Can't explain

On a partition that I created, I installed Mandrake 9.1. It forced me to install a boot loader. I also created a boot disk for Mandrake. When I finished, I tried to get rid of the boot loader using my Windows XP install disk. Using the Windows CD disk, the computer boots, tells me that it is checking my hardware, and then freezes. It has happened several times, so it is not a one time freak. Other bootable CD disks still boot normally. When I view the Windows CD using Windows, everything seems to be normal. I find it hard to believe that my Windows CD has gone bad. As far as I can tell my BIOS is unchanged. What other than a bad CD can explain what is happpening?

 

The microsoft MBR (master boot record) was replaced/overwritten by LILO (Linux Loader).

If you still have Mandrake loaded, How to Remove the Linux LILO Boot Manager will tell you how to do the job on an XP system.

If you no longer have Mandrake, boot the the recovery console and fixmbr should do the job for you.

That same M$ article offers a suggestion for using fdisk /mbr but I think it was a goof on their part since it says you need to boot to DOS and XP can't do that. They may have intended to mention you needed a boot floppy to do the deed but ....

 

I used lilo -u in Mandrake to remove the linux boot manager. After I did it, I could not do anything. My booting order is:floppy, CDROM, hard drive. Instead of passing through CDROM, my computer started printing garbage without stop. I had to reinstall the Mandrake lilo, using a CD, in order to get anything. Now,using lilo I can get into Windows or Mandrake.

The situation is that my computer seems to boot any bootable CD except Windows XP and that I cannot remove the lilo and get back to normal. I am wondering about something unusual in the BIOS.