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* Dual Booting with Back|Track and WinXP *
* Author: Denver [The_Denv] *
* Date: 2:15 AM 11/28/06 *
* E-Mail: denv[AT]sdf.lonestar.org *
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[-Printer-Friendly Text Layout-]
I decided to log everything while installing Linux:SLAX:Back|Track LIVE CD.
This took me nearly a WEEK to do. Google wasnt really that helpful, and I
had to mix and match commands from SLAX and remote-exploit forums. The
setup that I am doing is similar to ones on the forums except I ran into a
major error which prosponed the install. I spent 5 days trying to solve
the 'hal.dll is corrupt and/or missing' error. Everything is explained in
FULL...Enjoy everyone!
For Your Attention:
-------------------
While installing your DualBoot keep a jotter and pen/pencil beside you and
write down EVERYTHING you do. Alternativly you could type it onto another
computer on your network. Writting/Logging everything you do is highly
important because it gives you a better understanding of what your dealing
with and you remember a lot more too.
My harddrive [I only have 1 HardDrive]:
--------------------------------------
SATA RAID 200GB
Partition1 - Primary - NTFS (with XP) - 50GB
Partition2 - Primary - Fat32 (data partition) - 512MB
Partition3 - Primary - Linux-Swap - 512MB
Partition4 - Primary - Linux-ext2 (with Back|Track) - 10GB
Partition5 - Primary - NTFS (Games/Dloads) - 130GB?
Use PartitionMagic to create these partitions. I deleted all my partitions
using the WinXP CD and entering going to 'r' [Repair] then pressed ENTER
and presed F8 to agree to MS terms/conditions. I then hit ESC, I think it
asks 'Are you Sure?'...hit YES. Google this for full details, if it works
you should see all your partitions. I created the partitions here as 4
RAW partitions and then I used Partition Space 1 to install WinXP then I
ran Partition Magic to format them into FAT32, NTFS, Swap and ext2. Watch
out for dodgey bit torrents of Partition Magic.
I have never used a higher capacity partition for my FAT32 other than
512MB. If you want to experiment, go ahead but if you wish to successfully
installing your DualBoot please stick to the guide's partition structure.
You could however add more space to other drives, espeically the NTFS
Partition 5 (Games/Dloads) etc etc.
***************************************************************************
***************************************************************************
Linux Back|Track Install Notes:
-------------------------------
Once logged in as root I typed:
$ cp --preserve -R /{bin,dev,etc,home,lib,root,sbin,usr,var,opt,pentest}
/mnt/sda7
[others may have to use a different /sda/hda] check QTParted.
This is going to install back|track to sda7. Be patient.
Next I typed:
$ mkdir /mnt/sda7/{boot,mnt,proc,sys,tmp}
Then I typed:
$ cp /boot/boot/vmlinuz /mnt/sda7/boot
*******************************************************************
*******************************************************************
Intalling Grub Bootloader
-------------------------
I realised that I had no internet connection, so what I done was I ran
terminal and typed in this command:
$ ifconfig eth0 up
$ dhcpcd eth0 up
Now I am connected to my router and have access to my network and the
internet.
To get Grub from the internet go to terminal and type this command in:
$ wget
ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/extra/grub/grub-0.97-2.tgz
Then Install it once its downloaded by typing in terminal:
$ installpkg grub-0.97-i486-2.tgz
I installed Grub on the sda7 partition (where I just copied the BackTrack
CD) and setup the boot menu. Type the following:
$ grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/sda7 /dev/sda7
Now open nano and create the boot menu by typing:
$ nano /mnt/sda7/boot/grub/menu.lst
Add the folloing text:
timeout=4
title Slax
kernel /boot/vmlinuz max_loop=255 root=/dev/sda7 vga=791 rw
Save and exit by by using these command keys:
(CTRL+X >> Press 'Y' >> Hit 'ENTER')
Then exit it, it might show some wierd error like: Uknown dir or
a similar statement, just continue to exit/overwrite.
After you have saved and exited the boot menu in nano, dump the MBR to the FAT32
partition with this command:
$ dd if=/dev/sda7 of=/mnt/sda5/backtrack.mbr bs=512 count=1
NOTE: sda7 is where I installed Back|Track, /mnt/sda5 is the FAT32
partition [512MB]. Please do not change the capacity of the FAT32 partition,
keep it at 512MB to avoid problems.
******************************************************************
******************************************************************
Booting into XP
---------------
I logged off BackTrack, and rebooted and took the BackTrack CD out. I then
logged into Windows XP to tell Windows about my new BackTrack HDD install.
I copied the backtrack.mbr into the root of c:\ so it was like this:
c:\backtrack.mbr
I then edited the c:\boot.ini and added the line:
c:\backtrack.mbr="Back|Track"
The boot.ini file should look like this now:
[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
c:\backtrack.mbr="Back|Track"
NOTE: You may have to clear the hidden and read-only attributes in
c:\boot.ini to be able to edit this file.
Do this by entering the following in command prompt on Windows:
cd .. [To get to "c:\" - Ignore if you are in C:\]
C:\> attrib -s -h -r boot.ini
To undo this at a later stage just do the same ting only type it
like this:
C:\> attrib +s +h +r boot.ini
*******************************************************************
*******************************************************************
The Last Reboot
---------------
I rebooted after editing the boot.ini file and I now have 2 Operating
Systems to choose from:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Back|Track
You may get this error when you restart and choose Back|Track:
Windows could not start because hte following file is missing or currupt:
<Windows root>\system32\hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.
If this is what you see then all you have to do is:
Load Back|Track LIVE CD and download and reinstall Grub
$ wget ftp://ftp.slackware.com/pub/slackware/slackware-current/extra/grub
/grub-0.97-i486-2.tgz
Install Grub:
$ installpkg grub-0.97-i486-2.tgz
I installed Grub where I installed Back|Track on, "sda7":
$ grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/sda7 /dev/sda7
I then set up the Boot Menu:
$ nano /mnt/sda7/boot/grub/menu.lst
I then added this text:
timeout=4
title Slax
kernel /boot/vmlinuz max_loop=255 root=/dev/sda7 vga=normal rw
Then I dumped the MBR to the FAT32 partition:
$ dd if=/dev/sda7 of=/mnt/sda5/slax.mbr bs=512 count=1
NOTE: Please keep your FAT32 "512MB", check it out. The error or prompt
that I mentioned previously MAY/MIGHT be a nano error/prompt. Just proceed
as normal if it asks you to overwrite anything. If you are worried due to
being new at Linux/UNIX then email me your installation log and I will
help you...although this should not be the case.
Then I restarted and logged back into Windows and edited the BOOT.INI:
[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
d:\slax.mbr="Back|Track"
Then after trail and error I went into my FAT32 drive <d:\> and found that
I needed to delete "backtrack.mbr" from my last install, "slax.mbr" was
also in the <d:\> along with the old "backtrack.mbr" file. Once I deleted
the "backtrack.mbr" file I copied "slax.mbr" and pasted it into my <c:\>
which is where my XP [NTFS]
OS is.
I then restarted my computer and choose "Back|Track" at the boot screen.
I was then prompted with a black screen with the following:
GNU GRUB version 0.97 (638K lower / 1047488 upper memory)
[ Minimal BAS-like line editing is supported. For the first word,
TAB lists possible command completions. Anywhere else TAB lists
the possible completions of a device/filename. ]
grub>
I solved this one within an hour, Google once again failed me with what
I needed, but heh..Google is your friend. If you get this GRUB prompt
and you dont know what to do, type the following:
grub> kernel /boot/vmlinuz rw root=/dev/sda7
grub> boot /vmlinuz rw /root=/dev/sda7
NOTE: Dont forget that your sda/hda might be different than mine so use
QTParted or Partition Magic to check. Also, your resolution might
be a bit off at the login but dont worry it all goes back to normal
once you have logged in. Logon as 'root', password 'toor'. If your
planning on connecting to the internet via DSL/cable [ethernet/CAT5]
dont forget to enable DHCP [if need to], type 'dhcpd' to aquire a
DHCP address. Then simply type 'startx' to logon to the KDE
enviroment.
That should be it, You should now be logging in as root on your new
Back|Track OS HDD Install !!!!
Authors Comments: You seriously dont know the headache I had trying to do
this but once I done it and got everything setup I felt
better and more experienced...it was a good adventure :)
-Denv, denv[at]sdf[dot]lonestar[dot]org [Comments welcome]
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