*BSD News Article 44368


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From: hart@apanix.apana.org.au (Leigh Hart)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: How do I restore my original DOS MBR???
Date: 23 May 1995 18:40:46 GMT
Organization: Apanix Public Access Unix, +61 8 373 5485 (5 lines)
Lines: 38
Message-ID: <3pta7e$roa@tipellium.apana.org.au>
References: <bgreen.35.2FBAA251@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: seldon.apanix.apana.org.au

bgreen@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Bryan D. Green) writes:

> I was going to install FreeBSD but then deceided against it till I get a 
> reliable backup made of my DOS drive.  In the interim, how do I remove the
> MBR manager that comes up to select the MBR you'd like to use.  The only
> MBR I have right now is my DOS one anyway and I have to push F1 to get
> my machine going now.  Can I get the manager off and have it go dirctly
> to DOS again?

The MBR manager *is* an MBR.  The boot blocks for DOS and BSD are loaded
subsequent to your boot choice.  The DOS MBR that is installed by DOS is
simply a redirect to the DOS boot block.

As for how to remove the BSD MBR, I should tell you to RTFM because
this is a FAQ.  However, for the sake of sanity: c:\>fdisk /mbr

> Next question, I have a 420MB IDE drive and would like to partition 100MB to 
> FreeBSD.  Is there a way to do this and preserve my current drive.   I have 
> the space free but I dread FDisking the drive and repartitioning then 
> restoring DOS in one of the partitions and BSD in the other.  Or does BSD
> take care of this on it's own? 

Any change to a partition will destroy the data on that partition.

> Sorry, but when it comes to PC based UX machines I'm a newbie.
> It's just not  the same as those snazzy university HP's with Ultrix on
> them.   :) 

Ultrix on a HP?  I'd like to see that!

Cheers

Leigh
--
| "By the time they had diminished | Leigh Hart                |
|  from 50 to 8, the other dwarves | <hart@eppie.apana.org.au> |
|  began to suspect 'Hungry' ..."  | C/- 195 Gilles Street     |
|   -- Gary Larson, "The Far Side" | Adelaide  SA  5006        |