I have just started using linux (mandrake 9.1) its ok still popping my cherry!!!...
my problem is that when i goto load windows with lilo or grub it gives me the option for win 2000 or win xp (like it used to) win 2000 never worked but that isn't a problem.... but when i go to load xp which i NEED!!! it says ntoskrn missing something or over, i have looked all over the net and i cant find ne help
my partitions as below
swap
primary win2000 fat32
logical winxp ntfs
ext3
downloads (logical) fat32
programs (logical) fat32

what can i do i have a good understanding of windows and i am a it technician at college 2nd year....

also partition magic 8 reads partition table as BAD???

When i installed lilo it went to the mbr!!!

PLEASE HELP ME!!!

did you add swap and ext3 with partition magic(ie your partition layout changed)?
can you post the content of your boot.ini? which is probably inside win2k partition.

im at college at the moment and no i did it withing the mandrake installation

mandrake 9.1 has a "rescue" option. boot from the first CD and push F1 when asked to push F1 or enter. type at the boot: prompt
boot: rescue <enter>
once it chugs for a bit, choose "restore windows boot sector" which will make the computer boot in windows XP all the time (it should at any rate, or windows 2000 depending on which you installed first). If that doesn't work, it might be because you resized a partition when you were installing mandrake. you can screw up a partition when resizing it, so if you have done that, restore your backup of the windows partition (which you made before installing linux like a good it technitian ) .
MN

i didnt do a backup and now ive lost the windows boot loader some how
heres wots in the boot.ini on c (win 2000 partition)

[Boot Loader]
Timeout=5
Default=C:\$WIN_NT$.~BT\BOOTSECT.DAT
[Operating Systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(6)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect
C:\ = "Previous Operating System on C:"
C:\$WIN_NT$.~BT\BOOTSECT.DAT = "Windows XP Installation/Upgrade"

what hapens when you try to restore the windows bootloader with the rescue option on teh install cd? Mandrake makes an automatic backup of that.

try changing
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(6)\WINDOWS
to
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(4)\WINDOWS

also win2k should be on
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)

boot with xp cd to get into recovery console and use fixboot/fixmbr to recover ntldr

when i use the mandrake cd1 and do rescue and the windows bootloader, when i click on windows on lilo it just say LOADING WINDOWS............ ????

interesting...restoring the windows boot sector should overwrite LILO, so that you don't see LILO. the only way to get at linux then is to boot from the rescue cd and restore the bootloader, or try to get the bootloader on floppy, there's an option to do that (don't ask me how)
MN