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Thread: XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

  1. #1
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    XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

    I'm a new user of Ubuntu so please be gentle and patient. I hope I'm putting this in the correct place as this is my first forum entry. I have searched the forum and found several other dual boot problem threads but none seem to match mine exactly.

    I have a fairly recent Acer desktop that was running MS XP pro. After MS desupported XP I decided to install Ubuntu 12.04.4 LTS in a dual boot format to do most of my computing, especially internet work, but I wanted to keep XP for offline applications that I use frequently.

    When I installed XP on this machine, I intentionally left a 30GB partition of unused free space for future file storage or dual booting purposes (the machine has a 1TB HD). So, I figured I could install Ubuntu in that partition without repartitioning or messing with my XP OS or filesystem.

    I installed Ubuntu and it works fine. I'm very happy with it so far and it seems to have no apparent problems. In fact I can still access my XP personal files (also in their own partition separate from the MS OS) using a "new volume" that showed up automatically in Ubuntu.

    When I boot the computer Ubuntu shows as the first boot device and "Windows operating system" shows up as the last one (I also have a DOS partition that shows in the middle along with hardware boot options.

    If during boot I select the Windows Operating System, XP does not come up. Instead I get a black screen with a blinking cursor in the first position. I ran the Ubuntu boot repair facility but it did not change the behavior.

    I know this is a boot sector problem but I don't know why or how it happened since I installed in a separate partition and did not mess with the partitioning (or anything else) that was already on the machine.

    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, but keep them simple please or step by step. Thank you

  2. #2
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    Re: XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

    Some more info indicating your hardware config and BIOS would be helpful. You said you installed XP recently? What was on it before?

  3. #3
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    Re: XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

    Since Ubuntu boots OK just follow the steps here to install Boot-Repair in Ubuntu:

    https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Bo...pair_in_Ubuntu

    Then create a Bootinfo Summary and post the link here.

  4. #4
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    Re: XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by LastDino View Post
    Some more info indicating your hardware config and BIOS would be helpful. You said you installed XP recently? What was on it before?
    My system is an Acer Aspire M1935 desktop (which I believe is an Asia only model as I live in Thailand) with 4gb memory and 1tb disk, intel core i3-2120, 3.30 ghz. I bought the box empty and installed my own copy of XP Pro 32 bit on it from CD, and installed only the applications I needed to use.

    When I installed XP I partitioned the drive with a small 2gb FAT DOS :C partition and the MS OS actually installed on a 30gb NTFS partition :F, as D and E were hardware devices in the box. I partitioned it with two additional partitions of :G NTFS (630gb) for personal file storage (photos, videos, music, documents, etc.) and :H as an 332gb empty partition for some future use.

    The empty partition designated as :H in MS is where I installed Ubuntu, breaking that partition into 330gb for the OS, applications, and my personal files and an additional partition of 2gb of swap space which I configured during the installation as instructed. While installing Ubuntu, I did not adjust the DOS, MS, or original personal storage partitions (C, F, and G) at all. I don't know yet how to gather info on the Bios in Ubuntu, but it is the native bios that came with the box.
    Last edited by tom102; May 26th, 2014 at 01:16 AM.

  5. #5
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    Re: XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by kansasnoob View Post
    Since Ubuntu boots OK just follow the steps here to install Boot-Repair in Ubuntu:

    https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Bo...pair_in_Ubuntu

    Then create a Bootinfo Summary and post the link here.
    Here's the link created by the boot info summary:

    http://paste.ubuntu.com/7517598/

  6. #6
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    Re: XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

    Windows really only boots from primary partitions. You can have a second install of Windows in a logical partition, but it must boot and have its boot files in a primary NTFS partition.
    Your install of XP is now in sda5 which is a logical partition and its boot.ini says it is booting from sda3.

    Code:
    [boot loader]
    timeout=10
    default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS
    [operating systems]
    multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS="Windows" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
    You may be able to use fixparts or testdisk to convert your sda5 back to a primary partition. You may still have to run repairs or edit boot.ini to fix which partition it thinks it is in. Only because you have some available primary partitions can you rearrange. And that all the logicals will still be in one extended partition.

    http://www.rodsbooks.com/fixparts/
    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.

  7. #7
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    Re: XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

    why do you need a MS DOS partition? Dosbox will work excelent with your specs.
    Read the easy to understand, lots of pics Ubuntu manual.
    Do i need antivirus/firewall in linux?
    Full disk backup (newer kernel -> suitable for newer PC): Clonezilla
    User friendly full disk backup: Rescuezilla

  8. #8
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    Re: XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

    Quote Originally Posted by mastablasta View Post
    why do you need a MS DOS partition? Dosbox will work excelent with your specs.
    When I did the XP install I followed the partitioning advice of a web guru who advised a small Dos partition as :C as it would avoid virus attacks that target the :c drive because that is where most people have their MS OS.... in other words, just a security measure.

  9. #9
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    Re: XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

    XP especially will not boot from a Logical Partition. It needs to be on the first Partition and that partition must be 'Primary'.

    Reinstall XP without any Dos, directly on C: (Not installing windows on C: is very old trick and outdated really).
    If I were you, I would partition my HDD as follows:
    50Gb Primary NTFS XP C:
    25Gb Primary Ext4 Ubuntu '/'
    25Gb Primary Ext4 Free (if in future you need to install another linux distro or another Ubuntu version or flavor)
    ???Gb Extended Partition
    4Gb Logical SWAP
    ???Gb Logical /home or simple ext4 partition to store your personal data.

    (???= all the remaining Gb)

    My two cents......
    "Evolution is Nature's way of issuing upgrades."


  10. #10
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    Re: XP won't dual boot after install of Ubuntu

    mhm do what he says ^^

    not everyting web gurus write is golden... i've had my share of them and from then on i really look in various sources before deciding.

    even if that still worked it doesn't protect you from rootkits and such . they are nasty. new malware will often try to insert itself into boot mnagaer (doens't matter where C drive is or what OS you are using). anyway use a descent & updated firewall and AV and avoid strange sites and you should be fine.
    Read the easy to understand, lots of pics Ubuntu manual.
    Do i need antivirus/firewall in linux?
    Full disk backup (newer kernel -> suitable for newer PC): Clonezilla
    User friendly full disk backup: Rescuezilla

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