[SOLVED] Problem with Unetbootin - Windows no longer boots...

[volneilo]

Absolute newbie problem: installed Unetbootin in order to create a live USB with Puppy Linux. Carelessly I sent the installation to my Windows partition instead of the USB flash drive one... Now, every time I choose Windows in the GRUB menu, it loads Puppy. I've checked and confirmed that Windows installation is already there, but inaccessible. I've made many attempts to restore GRUB, including re-writing MBR, but it always points to Puppy instead of Windows... Could someone help me? Oh, and excuse me for the poor english... I'm from Brasil.
Thanks in advance!

[drowner]

I'm not sure if this is an Ubuntu problem...

From what I understand about Unetbootin, it just installs an operating system like normal, only it doesn't need a CD....so, here it would have installed puppy linux to the drive you specified - are you 100% sure you haven't written over your windows partition with puppy linux?

[Patb]

I've checked and confirmed that Windows installation is already there, but inaccessible.

Volneilo, how have you checked? If you mean you can see windows files on that partition, that is just because Puppy is so small that there are still lots of files from your old Windows installation on the same partition. Ultimately, you may have to back up all your own files and reinstall Windows. Boa sorte!

Cheers, Pat.

PS Edit: I presume the Grub menu does not give a "Puppy" option in addition to the "Windows" option you mention. Please let us know if I have it wrong.

[volneilo]

Yes, I agree it isn't a Ubuntu problem... but since I got no help with this problem, and I'm an Ubuntu user, I'm asking for help from my fellows here, where I belong... I'm pretty shure Puppy didn't over writed Windows because I can still access my "C:" through Ubuntu, and everything is already there... But there is no way to make GRUB boot Windows again. I've deleted all Puppy files that I could find in Windows drive, but GRUB's entry named "WINDOWS" calls a Linux loader, that complains about not finding Linux kernel image (because, of course, it isn't there no more...).

[volneilo]

Pat, thank you for responding. Yes, I assumed my Windows wasn't destroyed because I saw many files in the drive, as you said. And no, the GRUB didn't shown a "PUPPY" entry; instead of it shown a "WINDOWS" entry that calls Puppy... Just to be absolutely shure, there might be a way to make GRUB point to Windows again, wouldn't it? In this case, I think that, if my Windows installation is really ruined, in this case the option would lead to an empty hole and I would know for shure.

[RealG187]

Volneilo, how have you checked? If you mean you can see windows files on that partition, that is just because Puppy is so small that there are still lots of files from your old Windows installation on the same partition. Ultimately, you may have to back up all your own files and reinstall Windows. Boa sorte!

Cheers, Pat.

PS Edit: I presume the Grub menu does not give a "Puppy" option in addition to the "Windows" option you mention. Please let us know if I have it wrong.

You can have puppy and Linux on the same partition? So will it go on a fat/ntfs partition?

[drowner]

I'm not sure how Puppy installs.... whether it makes it's own partition or what.

tell us a bit about how your computer is set up, and could you post the output of the following commands?

sudo fdisk -l

(that's a little L)

and

cat /boot/grub/menu.lst

[volneilo]

Hi, RealG187. You meant Puppy and Windows? Well, the installer put Puppy in my Windows partition, which is (was?) FAT32. And I could access Puppy a couple of times before deleting his files...

[volneilo]

Ok drowner, here it goes:

volnei@volnei-desktop:~$ sudo fdisk -l
[sudo] password for volnei:

Disco /dev/sda: 40.0 GB, 40020664320 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4865 cylinders
Units = cilindros of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x2f679b6b

Dispositivo Boot Início Fim Blocos Id Sistema
/dev/sda1 * 1 1912 15358108+ c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sda2 1913 3000 8739360 b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda3 3001 4865 14980612+ 5 Estendida
/dev/sda5 3001 3062 497983+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 3063 4865 14482566 83 Linux


and:

volnei@volnei-desktop:~$ cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
# grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
# grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
# and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 20

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
#hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
## password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
#password --md5 $1$qwH8f$CxPl8emdOuzxVAYbQHc8D/
#
# examples
#
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
#
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=1caedc79-5848-4986-aab2-28e298e68dc2 ro

## Setup crashdump menu entries
## e.g. crashdump=1
# crashdump=0

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd0,5)

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=splash locale=pt_BR quiet

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=true

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-21-generic
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-21-generic root=UUID=1caedc79-5848-4986-aab2-28e298e68dc2 ro splash locale=pt_BR quiet
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-21-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-21-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-21-generic root=UUID=1caedc79-5848-4986-aab2-28e298e68dc2 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-21-generic

title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-20-generic
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-20-generic root=UUID=1caedc79-5848-4986-aab2-28e298e68dc2 ro splash locale=pt_BR quiet
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-20-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 8.04.1, kernel 2.6.24-20-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-20-generic root=UUID=1caedc79-5848-4986-aab2-28e298e68dc2 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-20-generic

title Ubuntu 8.04.1, memtest86+
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title Other operating systems:
root


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda1
title Microsoft Windows XP Professional
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1

(sorry, I don't know how to put it in a window...)

[volneilo]

I have two FAT32 partitions, one of them with Windows system and another with data (documents and personal files). The other (extended) is Ubuntu, with a SWAP partition.