xp/win7/ubuntu 8.10 multi boot issue

[shadowmastr]

I've been looking thru the posts here and haven't seen one particular to my issue.

I have 2 - 1 terabyte drives in my system. I have been dual booting into xp and windows 7 beta since the win7 was publicly available. I made 4 partitions on the first disk drive, a 50 gig for xp OS, 50 gig for win7 OS, and split the rest into 2 other partitions, one for programs, other for downloads, music, video, etc. With the win7 bootloader, whichever windows os I selected to boot from, it would make that the c drive, the other os the d drive, and arrange the others as it saw fit. Using the nifty feature in windows to rename drives/partitions, I let windows manage the c and d switching, and I renamed the others to be consistant with each of the 2 OS's.

The second drive was mostly sitting there, I split it into 2 partitions, one had more music and videos, the other empty.

I decided to install ubuntu 8.10. I was going to replace the win7 with ubuntu, but wanted more space than the 50 gigs set aside for the win7 os partition. So I installed ubuntu on the last partition of the second drive, with like 450 gigs free or so. I made a separate / partition, a separate /home partition, and a separate /swap partition, all formatted with ext3.

All is well with the ubuntu installation. I get the grub loader with the choice of ubuntu or windows vista/longhorn (as it named itself), no xp listed. I figured that would be under the vista loader.

Ubuntu loads and runs fine. Here's the problem. When I select the Vista loader, it comes back with an error 29, diskwrite error, and won't load anything windows, just hit enter to return to grub loader screen.

I NEED to get back into xp, unfortunately I have a few programs I use to work from home that ONLY work with 32 bit xp. Hopefully just a bit of tweaking to the loader or something can get me loading windows again??

I'd hate to have to reinstall xp, it's not a hassle, but reinstalling all the programs I need again gets old, plus that'll probably break the grub loader and I'd lose ubuntu too?? Don't really care about the win7, and since I did just install ubuntu, could always do that again as well. Sure would be nice to have the tri-boot like it's supposed to though...

Any and all help will be greatfully appreciated.... thanks....

[shadowmastr]

I've seen a number of requests in other posts for info from the bootinfo script, so here is mine:


============================= Boot Info Summary: ==============================

=> Grub0.97 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks on boot drive #2 in
partition #3 for /boot/grub/stage2 and /boot/grub/menu.lst.
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows XP
Boot files/dirs: /boot.ini /bootmgr /Boot/BCD /ntldr /NTDETECT.COM

sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows Vista
Boot files/dirs:

sda3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sda4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdb2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdb3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 8.10
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/menu.lst /etc/fstab

sdb4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: Extended Partition
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

sdb5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: swap
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:

=========================== Drive/Partition Info: =============================

Drive sda: __________________________________________________ ___________________

Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb6754acd

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 2,048 104,859,647 104,857,600 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 104,859,648 209,717,247 104,857,600 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 209,717,248 838,862,847 629,145,600 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 838,862,848 1,953,521,663 1,114,658,816 7 HPFS/NTFS

/dev/sda4 ends after the last cylinder of /dev/sda

Drive sdb: __________________________________________________ ___________________

Disk /dev/sdb: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa51a89ea

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdb1 2,048 1,027,606,527 1,027,604,480 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2 1,027,606,528 1,227,606,527 200,000,000 83 Linux
/dev/sdb3 1,903,525,785 1,953,520,064 49,994,280 83 Linux
/dev/sdb4 1,883,508,795 1,903,525,784 20,016,990 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 1,883,524,860 1,903,525,784 20,000,925 82 Linux swap / Solaris


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________


/dev/sda1: UUID="60100B5F100B3B92" LABEL="XP" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda2: UUID="EEF20E18F20DE625" LABEL="OS_2" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda3: UUID="9A92FF9C92FF7AD9" LABEL="Programs" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sda4: UUID="921A01F11A01D361" LABEL="Entertainment" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sdb1: UUID="083E31BA3E31A19C" LABEL="Disk2A" TYPE="ntfs"
/dev/sdb2: UUID="4de041ee-c35f-45a8-bc89-cf8a4e37e459" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sdb3: UUID="357e1578-80a8-4a01-a353-be21e3c292ff" TYPE="ext3"
/dev/sdb5: UUID="fe2733aa-3b67-4c08-a1d8-7fe7cf0639c0" TYPE="swap"

=============================== "mount" output: ===============================

/dev/sdb3 on / type ext3 (rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro)
tmpfs on /lib/init/rw type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
/proc on /proc type proc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
varrun on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
varlock on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,mode=1777)
udev on /dev type tmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,noexec,nosuid,gid=5,mode=620)
fusectl on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw)
lrm on /lib/modules/2.6.27-7-generic/volatile type tmpfs (rw,mode=755)
/dev/sdb2 on /home type ext3 (rw,relatime)
securityfs on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw)
binfmt_misc on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type binfmt_misc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
gvfs-fuse-daemon on /home/mike/.gvfs type fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon (rw,nosuid,nodev,user=mike)
/dev/sda1 on /media/XP type fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096)
/dev/sda2 on /media/OS_2 type fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096)

================================ sda1/boot.ini: ================================

;

;Warning: Boot.ini is used on Windows XP and earlier operating systems.

;Warning: Use BCDEDIT.exe to modify Windows Vista boot options.

;

[boot loader]

timeout=30

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S

[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT


=========================== sdb3/boot/grub/menu.lst: ===========================

default 0
timeout 10

### 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=357e1578-80a8-4a01-a353-be21e3c292ff ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=357e1578-80a8-4a01-a353-be21e3c292ff

## 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=quiet splash

## 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=false

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

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=357e1578-80a8-4a01-a353-be21e3c292ff ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic (recovery mode)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=357e1578-80a8-4a01-a353-be21e3c292ff ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic

title Ubuntu 8.10, memtest86+
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

title Other operating systems:
root

title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader)
root (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
savedefault
makeactive


=============================== sdb3/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
# /dev/sdb3
UUID=357e1578-80a8-4a01-a353-be21e3c292ff / ext3 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /dev/sdb2
UUID=4de041ee-c35f-45a8-bc89-cf8a4e37e459 /home ext3 relatime 0 2
# /dev/sdb5
UUID=fe2733aa-3b67-4c08-a1d8-7fe7cf0639c0 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

=================== sdb3: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


987.9GB: boot/grub/menu.lst
987.9GB: boot/grub/stage2
988.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-11-generic
987.9GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic
987.9GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-11-generic
987.9GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic
988.0GB: initrd.img
987.9GB: initrd.img.old
987.9GB: vmlinuz
987.9GB: vmlinuz.old

hope this helps with a quicker informed response. Thanks again...

[Pumalite]

You can boot any of them with Super Grub.
For the time being; post:

sudo fdisk -lu

[shadowmastr]

ok, here are the results from the flist command:


Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb6754acd

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 2048 104859647 52428800 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 104859648 209717247 52428800 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 209717248 838862847 314572800 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 838862848 1953521663 557329408 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdb: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders, total 1953525168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xa51a89ea

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 2048 1027606527 513802240 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2 1027606528 1227606527 100000000 83 Linux
/dev/sdb3 1903525785 1953520064 24997140 83 Linux
/dev/sdb4 1883508795 1903525784 10008495 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 1883524860 1903525784 10000462+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Partition table entries are not in disk order

[Pumalite]

Post:

cat /boot/grub/menu.lst

[caljohnsmith]

How about opening your menu.lst:

gksudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
And change your Windows entry to:

title Windows XP/Vista
root (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
In other words, I would recommend getting rid of the "savedefault" line, because that may be why you are getting a Grub error 29. Let me know if that works or not.

[shadowmastr]

ok here is that result:


### 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=357e1578-80a8-4a01-a353-be21e3c292ff ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=357e1578-80a8-4a01-a353-be21e3c292ff

## 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=quiet splash

## 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=false

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

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=357e1578-80a8-4a01-a353-be21e3c292ff ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic (recovery mode)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=357e1578-80a8-4a01-a353-be21e3c292ff ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic

title Ubuntu 8.10, memtest86+
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

title Other operating systems:
root

title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader)
root (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
savedefault
makeactive

In going thru the previous result, I tried changing the root for the vista loader to (hd1.0), still got the error 29 diskwrite error....

[Pumalite]

Map your entry for Windows

[shadowmastr]

How about opening your menu.lst:

gksudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst
And change your Windows entry to:

title Windows XP/Vista
root (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
In other words, I would recommend getting rid of the "savedefault" line, because that may be why you are getting a Grub error 29. Let me know if that works or not.

removing the savedefault line did it! It now will let me load both crappy versions of *******!!!

I really wish I could get off the ******* teat, but as mentioned earlier, a couple programs I need to use for work are 32 bit xp only, won't work with 64 bit anything, and no linux either.

Plus I do have a gaming jones goin... can't do the lotro, guitar hero, deadspace kinda things on the linux... as far as I know.... yet....

Thanks caljohnsmith!! and also Pumalite for the assistance..... I can use the ******* for work, and gaming, and the ubuntu for the rest... soon as I can figure out why totem tells me it can't access my resources when I put in a dvd or cd, but thats for a different post if I can't figure it out....

[caljohnsmith]

Glad that worked OK, shadowmastr; cheers and enjoy your Windows gaming and your Ubuntu install. :)