Grub Error 15 among other smaller problems

[Dutch70]

Hi, I've been trying to fix this problem on my own for several days. just keeps getting worse. At my wits end now.

UPGRADE...
Tried upgrading from 8.04 lts to 10.04 and it wouldn't work b/c of too many mods to my 8.04 system???. So I tried a fresh install per usb stick. System kept locking up during install, as well as when I run it from the usb, I've since learned.
graphics card??? probably.

CURRENT PROBLEM...
The problem I'm having now is I can't log into windows either per the grub loading please wait..
error 15.

ATTEMPS TO FIX...
I've googled & searched the forums & everything I've tried doesn't work, there were some possible solutions that I don't understand how to do. can't get to a terminal to check or modify anything. Hitting "e" at the boot menu does nothing. I don't know how to do anything from here!!!

SYSTEM...
Compaq Presario SR5350, 2GB RAM, Dual Core Proc 2150MHz.
Dual boot w/Vista, HDD is partitioned separately with Root, Home & swap.
Also, sda5 or / has been formatted to ext4, still using grub 1.5.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
And for any help you may offer!!!

[Quackers]

Please boot from the Ubuntu Live cd/usb and select "try ubuntu" then when the desktop is loaded make sure you have an internet connection and go to the site below and download the boot script to your DESKTOP and then open up a terminal (Applications > Accessories > terminal) and run

sudo bash ~/Desktop/boot_info_script*.sh

This will produce a results.txt file on your desktop. Please copy the contents of that file and paste them in your next post between CODE tags. For CODE tags click on New Reply (not quick reply)and then click on the # symbol in the toolbar.
This will give a full overview of your current system.
Thanks.

http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net/

[Dutch70]

Thank you, but I don't think I can do that since 10.04 locks up anywhere from 10 seconds to 60 seconds after I log onto it. However I will give it a shot!

[Quackers]

Use the Live cd or Live usb

[Dutch70]

I was using live usb with 10.04, seems that I've deleted 10.04 from the usb. Is there an older version of ubuntu that I can use with the usb that may work on my pc? I thought 9.04 worked with a live usb, but wasn't exactly sure which file to download. My plan was to install it & hope it fixed the grub error.

Edit: looking for i386 iso for use with usb...all I can find is for a cd, unfortunately my
cdrom isn't working.

[Quackers]

I believe that an error 15 is usually because grub legacy (installed with 8.04) doesn't get on too well with grub2 (installed with 10.04). It may be the case that purging grub and re-installing grub2 will solve your problem. But we would need to know what partition 10.04 is on. That's where the boot script comes in.
That is the best I can come up with. Maybe somebody else can come up with another plan

[Dutch70]

I believe that an error 15 is usually because grub legacy (installed with 8.04) doesn't get on too well with grub2 (installed with 10.04). It may be the case that purging grub and re-installing grub2 will solve your problem. But we would need to know what partition 10.04 is on. That's where the boot script comes in.
That is the best I can come up with. Maybe somebody else can come up with another plan

"/" is on /dev/sda5

[Quackers]

I'm sorry I think I have misled you.
In order to purge grub and re-install grub2 it would be necessary to be in a Live cd/usb environment (in the case that Ubuntu won't boot).
That's where the commands would be issued from.

[Dutch70]

I'm sure it was me who missed you But I am currently downloading the 9.04 alternate iso.torrent. Then I may be able to get on the live usb without locking up.
per these 2 sites...
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/univers...easy-as-1-2-3/
AND...
http://releases.ubuntu.com/jaunty/ ...for torrent download.

it's gonna take about 30 min though.

I really appreciate all your help. Will you be around for a while? If so, I'll try to get you the info you 1st requested.

[Quackers]

Sadly 9.04 will only replace the grub legacy version of grub, not grub2.
If it is your wish to just re-install 9.04 that would be ok.