System only boots to grub prompt after AutoYaST install

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10

Situation

Purpose
How to modify an autoinst.xml file to reinitialize the block device and replace a new Master Boot Record (MBR)

Symptoms
System boots only to Grub prompt after a successful AutoYaST SLES 10 installation.

Changes
RedHat was installed on SDA prior to attempting the SLES AutoYaST installation.

Resolution

Modify the autoinst.xml (or corresponding xml profile) as follows:

1) Replace the MBR with a new (correct) one by changing the following line in the file to "true":

    <repl_mbr config:type="boolean">false</repl_mbr>

2) Reinitialize the drive by adding the following to the partitioning section for that drive:

    <initialize config:type="boolean">true</initialize>

Example for item 2:
<partitioning config:type="list">
      <drive>
        <device>/dev/hda</device>
<initialize config:type="boolean">true</initialize>
        <partitions config:type="list">
          <partition>
            <filesystem config:type="symbol">swap</filesystem>
            <format config:type="boolean">true</format>
            <mount>swap</mount>
            <partition_id config:type="integer">130</partition_id>
            <partition_nr config:type="integer">1</partition_nr>
            <region config:type="list">
              <region_entry config:type="integer">0</region_entry>
              <region_entry config:type="integer">988</region_entry>
            </region>
            <size>509386753</size>
          </partition>

Additional Information

If you are not using AutoYaST but rather doing a manual install and see the same symptom, during the install change to the "Expert Settings" tab on the "Installation Settings" screen.

Modify the "Boot Loader Installation" under the "Booting" section to replace/place a new copy of the Master Boot Loader in the correct location.

Disclaimer

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