Hack #50. Fix GRUB or LILO Boot Problems

Use the SystemRescueCD to repair a blown GRUB or LILO boot.

Linux has advanced disk management and repair tools too. Of note is the SystemRescueCD from http://www.sysresccd.com. SystemRescueCD is offered as an ISO file that can be written to a CD-R to make a bootable rescue CD. The packages includes several essential tools for fixing Linux boot-up problems, including:

GNU Parted

Used for editing disk partitions under Linux.

QtParted

A Linux-based clone of PartitionMagic.

Partimage

A Linux-based clone of Ghost/Drive Image to create images of disks and partitions.

Sfdisk

A tool that lets you back up and restore a partition table.

It also includes a variety of filesystem tools that allow you to format, resize, and debug an existing partition of your hard disk supporting e2fs, reiserfs, xfs, jfs, ntfs, and DOS partition types.

With these tools on hand, you may never have to reinstall a Linux operating system again.

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