Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: XP/Ubuntu Grub Boot Issues + advice

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Beans
    77

    XP/Ubuntu Grub Boot Issues + advice

    Been a while since I posted, but I've managed to mess up my dual boot XP/Ubuntu PC.

    Basically I boot it up and get:

    Grub Loading stage1.5

    Grub loading, please wait...
    Error 17
    Now I can boot from an Ubuntu live CD and I can check the contents of /boot/grub/menu.lst and it's fine (same as my backup copy), but still the machine won't boot.

    The problem has been caused by resizing a partition using disk management in XP, and since then the boot loader has been having the above error, even though the partition in question was not the active one.

    my drive partitioning is as follows:

    Sdb1 - XP partition (NTFS)
    Sdb2 - Ubuntu
    Sdb3 - Ubuntu
    Sdb4 - NTFS

    So I'm asking what to do to get my system booting again, but I'm also trying to understand the connection Grub has with the XP system and what would have happened to cause this. I'm guessing it's something to do with the MBR, but I'm drawing a blank on where I need to go to correct it.

    Any help or advice would be very welcome.

    Thanks


    Mark
    Last edited by NeonSamurai; June 1st, 2010 at 08:09 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    ρθΦ=000
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx

    Re: XP/Ubuntu Grub Boot Issues + advice

    You can try re-installing Grub[2] following the below instructions. The partition changes made by XP may have screwed something up; the Windows-only option would probably be something like "fixboot", "fixmbr"; hopefully re-installing Grub with the new partition info should fix this.

    EDIT: fixed the link
    Last edited by seawolf167; June 1st, 2010 at 08:35 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    SW Forida
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Kubuntu

    Re: XP/Ubuntu Grub Boot Issues + advice

    Reinstalling grub may solve it or if partitions have changed UUID's you may also have to edit fstab.

    If the reinstall does not work run this so we can see your entire system.

    Boot Info Script courtesy of forum member meierfra
    Page with instructions and download:
    http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net/
    Be sure to highlight and use code tags (# in edit panel) to make it easier to read when you post the results.txt.
    UEFI boot install & repair info - Regularly Updated :
    https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2147295
    Please use Thread Tools above first post to change to [Solved] when/if answered completely.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Beans
    77

    Re: XP/Ubuntu Grub Boot Issues + advice

    Thanks Seawolf167 & Oldfred,

    Part of my question was understanding grubs relationship with the boot sequence. For example; do I reinstall grub on my primary linux partition, and if so how does the PC defer to it on boot?

    Also in my situation with my Ubuntu partition on sdb2, would my commands be:

    $sudo mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt

    sudo chroot /mnt

    #grub-install /dev/sdb

    #grub-install --recheck /dev/sdb
    I have a copy of my grub menu list that I can use once grub is working.

    Am I on the right track?

    Thanks


    Mark

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Beans
    77

    Re: XP/Ubuntu Grub Boot Issues + advice

    Okay,

    just tried installing grub as per those instructions. Here's what happened:

    root@ubuntu:/# grub-install /dev/sdb2
    /dev/sbd2 does not have any corresponding BIOS drive.
    root@ubuntu:/# grub-install --recheck /dev/sbd2
    Probing devices to guess BIOS drives. This may take a long time.
    /dev/sda3: Not found or not a block device.
    Not quite sure what's happening here. Does this mean that grub isn't the problem and that the BIOS is? If not, why can I not install grub on my ubuntu partition?

    Thanks


    Mark

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Beans
    77

    Re: XP/Ubuntu Grub Boot Issues - Solved

    Okay,

    Here's what I did to get my grub working again:

    sudo grub
    grub> find /boot/grub/stage1
    this brought back the result (HD1,1) so I then did:

    grub> root (hd1,1)
    grub> setup (hd1)
    grub> quit
    Which did the trick and now it's all back and working.

    Thanks for the help and pointing me in the right direction.


    Mark

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    SW Forida
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Kubuntu

    Re: XP/Ubuntu Grub Boot Issues + advice

    The first set of instruction you ran was for grub2 and will not work for grub legacy. Obviously the second set for grub legacy worked to install to sdb.

    We now have to know if a user has grub2 - new installs of 9.10 or 10.04 or grub legacy from updates before 9.10. Even 9.10 can be old grub from an update or grub2.
    UEFI boot install & repair info - Regularly Updated :
    https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2147295
    Please use Thread Tools above first post to change to [Solved] when/if answered completely.

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •