This article is from the Frequently Asked Questions for Linux, the Free/Open Source UNIX-like operating system kernel that runs on many modern computer systems. Maintained by David C. Merrill with numerous contributions by others. (v1.0).
A: This should work whether you're re-installing Linux or some other, commercial, operating system:
*Insert a blank, formatted floppy in drive A: *Save a copy of the boot hard drive's Master Boot Record to the floppy, by executing the command: #dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/fd0 count=1 dd is a standard program on Linux systems. A MS-Windows compatible version is available from ftp://ftp.gnu.org/, as well as many MS software archives. *Test that the floppy boots the system by rebooting with the floppy in the A: drive. *Then you should be able to install the other operating system (on a different hard drive and/or partition, if you don't want to uninstall Linux). *After installation, boot Linux again from the floppy, and re-install the MBR with the command: /sbin/lilo.
[Jacques Guy]
 
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