Docs/SysAdmin/CLI/DiskRescue

From Mandriva Community Wiki

To use the rescue mode of the install CD, follow these steps:

• Boot from the Mandriva install CD
• At the prompt, hit F1 for more options.
• Enter rescue at the prompt.

This will bring up a menu. (It may take a moment to load.) Your menu options are:

• Re-install Boot loader - This will usually install the Mandriva boot loader for you automatically. This is the option you will usually need if you had to re-install Windows, and you no longer get the Mandriva boot menu.
• Restore Windows Boot loader - Use this if you are going to remove Linux from the drive.
• Mount your partitions under /mnt - This will set things up so you can edit config files on your Linux system. This can also be done manually from the console. The advantage here is that it will also mount everything in fstab for you. For example, if you have a separate /home partition, it will get mounted on /mnt/home. So everything will be set up for using chroot to get your normal root environment. This option may fail, or may not mount all partitions if /etc/fstab file has problems. If you see error messages when using this option, that is probably the case.
• Go to console - This will drop you to the Command Line Interface (CLI). You can use text and curses based tools to fix your system. It is usually a good idea to run Mount your partitions under /mnt before using this option. If you do so without errors, you can run chroot /mnt and have your normal root file system. You will no longer be limited to the tools from rescue mode, but will be able to use all the normal command line tools. But if your /etc/fstab file is messed up, you may be more limited, depending on how your system is partitioned.
• Reboot - Do a proper shutdown and restart the system.
• Doc: - This is a brief explanation of when to use the rescue mode.

If Re-install Boot loader does not work, but Mount you partitions under /mnt does, you can try another way to restore the boot loader using these steps:

1. Mount you partitions under /mnt
2. Go to console
3. chroot /mnt
4. lilo -v
5. exit
6. exit

In at least one case, this has worked when Re-install Boot loader failed.

If both Re-install Boot loader and Mount you partitions under /mnt produces errors, then it is time to check /etc/fstab to make sure it matches your system. Until I get a chance to write it, (or someone else does it...), please consult your local Linux geek, or ask on the mailing list.

This is based on the 9.2, 10.1 and LE2005 install CDs.