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Thread: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

  1. #11
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    Re: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

    I've always entered the mapping commands as shown in my earlier post, which have worked for me...I'm not familiar with entering them the way you pointed out from the link.

    I'm assuming you're able to boot Ubuntu and not Windows...when you installed Ubuntu to the SATA drive you had both drives connected?

    If you're able to boot Ubuntu, what is your entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst for booting it, e.g. root (hd0,0) or root (hd1,0)?

    If you will, post the output of:
    Code:
    sudo fdisk -l
    The -l is a small "L".

    As a note, when there is a combination of IDE and SATA drives, Ubuntu usually installs grub to the IDE drive...therefore, it's probably recommended for someone doing fresh installs to install Windows to the SATA drive, then Ubuntu to the IDE drive.

    Since you have Windows on the IDE drive, I would think an entry similar to this would boot it:
    Code:
    title         Windows XP
     root          (hd0,0)
     makeactive
     chainloader   +1
    Last edited by confused57; September 6th, 2006 at 09:02 PM.

  2. #12
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    Ubuntu 6.06

    Re: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

    Quote Originally Posted by confused57 View Post
    I'm assuming you're able to boot Ubuntu and not Windows...when you installed Ubuntu to the SATA drive you had both drives connected?
    No, otherway, I can't boot into the installed Ubuntu (eventhough the installation seemed to work fine). Fortunately I can select XP from the GRUB (I'm using XP now).

    I can also boot up from the liveCD and then press F6 to boot the liveCD Ubuntu.

    Quote Originally Posted by confused57 View Post
    If you're able to boot Ubuntu, what is your entry in /boot/grub/menu.lst for booting it, e.g. root (hd0,0) or root (hd1,0)?

    If you will, post the output of:
    Code:
    sudo fdisk -l
    The -l is a small "L".
    I got 3 problems with the Ubuntu install. I cannot mount the Ubuntu filesystem. The other prob. is that I cannot get Wireless working... (note: I got the DWL-G520+ working in Breezy by modifying the interfaces file).

    Sooo... its not possible to copy and paste commands and outputs.

    Anyway, I did the fdisk -l and this is more or less what came up:

    Disk /dev/hda: 80.0 G....
    Device Boot Start....
    /dev/hda1 * ...........................HPFS/NTFS
    /dev/hda2 .............................W95 Ext'd (LBA)
    /dev/hda5 .............................HPFS/NTFS
    /dev/hda6 .............................HPFS/NTFS

    Disk /dev/sda: 80.0 G....
    Device Boot Start....
    /dev/sda1 * ...........................Linux
    /dev/sda2 .............................Extended
    /dev/sda5 .............................Linux swap...

    I tried the mounting instructions given at "hermanzone" to mount Ubuntu from a liveCD... at least I think I am doing that.

    sudo mkdir /mnt/ubuntu
    sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/sda1 /mnt/ubuntu

    But I got an error message:
    "Wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda1, missing codepage or other error....".

    OK I must be typing wrong mount instruction to mount Ubuntu?

    Quote Originally Posted by confused57 View Post
    As a note, when there is a combination of IDE and SATA drives, Ubuntu usually installs grub to the IDE drive...therefore, it's probably recommended for someone doing fresh installs to install Windows to the SATA drive, then Ubuntu to the IDE drive.
    Mine is not a fresh install of XP, but a fresh install of Ubuntu.

  3. #13
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    Re: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

    You could install the driver in Windows to read your Ubuntu Linux drive:
    http://www.fs-driver.org/

    I'm assuming again, but it's probable that Ubuntu installed grub to your IDE drive...so if you removed Ubuntu, you might not be able to boot Windows. Here's a guide to repairing your Windows mbr:
    http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/p18.htm

    When the grub menu is displayed, try highlighting your entry to boot Ubuntu and pressing "e" for edit and see what is there(should be root (hd1,0)...I assume the root for booting Windows is (hd0,0).

    Here's an excellent guide for reinstalling grub from the live cd:
    http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=224351

    I don't know how comfortable you are with disconnecting and connecting hard drives, but if it were my system and none of the above methods worked...I'd consider repairing the Windows mbr using the guide above, with the SATA drive disconnected, once I got Windows mbr repaired and booting properly...I'd disconnect the IDE drive, reconnect the SATA drive and install Ubuntu...and if Ubuntu installs and works OK, maybe using bios to determine which drive to boot into. I've seen other posters use this method for dualbooting, just an option. Another option, "might" be to set the SATA to boot to first and put a Windows entry in grub to boot the IDE drive similar to the one I mentioned in my first post in this thread.

    I'm just throwing out ideas that you may or may not want to try...I don't use SATA drives, so I can't give you any guidance from experience. Is your SATA controller on your mobo or is it pci, which can be quite problematic? There is probably a working solution, but you'll just have to try some different things(after backing up any important data you don't want to lose). Good luck.

    Add: Here's a link discussing SATA & Linux issues:
    http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Hardware/sata.html
    Last edited by confused57; September 7th, 2006 at 08:32 PM.

  4. #14
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    Re: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

    Thanks confused57.

    I think I will not attempt the driver installation because it says Ext2, and the commands that I've been told to try (for mounting) are Ext3. Sounds risky.

    The answer to the next two questions you asked are yes.

    Since I can't seem to mount the installed Ubuntu from the liveCD, there is no point to fixing the GRUB soooo I think your solution to dualbooting using BIOS to select (which I have used before in Breezy) is the one I will attempt next.

    I just hope that the fixmbr is going to work OK. I've got the genuine XP CD so I will use the Recovery Console path.

    Cheers mate.

  5. #15
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    Re: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

    Hi confused57,

    I have a Dell Dim. 4550 and just want to ask/confirm that Dell's boot menu and boot sequence only allow you to choose the master drive don't they? So the only way to dual boot without Grub writing over the WinXP boot record is to follow your instructions at the start of this thread?
    Alternatively, do you know if it's possible to have a boot floppy that when read will automatically/manually boot the secondary drive (i.e. in this scenario XP would be master, Ubuntu slave, and unless the boot floppy [or even a boot CD] is in then XP will be the default drive to load)?
    I was looking at this http://adrian15.raulete.net/grub/tiki-index.php ...

    Cheers for any light.

  6. #16
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    Re: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

    Quote Originally Posted by mo79 View Post
    Hi confused57,

    I have a Dell Dim. 4550 and just want to ask/confirm that Dell's boot menu and boot sequence only allow you to choose the master drive don't they? So the only way to dual boot without Grub writing over the WinXP boot record is to follow your instructions at the start of this thread?
    Alternatively, do you know if it's possible to have a boot floppy that when read will automatically/manually boot the secondary drive (i.e. in this scenario XP would be master, Ubuntu slave, and unless the boot floppy [or even a boot CD] is in then XP will be the default drive to load)?
    I was looking at this http://adrian15.raulete.net/grub/tiki-index.php ...

    Cheers for any light.
    My Dell works great set up the way I outlined at the beginning of this thread...it automatically boots into Windows... in fact, if the grub menu wasn't displayed, you'd never know I had Ubuntu installed on another drive. The mapping commands fool Windows into thinking it is the first hard drive, so it boots with no problems...be sure to also read the section on installing on a Dell Dimension 4550(set hd1 to "auto" and use rootnoverify (hd1,1), since the 1st partition is a Dell utility). I used rootnoverify by mistake & it worked OK, so I didn't go back and change it to root (hd1,1), as described.

    Yes, you could install grub to floppy, using the alternate install cd:
    http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=188819
    Last edited by confused57; October 13th, 2006 at 05:15 AM.

  7. #17
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    Re: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

    Is there anyway to have it so ubuntu starts first unless you go into the menu?
    I use ubuntu 99 percent of the time and having to catch grub to boot to ubuntu everytime is a pain.

    Thanks,
    --Shoki

  8. #18
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    Re: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

    Quote Originally Posted by shoki View Post
    Is there anyway to have it so ubuntu starts first unless you go into the menu?
    I use ubuntu 99 percent of the time and having to catch grub to boot to ubuntu everytime is a pain.

    Thanks,
    --Shoki
    Yes, just move your Windows entry to the very end of your /boot/grub/menu.lst...just follow the directions at the beginning of this thread to backup your menu.lst, before making changes.

  9. #19
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    Re: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

    Awesome!

    Thanks again. I did do this before getting the reply and it could not be more simple to set up. Really cool.

    --Shoki

  10. #20
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    Re: Dualboot Two Hard Drives

    Excellent instructions, just copy and paste and away we go...

    Hey, one question, how do I reverse the order? At the moment the default is windows. How do I make it second in the list so the default is Ubuntu?

    I wasn't game to play around with the settings in the file without asking.

    Many thanks,
    Peter

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