12.04 Grub Problem

[3dmatrix]

I upgraded my Ubuntu from 11.10 to 12.04
I had both Ubuntu and Xp on the same Hdd.

After upgrade every thing went fine till i one day boot in to Xp.
After reaching Grub menu i selected Xp but the computer could not boot, since then every time i restarted the computer it could not boot. Even grub menu was not being displayed.

I used a live cd to reinstall grub and it was back to normal till i tried to boot in to Xp. and that problem started again. This time i installed Mint on another partition and i could boot in to Mint and Ubuntu but when i tried to boot in to Xp again there was the same problem.

It seems everytime i boot in to Xp the grub gets currupt or deleted. What can be done to solve this problem ? This problem started only after upgrading to 12.04.

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[oldfred]

Did you install any DRM software in XP? Or are you running some virus software that thinks grub is a virus?

In Windows 7, had to remove Windows 7 DataSafe.
HP ProtectTools, Dell Recovery, flexnet and a few others write into MBR meierfra.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...b2/+bug/441941
https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubun...1?comments=all
Dell Media direct or Uninstall Dell DataSafe issues with MBR
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...49&postcount=9
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=923576

New versions of grub work around this issue:
Adobe Photoshop, CAD/CAM, Rosetta Stone, Matlab others
see google search on others with same issue: flexnet site:ubuntuforums.org
Sector 32 is already in use by FlexNet
http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Photosho...ews/B001EUDGO2
The problem turned out to be Adobe's digital rights management software [DRM]. Do your own search for "FlexNet," formerly known as "SafeCast." What I have read is that FlexNet is a viral rootkit that replicates in multiple locations whenever a CS3 or CS4 product is installed, including trial versions.
Erase flexnet, if not using protected windows software anymore:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1661254
Grub2 bug Natty, overwrites windows boot in sector 63, recover backup & chkdsk to fix.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...b2/+bug/730225

[3dmatrix]

Did you install any DRM software in XP? Or are you running some virus software that thinks grub is a virus?

In Windows 7, had to remove Windows 7 DataSafe.
HP ProtectTools, Dell Recovery, flexnet and a few others write into MBR meierfra.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...b2/+bug/441941
https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubun...1?comments=all
Dell Media direct or Uninstall Dell DataSafe issues with MBR
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...49&postcount=9
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=923576

New versions of grub work around this issue:
Adobe Photoshop, CAD/CAM, Rosetta Stone, Matlab others
see google search on others with same issue: flexnet site:ubuntuforums.org
Sector 32 is already in use by FlexNet
http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Photosho...ews/B001EUDGO2
The problem turned out to be Adobe's digital rights management software [DRM]. Do your own search for "FlexNet," formerly known as "SafeCast." What I have read is that FlexNet is a viral rootkit that replicates in multiple locations whenever a CS3 or CS4 product is installed, including trial versions.
Erase flexnet, if not using protected windows software anymore:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1661254
Grub2 bug Natty, overwrites windows boot in sector 63, recover backup & chkdsk to fix.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...b2/+bug/730225

I rarely boot into Xp. I do so just when i need to use some very special softwares that i can not use in Ubuntu. I have AVG as the antivirus and have not installed any new softwares in Xp since a long time. This problem has started since i upgraded my Ubuntu. It seems when ever i start Xp it tries to replace the new Grub with somthing . . .


.

[3dmatrix]

I did not have any such software in my xp partition. I formated that partition. Reinstalled Xp and the problem remains. When i keep booting from one Linux to another there is no problem, but when i try to boot in to Xp it some how corrupts grub and then i can not boot in to ANY thing. Then i have to boot through Xp Cd and run 'fixmbr' then i can boot only in to windows. To again boot back to Linux i have to reinstall grub. I have to do all this every time i move between linux and xp. I have tried reinstalling (fresh) Xp and Ubuntu but nothing helped. Since many days i am struggling through this.

[oldfred]

I always had XP on a separate drive, so my experience is not relavent.

But we have seen many users dual boot XP and Ubuntu without issue, other than some special Windows software. Grub2 is larger than old grub legacy and that did lead to conflicts but that was almost always Windows 7.

You need to run BootInfo report before rebooting into XP, then from liveCD rerun the BootInfo so we can see what changed. Each run of BootInfo will give you a link. Post both links.

Boot Repair -Also handles LVM, GPT, separate /boot and UEFI dual boot.:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair
You can repair many boot issues with this or 'Create BootInfo' report (Other Options) & post the link it creates, so we can see your exact configuration and diagnose advanced problems.

[AndyOpie150]

I second the info oldfred mentioned.
I dual booted XP service pack 3 and Ubuntu 12.04. I was trying out different distros of Ubuntu and messed up my grub so bad I was stuck in grub rescue. The boot repair fixed everything.
It's an option that should be tried first I think.
I have to learn everything the hard way. But it all came down to just putting the boot repair .iso on a CD and running it.

[3dmatrix]

I second the info oldfred mentioned.
I dual booted XP service pack 3 and Ubuntu 12.04. I was trying out different distros of Ubuntu and messed up my grub so bad I was stuck in grub rescue. The boot repair fixed everything.
It's an option that should be tried first I think.
I have to learn everything the hard way. But it all came down to just putting the boot repair .iso on a CD and running it.

Well on one occation i messed up things so much that even boot repair could not do any thing and just kept saying "Grub could not be removed".

How do we make this boot info report ? Is it the report we get by using Boot Report ?

[oldfred]

You need to run BootInfo report before rebooting into XP, then from liveCD rerun the BootInfo so we can see what changed. Each run of BootInfo will give you a link. Post both links.

Boot Repair -Also handles LVM, GPT, separate /boot and UEFI dual boot.:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair
You can repair many boot issues with this or 'Create BootInfo' report (Other Options) & post the link it creates, so we can see your exact configuration and diagnose advanced problems.

[YannBuntu]

Hello

How do we make this boot info report ?

Tutorial: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Info

[3dmatrix]

I have got the Boot Repair CD ready but i am not too confident abt how to restore the mbr / grub after it gets corrupt by xp. In case of xp it is very easy - just run the fixmbr command. But in boot repair there are many options and so more chances of error. Is there any way to take a back up of my mbr/grub and replace it as it was b4 the xp ruined it ? If so kindly tell me.

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