[tlug] [Newbie] Boot Loader Problem

[CL <az.4tlug@example.com>]

Left alone with Linux over the holiday and he breaks everything ...

RESULTS:

1.  I suddenly cannot get into Kubuntu any more.  The message I
receive is "[13.946713] Kernel panic - not synching: VFS: Unable to
mount root fs on unknown block (0,0)"

2.  My Debian 4.0 install will no longer boot into KDE, only the command line.

3.  Only Xandros 4.1 loads and runs properly.

BACKGROUND:

1.  Xandros was the first OS to be installed on this HDD.  The boot
loader it installs is LILO.  As it turned out to not be the OS I
really wanted or needed, I added other partitions and OS'es.

2.  When I installed Kubuntu, it overwrote LILO and replaced it with
GRUB which, besides being butt ugly gives too much information and is
much harder to set up and use.

3.  I "restored" LILO using the Xandros install disk.

4.  In Xandros, I configured LILO to boot Kubuntu first, then Xandros,
then Debian 4.0.  There had been a couple of others on the HDD, but I
eliminated them.

5.  Everything worked fine until I booted into Xandros, ran the
anti-virus checker (a localized version of ClamAV) and ran a scan for
updates.  I only access the Xandros NGs from Xandros so checked new
messages of interest and updated both Firefox and TBird while I was
there.

6.  When I tried to return to Kubuntu, I started getting the kernel
panic message.

7.  When I tried to access my KDE desktop in Debian 4.0, it dumped me
off at the command line.

QUESTIONS:

1.  Is there a way to fix this without having to completely reinstall
the OSes?  It is not a major issue at this time (everything important
is copied to backup CDs), just a PITA.

2.  I tried to reformat the boot partition using the uninstall
function in Xandros but LILO was back when I rebooted.  I held off
doing it from a bootable CD in hopes there is a simpler solution.

3.  If I have to reinstall, would it be possible to resize my Xandros
partition (Reiser FS) without having to reinstall the OS?