   


3. Move Application panel to left hand side. This will allow you to see more of the menus. Do this by clicking in the grey area next to the mail icon, click and drag to the left side of the screen.
   


4. Go to menus "System | Administration | Display", then the "Hardware" tab. Make the following changes:


• Display: "LCD Panel 800x600"
  
• Video Driver: "Vesa -Generic VESA-compliant video cards"
  
• Press Ok to commit these changes
  


5. Press keys CTRL ALT BACKSPACE to restart the X Window System only.
   
• Do not reboot - any changes made will be lost during a reboot as they only reside in memory.
  

After you log in again, I was (you might be) able to see the screen correctly.

Note: I tried "LCD Panel 1024x768" the first time with no positive results.

References:
I located some information, ideas, clues or inspiration from the following locations. I am not responsible for external content nor it's availability:

1. http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-769002.html

Disclaimer:
This solution worked for me. It may or may not work for you. I am not responsible for your actions nor the your results of your actions should you act on what you read here. I do not claim expertise in this very specific area and only convey my experience. There is no warranty on this (and most) free information.