[LUG] Corrupt partitions

["mltruscott" <lug@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am a relatively new convert to Linux and need some help - if this isn't
the right place to ask the question below, a link to the right place would
be a great help.

I was running Mandrake 9.0 as part of a dual boot system.  Then my sons
installed a new game (in Windows) and since then Linux is unreachable.

I get the following error message while booting:

EXT3-fs:unable to read superblock
mount: error 22 mounting ext3 flags kernel panic.  No init found.  Try
passing in it= option to kernel.

Needless to say the keyboard is dead.

I thought the answer may be to try to reinstall it but the installer  tells
me that the partition table of hda - the partition which runs has windows -
is too corrupt to read.  It then says:

error extended partition:  bad magic number on disk hda

and offers to erase the hard disk.

Is my only option a scorched earth policy and reformat the drive and start
again or is there something more subtle I can do?  Can any one explain what
it means as no reference material I can find seems to cover it.


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