I can't boot back into Windows 7.

[iTzDyl]

I'm currently in the Try Ubuntu feature in the installer. This is what I did.

I wanted to go back to try Ubuntu again. I used to use it and I wanted to try it again. So I make a partition on my external hard drive to put Ubuntu in. I tried WUBI but that wouldn't work, so I downloaded it and burned it to a disc. I boot into the disc and install Ubuntu NOT on the partition I made. (It wouldn't install there). So it made it's own partition on my External Hard Drive. It installs, my computer restarts and the disc comes out. My computer is booting up when a command line type screen comes up saying GRUB recovery or something along the lines. I can't do anything or get past it. So I restart my computer with the Ubuntu disc in, and it brings me back to the install menu like it never did anything. I looked in the Disc Utility and saw everything is still in it's place, so nothing happened. Can somebody please help me? I really don't want to be stuck in this Try Ubuntu thing. I can give you all the information I can. Thanks

Dylan

Here is the Boot Info:



Boot Info Script 0.55 dated February 15th, 2010

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

=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks on the same drive in
partition #6 for /boot/grub.
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdf

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows Vista
Boot files/dirs: /bootmgr /Boot/BCD /Windows/System32/winload.exe /grldr

sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows 7
Boot files/dirs: /Windows/System32/winload.exe /wubildr.mbr /wubildr

sda3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs: /bootmgr /boot/bcd /grldr

sdf1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdf2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdf3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdf4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdf5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: According to the info in the boot sector, sdf5 starts
at sector 2048.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdf6: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab /boot/grub/core.img

sdf7: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders, total 625142448 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 63 537,061,566 537,061,504 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 537,063,424 598,501,375 61,437,952 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 598,501,575 625,137,344 26,635,770 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: sdf ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdf: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdf1 * 63 210,676,409 210,676,347 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf2 210,676,410 668,176,430 457,500,021 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf3 668,178,432 691,383,839 23,205,408 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf4 691,384,318 976,771,071 285,386,754 f W95 Ext d (LBA)
/dev/sdf5 853,893,120 976,771,071 122,877,952 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf6 691,384,320 847,183,871 155,799,552 83 Linux
/dev/sdf7 847,185,920 853,886,975 6,701,056 82 Linux swap / Solaris


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/sda1 70CC4ED4CC4E93EE ntfs Vista
/dev/sda2 BABC596DBC592563 ntfs Windows 7
/dev/sda3 949CA48C9CA46A86 ntfs FACTORY_IMAGE
/dev/sda: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdf1 01CA9AE1DFF2C970 ntfs Install and Download
/dev/sdf2 1A143F8E143F6C3F ntfs Uploads
/dev/sdf3 002AE2A42AE29646 ntfs Whatever
/dev/sdf4: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdf5 D89E931A9E92EFEC ntfs Ubuntu
/dev/sdf6 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f ext4
/dev/sdf7 707a93ed-a6f2-4153-8585-6c92251792e9 swap
/dev/sdf: PTTYPE="dos"
error: /dev/sdb: No medium found
error: /dev/sdc: No medium found
error: /dev/sdd: No medium found
error: /dev/sde: No medium found

============================ "mount | grep ^/dev output: ===========================

Device Mount_Point Type Options

aufs / aufs (rw)
/dev/sr0 /cdrom iso9660 (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime)


=========================== sdf6/boot/grub/grub.cfg: ===========================

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by /usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
set saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then
saved_entry=${chosen}
save_env saved_entry
fi
}

function recordfail {
set recordfail=1
if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
set gfxmode=640x480
insmod gfxterm
insmod vbe
if terminal_output gfxterm ; then true ; else
# For backward compatibility with versions of terminal.mod that don't
# understand terminal_output
terminal gfxterm
fi
fi
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
set lang=en
insmod gettext
if [ ${recordfail} = 1 ]; then
set timeout=-1
else
set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic root=UUID=23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-21-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.32-21-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic root=UUID=23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-21-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)" {
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 70cc4ed4cc4e93ee
chainloader +1
}
menuentry "Windows Vista (loader) (on /dev/sda3)" {
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,3)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 949ca48c9ca46a86
chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

=============================== sdf6/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier
# for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
# devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
# / was on /dev/sdf6 during installation
UUID=23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sdf7 during installation
UUID=707a93ed-a6f2-4153-8585-6c92251792e9 none swap sw 0 0

=================== sdf6: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


384.2GB: boot/grub/core.img
407.9GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
384.2GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-21-generic
384.1GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic
384.2GB: initrd.img
384.1GB: vmlinuz
=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================

Unknown BootLoader on sdf4

00000000 34 4e eb df c8 db 5b 67 72 96 34 f2 aa fd e6 13 |4N....[gr.4.....|
00000010 8f 1e 34 22 12 44 fb 86 08 6c 6b f4 9b 95 f3 19 |..4".D...lk.....|
00000020 db 2e 81 ef 6f 67 a8 83 0d fe e0 cc 0d a7 6b cf |....og........k.|
00000030 60 f5 49 ae f0 7d ce 36 a2 34 31 c9 eb b1 4e 9e |`.I..}.6.41...N.|
00000040 22 18 81 a6 57 cb c3 27 91 77 1f df 1e 40 f5 a7 |"...W..'.w...@..|
00000050 0d 69 ae 51 78 49 36 5b b4 56 94 fb d9 1b d9 00 |.i.QxI6[.V......|
00000060 31 19 f7 57 60 96 25 b1 40 02 9d 1c c8 2c f0 c0 |1..W`.%.@....,..|
00000070 02 6b d5 90 06 ae e2 62 44 79 4c 6e 61 41 07 1d |.k.....bDyLnaA..|
00000080 88 42 0a ca 79 97 e8 c4 74 91 af 86 e8 e3 13 2b |.B..y...t......+|
00000090 e4 c0 da 53 9e 34 38 93 3f d5 57 05 39 e3 7e c2 |...S.48.?.W.9.~.|
000000a0 5a ff 33 27 f6 32 56 f1 93 a7 1a 5f 15 58 5f 66 |Z.3'.2V...._.X_f|
000000b0 ae 77 04 47 52 0a da 60 a4 c0 1a f6 51 50 83 04 |.w.GR..`....QP..|
000000c0 b5 10 6c 55 f0 8c 56 01 ab 47 e4 9f 38 ef 61 04 |..lU..V..G..8.a.|
000000d0 41 29 7d a9 87 32 0c 94 93 c2 bf ee 5d 5c 45 a0 |A)}..2......]\E.|
000000e0 b9 27 e2 e2 f1 e8 6a 37 e8 25 8c c5 0f 00 b5 3a |.'....j7.%.....:|
000000f0 7f f4 b7 3d 2a 4f 4b d0 19 16 1c 31 3b 85 59 a1 |...=*OK....1;.Y.|
00000100 50 eb 06 cb 96 ee cd d8 3f d6 06 80 20 2d a3 3f |P.......?... -.?|
00000110 c7 f7 4f e0 8c d0 9d 06 8a e8 c3 b0 ec b4 97 da |..O.............|
00000120 3a 17 86 24 b7 a0 aa 02 02 fd 10 b3 9d ba 70 66 |:..$..........pf|
00000130 05 f6 90 4b d1 04 b4 8b a5 4b 35 6f d0 9f 2b c7 |...K.....K5o..+.|
00000140 95 db d1 a9 81 67 dd a9 5f a7 1d 6c 94 c6 f4 01 |.....g.._..l....|
00000150 48 41 77 65 28 d7 68 49 34 12 1d 82 4a f8 72 36 |HAwe(.hI4...J.r6|
00000160 35 d1 a2 1f 3c 9f a5 66 74 d3 b1 2b cb 2f ae 12 |5...<..ft..+./..|
00000170 54 b2 4d a9 ed ef b1 93 35 44 1a 08 b8 ca 58 db |T.M.....5D....X.|
00000180 5c c6 00 1f eb 3c 47 3c 46 66 b5 6d 59 ea 67 aa |\....<G<Ff.mY.g.|
00000190 8a 5f a7 b3 73 e5 a3 7d 49 3a bf fa 27 c0 b3 88 |._..s..}I:..'...|
000001a0 46 5d 06 d0 09 1d 2b eb ad 5d 09 b3 19 9b 3b c1 |F]....+..]....;.|
000001b0 19 2e 02 d2 08 b5 46 50 11 9a 1f 01 c4 77 00 fe |......FP.....w..|
000001c0 ff ff 07 fe ff ff 02 b0 af 09 00 f8 52 07 00 fe |............R...|
000001d0 ff ff 05 fe ff ff 01 00 00 00 01 50 49 09 00 00 |...........PI...|
000001e0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001f0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 55 aa |..............U.|
00000200


=======Devices which don't seem to have a corresponding hard drive==============

sdb sdc sdd sde This is what I get from F Disk

Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x1549f232

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 33431 268530752 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 33431 37255 30718976 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 37256 38913 13317885 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdf: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00076272

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdf1 * 1 13114 105338173+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf2 13115 41593 228750010+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf3 41593 43037 11602704 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf4 43037 60802 142693377 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sdf5 53153 60802 61438976 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf6 43037 52735 77899776 83 Linux
/dev/sdf7 52735 53153 3350528 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Partition table entries are not in disk order

[iTzDyl]

I'm going to bed now. I will be here in the morning. Thanks,

Dylan

[Zireth ZH]

Hey pal ... welcome back to ubuntu... I hope this link helps you..
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1014708

[iTzDyl]

I tried reinstalling GRUB, still not working. I'm downloading the Windows 7 recovery disc at the moment. Hope this works :)

[darkod]

You have quite a decent mess, hold on, don't try too many things at the same time.

You see in the top of the results file it says grub2 installed on /dev/sda and looking in partition 6 for grub files. But in the fdisk results the disk with 7 partitions is /dev/sdf, not /dev/sda.

Also, on /dev/sda1 and /dev/sda2 you have some remains from wubi and grub (grldr) which shouldn't be there. I guess this is blocking the windows load files starting correctly.

Get rid of any wubi install you might have, check in Add/Remove programs. Deinstall it.

Make a plan which disk you want to boot from (I guess the internal one), and set HDD as boot options before USB-HDD in BIOS.

Otherwise it doesn't look too bad. And another thing, when you created the partition for ubuntu did you do it from windows? In that case it would be NTFS and of course linux doesn't install on ntfs. No need to create partitions in advance, even of linux type. Just leave the space as unallocated, not belonging to any partition, and then during the install process either use one of the guided methods or the manual partitioning.

[nikefalcon]

Get rid of any wubi install you might have, check in Add/Remove programs. Deinstall it.



How will he be able to do that??(he can't boot into windows, right??)

[iTzDyl]

I'm typing this from Windows 7 right now. I reinstalled the Windows 7 bootloader through my recovery disc. Everything seems fine and I have a partition with 80gb on it (thats on my external HDD). I think that was the one I made during the installation. I forgot Ubuntu couldn't install on NTFS.

So I should install Ubuntu on the 80gb of space on my extrenal hard drive? It is not formated to NTFS, it just empty space. I probably can install it onto my internal hard drive, but there is hardly any space left on it.

[darkod]

I'm typing this from Windows 7 right now. I reinstalled the Windows 7 bootloader through my recovery disc. Everything seems fine and I have a partition with 80gb on it (thats on my external HDD). I think that was the one I made during the installation. I forgot Ubuntu couldn't install on NTFS.

So I should install Ubuntu on the 80gb of space on my extrenal hard drive? It is not formated to NTFS, it just empty space. I probably can install it onto my internal hard drive, but there is hardly any space left on it.

Right now it's up to you. The ubuntu on /dev/sdf6 should still be there, you just have to install grub back. Also, if you plan to boot your PC with the ext hdd disconnected, you actually need to install grub2 on the ext hdd, not the int. Grub files will be on /dev/sdf6 and it won't boot without the ext if you put grub on the internal.

So, you can keep using the ubuntu on /dev/sdf6 or delete /dev/sdf6 and /dev/sdf7, maybe even /dev/sdf5 if that was the one you created for ubuntu, and install ubuntu on all that unallocated space after deleting them. In that case you should also delete /dev/sdf4 which is the extanded partition container for 5, 6 and 7. Ubuntu installer will create new extended partition in that space.

And make sure the bootloader goes to /dev/sdf (the ext hdd) as stated above. You can check that in the last screen of the installer clicking on the Advanced button.

If you want to keep using the current install just let us know and I can give you the commands to reinstall grub2 to /dev/sdf, no need to reinstall anything else.

[iTzDyl]

Right now it's up to you. The ubuntu on /dev/sdf6 should still be there, you just have to install grub back. Also, if you plan to boot your PC with the ext hdd disconnected, you actually need to install grub2 on the ext hdd, not the int. Grub files will be on /dev/sdf6 and it won't boot without the ext if you put grub on the internal.

So, you can keep using the ubuntu on /dev/sdf6 or delete /dev/sdf6 and /dev/sdf7, maybe even /dev/sdf5 if that was the one you created for ubuntu, and install ubuntu on all that unallocated space after deleting them. In that case you should also delete /dev/sdf4 which is the extanded partition container for 5, 6 and 7. Ubuntu installer will create new extended partition in that space.

And make sure the bootloader goes to /dev/sdf (the ext hdd) as stated above. You can check that in the last screen of the installer clicking on the Advanced button.

If you want to keep using the current install just let us know and I can give you the commands to reinstall grub2 to /dev/sdf, no need to reinstall anything else.

Your post blew my mind lol. Anyway, this is what I would like to have...

Currently, I have windows 7 ands Vista on my internal hard drive. So I have one partition for Vista, one for Win 7 and another as a recover. On my External, I have 4 partitions. One for games / software, one for movies / music, one for whatever and one that I was going to install Ubuntu to. I also have one that is not formatted to NTFS. I would like to install Ubuntu to the partition that is /dev/sdf6. I would like it so when I boot, it comes up with either the Windows boot loader or GRUB (I don't really care), and it asks me to boot into Win 7, vista or Ubuntu. Is it possible to install it to /dev/sdf6 on my external hard drive and have it ask to boot into Win 7 / Vista? Thanks for all the help so far.

[iTzDyl]

Oh, and in my Add or Remove Programs menu, I see something installed as Ubuntu. This might be from when I tried to install Ubuntu from Wubi. Should I uninstall that or leave it? It says it was installed on 5/3/10.

[darkod]

Your post blew my mind lol. Anyway, this is what I would like to have...

Currently, I have windows 7 ands Vista on my internal hard drive. So I have one partition for Vista, one for Win 7 and another as a recover. On my External, I have 4 partitions. One for games / software, one for movies / music, one for whatever and one that I was going to install Ubuntu to. I also have one that is not formatted to NTFS. I would like to install Ubuntu to the partition that is /dev/sdf6. I would like it so when I boot, it comes up with either the Windows boot loader or GRUB (I don't really care), and it asks me to boot into Win 7, vista or Ubuntu. Is it possible to install it to /dev/sdf6 on my external hard drive and have it ask to boot into Win 7 / Vista? Thanks for all the help so far.


/dev/sdf1 * 1 13114 105338173+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf2 13115 41593 228750010+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf3 41593 43037 11602704 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf4 43037 60802 142693377 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sdf5 53153 60802 61438976 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf6 43037 52735 77899776 83 Linux
/dev/sdf7 52735 53153 3350528 82 Linux swap / Solaris

The ext 500GB hdd has 60802 cylinders. As far as I can see, it's all used for partitions (whether with data or empty it doesn't matter).

/dev/sdf5, /dev/sdf6 and /dev/sdf7 are logical partitions inside /dev/sdf4.

If you want to boot without the ext hdd sometimes, grub2 must be on the ext hdd.

So, you would have:
Boot without the ext hdd, the windows bootloader from /dev/sda kicks in giving you options for 7 and Vista.
Boot with the ext hdd plugged, selecting at boot the USB-HDD as boot device (either in BIOS or in a boot menu by pressing F12 or similar, depending on the computer), then Grub2 from /dev/sdf would kick in, giving you options for ubuntu and windows, if you select windows there will be second menu to select 7 or Vista. This is a limitation of Microsoft which combines boot files if you have 2 or more version of windows installed.

In some cases there are exceptions but in most default cases your 7 and Vista files are already combined together and grub can't boot them directly without the second menu as a middle step.

Options:

1. Keep the current ubuntu from /dev/sdf6 and swap partition /dev/sdf7, use the approx 66GB ntfs /dev/sdf5 partition for anything you want.

For this option you just need to reinstall grub2 to /dev/sdf. Boot with the 10.04 cd in Try Ubuntu option, open terminal and do:

sudo fdisk (check that the ext hdd is really /dev/sdf)
sudo mount /dev/sdf6 /mnt
sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/ /dev/sdf

That will install grub2 on /dev/sdf with the root partition being /dev/sdf6. Restart, boot into ubuntu and do:
sudo update-grub

to recreate the grub menu.

2. If you want to use the whole space currently taken by /dev/sdf5-7 for ubuntu, boot the live desktop, open Gparted and delete in this order: /dev/sdf5, /dev/sdf6, /dev/sdf7 and /devsdf4. Before deleting /dev/sdf7 you will have to right-click it and select Swapoff, that will remove the keys lock symbol from it.
Click on the big green button in Gparted to execute the changes.
After that boot the ubuntu installer and select to install on /dev/sdf using the Use Largest Available Free space option, it will use the whole unallocated space created by deleting the partitions.
In the last screen of the installer click on Advanced and make sure the bootloder (grub2) gets installed on /dev/sdf.

[darkod]

Oh, and in my Add or Remove Programs menu, I see something installed as Ubuntu. This might be from when I tried to install Ubuntu from Wubi. Should I uninstall that or leave it? It says it was installed on 5/3/10.

Yes, that is wubi. I would try removing it although now it might complain about not finding some files to remove because the windows boot restore possibly overwrote some wubi boot files.

[iTzDyl]

Okay, I did what you said in option one. The terminal said there was no errors. When I restarted, I was given the choice to either boot into Win 7, Vista or Ubuntu. When I hit Ubuntu, it gave me an error that it couldn't be booted, so I went back and booted into Win 7 with no problem. Any ideas? Should I try option 2?

[darkod]

Post another results file from the live mode. Lets see how it looks now. I'm starting to think it changed device name, or your device.map is not correct.

[iTzDyl]

New Boot Info:


Boot Info Script 0.55 dated February 15th, 2010

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

=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda
=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdf and looks on the same drive in
partition #6 for /boot/grub.

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows Vista
Boot files/dirs: /bootmgr /Boot/BCD /Windows/System32/winload.exe /grldr

sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows 7
Boot files/dirs: /Windows/System32/winload.exe /wubildr.mbr /wubildr

sda3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs: /bootmgr /boot/bcd /grldr

sdf1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdf2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdf3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdf4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdf5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows Vista/7
Boot sector info: According to the info in the boot sector, sdf5 starts
at sector 2048.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdf6: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab /boot/grub/core.img

sdf7: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders, total 625142448 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 63 537,061,566 537,061,504 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 537,063,424 598,501,375 61,437,952 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 598,501,575 625,137,344 26,635,770 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: sdf ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdf: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdf1 * 63 210,676,409 210,676,347 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf2 210,676,410 668,176,430 457,500,021 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf3 668,178,432 691,383,839 23,205,408 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf4 691,384,318 976,771,071 285,386,754 f W95 Ext d (LBA)
/dev/sdf5 853,893,120 976,771,071 122,877,952 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdf6 691,384,320 847,183,871 155,799,552 83 Linux
/dev/sdf7 847,185,920 853,886,975 6,701,056 82 Linux swap / Solaris


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/sda1 70CC4ED4CC4E93EE ntfs Vista
/dev/sda2 BABC596DBC592563 ntfs Windows 7
/dev/sda3 949CA48C9CA46A86 ntfs FACTORY_IMAGE
/dev/sda: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdf1 01CA9AE1DFF2C970 ntfs Install and Download
/dev/sdf2 1A143F8E143F6C3F ntfs Uploads
/dev/sdf3 002AE2A42AE29646 ntfs Whatever
/dev/sdf4: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdf5 D89E931A9E92EFEC ntfs Ubuntu
/dev/sdf6 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f ext4
/dev/sdf7 707a93ed-a6f2-4153-8585-6c92251792e9 swap
/dev/sdf: PTTYPE="dos"
error: /dev/sdb: No medium found
error: /dev/sdc: No medium found
error: /dev/sdd: No medium found
error: /dev/sde: No medium found

============================ "mount | grep ^/dev output: ===========================

Device Mount_Point Type Options

aufs / aufs (rw)
/dev/sr0 /cdrom iso9660 (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime)


=========================== sdf6/boot/grub/grub.cfg: ===========================

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by /usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
set saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
save_env saved_entry
set prev_saved_entry=
save_env prev_saved_entry
set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then
saved_entry=${chosen}
save_env saved_entry
fi
}

function recordfail {
set recordfail=1
if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
set gfxmode=640x480
insmod gfxterm
insmod vbe
if terminal_output gfxterm ; then true ; else
# For backward compatibility with versions of terminal.mod that don't
# understand terminal_output
terminal gfxterm
fi
fi
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
set lang=en
insmod gettext
if [ ${recordfail} = 1 ]; then
set timeout=-1
else
set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic root=UUID=23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-21-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.32-21-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic root=UUID=23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-21-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,6)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)" {
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 70cc4ed4cc4e93ee
chainloader +1
}
menuentry "Windows Vista (loader) (on /dev/sda3)" {
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,3)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 949ca48c9ca46a86
chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries. Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment. Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

=============================== sdf6/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier
# for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name
# devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
# / was on /dev/sdf6 during installation
UUID=23882620-ca51-4a91-850d-1e28d2e4209f / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sdf7 during installation
UUID=707a93ed-a6f2-4153-8585-6c92251792e9 none swap sw 0 0

=================== sdf6: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


384.2GB: boot/grub/core.img
407.9GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
384.2GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-21-generic
384.1GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic
384.2GB: initrd.img
384.1GB: vmlinuz
=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================

Unknown BootLoader on sdf4

00000000 34 4e eb df c8 db 5b 67 72 96 34 f2 aa fd e6 13 |4N....[gr.4.....|
00000010 8f 1e 34 22 12 44 fb 86 08 6c 6b f4 9b 95 f3 19 |..4".D...lk.....|
00000020 db 2e 81 ef 6f 67 a8 83 0d fe e0 cc 0d a7 6b cf |....og........k.|
00000030 60 f5 49 ae f0 7d ce 36 a2 34 31 c9 eb b1 4e 9e |`.I..}.6.41...N.|
00000040 22 18 81 a6 57 cb c3 27 91 77 1f df 1e 40 f5 a7 |"...W..'.w...@..|
00000050 0d 69 ae 51 78 49 36 5b b4 56 94 fb d9 1b d9 00 |.i.QxI6[.V......|
00000060 31 19 f7 57 60 96 25 b1 40 02 9d 1c c8 2c f0 c0 |1..W`.%.@....,..|
00000070 02 6b d5 90 06 ae e2 62 44 79 4c 6e 61 41 07 1d |.k.....bDyLnaA..|
00000080 88 42 0a ca 79 97 e8 c4 74 91 af 86 e8 e3 13 2b |.B..y...t......+|
00000090 e4 c0 da 53 9e 34 38 93 3f d5 57 05 39 e3 7e c2 |...S.48.?.W.9.~.|
000000a0 5a ff 33 27 f6 32 56 f1 93 a7 1a 5f 15 58 5f 66 |Z.3'.2V...._.X_f|
000000b0 ae 77 04 47 52 0a da 60 a4 c0 1a f6 51 50 83 04 |.w.GR..`....QP..|
000000c0 b5 10 6c 55 f0 8c 56 01 ab 47 e4 9f 38 ef 61 04 |..lU..V..G..8.a.|
000000d0 41 29 7d a9 87 32 0c 94 93 c2 bf ee 5d 5c 45 a0 |A)}..2......]\E.|
000000e0 b9 27 e2 e2 f1 e8 6a 37 e8 25 8c c5 0f 00 b5 3a |.'....j7.%.....:|
000000f0 7f f4 b7 3d 2a 4f 4b d0 19 16 1c 31 3b 85 59 a1 |...=*OK....1;.Y.|
00000100 50 eb 06 cb 96 ee cd d8 3f d6 06 80 20 2d a3 3f |P.......?... -.?|
00000110 c7 f7 4f e0 8c d0 9d 06 8a e8 c3 b0 ec b4 97 da |..O.............|
00000120 3a 17 86 24 b7 a0 aa 02 02 fd 10 b3 9d ba 70 66 |:..$..........pf|
00000130 05 f6 90 4b d1 04 b4 8b a5 4b 35 6f d0 9f 2b c7 |...K.....K5o..+.|
00000140 95 db d1 a9 81 67 dd a9 5f a7 1d 6c 94 c6 f4 01 |.....g.._..l....|
00000150 48 41 77 65 28 d7 68 49 34 12 1d 82 4a f8 72 36 |HAwe(.hI4...J.r6|
00000160 35 d1 a2 1f 3c 9f a5 66 74 d3 b1 2b cb 2f ae 12 |5...<..ft..+./..|
00000170 54 b2 4d a9 ed ef b1 93 35 44 1a 08 b8 ca 58 db |T.M.....5D....X.|
00000180 5c c6 00 1f eb 3c 47 3c 46 66 b5 6d 59 ea 67 aa |\....<G<Ff.mY.g.|
00000190 8a 5f a7 b3 73 e5 a3 7d 49 3a bf fa 27 c0 b3 88 |._..s..}I:..'...|
000001a0 46 5d 06 d0 09 1d 2b eb ad 5d 09 b3 19 9b 3b c1 |F]....+..]....;.|
000001b0 19 2e 02 d2 08 b5 46 50 11 9a 1f 01 c4 77 00 fe |......FP.....w..|
000001c0 ff ff 07 fe ff ff 02 b0 af 09 00 f8 52 07 00 fe |............R...|
000001d0 ff ff 05 fe ff ff 01 00 00 00 01 50 49 09 00 00 |...........PI...|
000001e0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 |................|
000001f0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 55 aa |..............U.|
00000200


=======Devices which don't seem to have a corresponding hard drive==============

sdb sdc sdd sde

[darkod]

I can't see anything specifically wrong right now. Sorry. I'll see if some idea comes up.

[oldfred]

Darko mentioned it - print out your device.map

less /boot/grub/device.map

Something does not seem right as Ubuntu wants hd1
set root='(hd1,6)'

but everything else is sdf????

[iTzDyl]

Darko mentioned it - print out your device.map

less /boot/grub/device.map

Something does not seem right as Ubuntu wants hd1
set root='(hd1,6)'

but everything else is sdf????

I don't get what your saying.

Go into the Live CD, go to that directory and open it and Paste what it says here?

[oldfred]

Path may not be right if you are on liveCD.(oops).

Need to see what your system has in its version.
Path may add /media (or more?) to the mount point of your install.

[iTzDyl]

I guess I'll bump this to see if anybody can give me some help.

oldfred, sorry but I still don't understand what your trying to say :(

[darkod]

Boot with the ubuntu cd in live mode (since you can't boot your ubuntu installation).
Click on Places, you will see your root partition in there, it will probably say something like 80GB filesystem. Click on it to open it.

Once inside, just follow the path, /boot/grub and there should be file device.map. Open it and copy the content here.

I'm not sure if the terminal commands are easier for you, or opening the folders in a GUI. With text commands in terminal I guess the following should work:

sudo mount /dev/sdf6 /mnt
less /mnt/boot/grub/device.map

[iTzDyl]

Hmmm, there is no device.map. Do you think that is the problem?

Tried both the GUI and terminal. There is no file in the GUI terminal says no file found :(

[darkod]

Hmmm... but in that case it wouldn't be able to boot windows neither.

OK, to create it from live mode, execute:

sudo mount /dev/sdf6 /mnt
sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
chroot /mnt grub-mkdevicemap
chroot /mnt update-grub
sudo umount /mnt/sys
sudo umount /mnt/dev
sudo umount /mnt/proc

Lets see if that helps.

[iTzDyl]

When I type: chroot /mnt grub-mkdevicemap

I get: chroot: cannot change root directory to /mnt: Operation not permitted

[oldfred]

When you use the liveCD does the external come up as sdf?

Did you copy the commands and not type them as a typo can cause problems?