installed ubuntu, then XP now only XP loads! HELP!!

[Vuk Matic]

okay so i really like ubuntu so i installed that first and then i decided that it would be handy to have windows xp as well; since it is one of the most compatible OSs ever. I installed it on a separate partition to ubuntu. Now it automatically boots me into Win XP, i dont get a boot loader or anything (no choice to change OS). now im wondering what can i do to fix this? Some other guy on the forum said to type :sudo grub-install /dev/sdx
sdx being the whole drive and not the partition. Now i tried this but i had no idea what to change sdx to? :( since im a newbie ubuntu user! any help is appreciated!


thanks in advance,
Vuk Matic

[Goolie]

It's always best to install Windows OS's and then Ubuntu. Basically, the Master Boot Record has been altered. So you're only option is to boot into Windows. You'll need to alter the MBR. I think you should do this from Ubuntu. I know it's not detailed, but hopefully this will point you in the right direction.

[Vuk Matic]

It's always best to install Windows OS's and then Ubuntu. Basically, the Master Boot Record has been altered. So you're only option is to boot into Windows. You'll need to alter the MBR. I think you should do this from Ubuntu. I know it's not detailed, but hopefully this will point you in the right direction.


thanks for the quick reply! yeah i thought thats what happened! But i ll wait to see if someone has a more detailed answer or something i can do. If all goes wrong i can always start over by installing windows first.

[dino99]

boot on unbuntu cd or usb stick, then install grub-pc on /dev/sdx

where sdx is your ubuntu mbr

then

sudo grub-mkconfig
sudo update-grub

[Vuk Matic]

boot on unbuntu cd or usb stick, then install grub-pc on /dev/sdx

where sdx is your ubuntu mbr

then

sudo grub-mkconfig
sudo update-grub


im sorry im a complete noobie... how do i know what the mbr is? because there is no such file in my /dev ! theres an shm file which i tried to boot through and that didnt work.
when you say install grub-pc do you mean:
sudo apt-get install grub-pc because that tells me that its at the newest version! i dont know how to install it to a specific place (dev/sdx) ! when i tried the rest of the commands
it says (for the first one) /usr/sbin/grub-probe: error: cannot find a device for / (is /dev mounted?)

and for the next command i get the exact same error!

[robertomano24]

im sorry im a complete noobie... how do i know what the mbr is? because there is no such file in my /dev ! theres an shm file which i tried to boot through and that didnt work.
when you say install grub-pc do you mean:
sudo apt-get install grub-pc because that tells me that its at the newest version! i dont know how to install it to a specific place (dev/sdx) ! when i tried the rest of the commands
it says (for the first one) /usr/sbin/grub-probe: error: cannot find a device for / (is /dev mounted?)

and for the next command i get the exact same error!

mbr = master boot record

i would use the live cd to re-install grub in the installation. rescue broken system. thats what i did. since ive done what you did 400 times :)

[Vuk Matic]

screw it, i deleted my ubuntu and now im reinstalling it and i ll see where that takes me :D

[robertomano24]

that works too :D

[Vuk Matic]

worked like a charm :)