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View Full Version : [ubuntu] WinXP attempt install messes up Ubuntu partitions, auto-mounting



dh003i
December 18th, 2010, 08:35 PM
Background information:

I need to install WinXP on my computer to use Spectraview II software for monitor profiling. Tried it under Wine, didn't work...thought about virtualization, but Graeme Gill (creator of Argyll) said that probably wouldn't work:


The problem is that emulators often don't implement hardware details properly or at all. There's no standard way on Linux to read/write the DDC, so there is no surprise that wine doesn't emulate MSWin's API's for this. It's doubtful that any of the VM's do either. USB can be an issue too, and some instruments may not work in an emulated environment.


I already had Ubuntu 10.10 installed, so thought I'd try installing WinXP after, then recovering the MBR. Lots of headache.

Problems installing WinXP

My initial setup was like so (all non-swap partitions ext4):

/dev/sda1 -- 16GB swap
/dev/sda2 -- /boot
/dev/sda3 -- /
/dev/sda4 -- extended
/dev/sda5 -- /backup
/dev/sda6 -- /tmp
/dev/sda7 -- /var
/dev/sda8 -- /home


First I tried installing WinXP on /dev/sda5. I didn't realize that it had to be a primary partition. WinXP failed to install and destroyed the MBR (no OS loaded when trying to boot). I tried to reinstall GRUB2 using this method (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RecoveringUbuntuAfterInstallingWindows), but I had GRUB & GRUB2, so didn't work. So then used the purge & reinstall method (file:///media/DIESEL/Grub2%20-%20Purge%20and%20Reinstall.html), that worked.

Second, I tried installing WinXP where /dev/sda1 was. Booted WinXP That didn't work either. I booted the WinXP CD, deleted /dev/sda1 to make it unused space, tried to create an XP partition on it (which didn't work), and tried to install XP there (which didn't work). It gave me some error about "Disk 0 ld 0 on atapi (MBR)" and "no Win XP compatible partition" and said something about not being able to create more partitions. (paraphrased).

Third, again of course my MBR was gone, so I reinstalled GRUB2 there. Now, Ubuntu 10.10 boots, but shows 16GB of unusable space in the beginning.

Current situation

I've kind of "fixed" ubuntu 10.10, but the partitions are a little bit out of whack, and there is 16GB of "unusable space" where I tried to install WinXP.

See the results of mount, sudo fdisk -l, and sudo cfdisk /dev/sda in this pastebin (http://pastebin.com/PJ81Mz9Z).


$ mount
/dev/sda2 on / type ext4 (rw,errors=remount-ro,commit=0)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
none on /sys type sysfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
fusectl on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw)
none on /sys/kernel/debug type debugfs (rw)
none on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw)
none on /dev type devtmpfs (rw,mode=0755)
none on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,noexec,nosuid,gid=5,mode=0620)
none on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev)
none on /var/run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,mode=0755)
none on /var/lock type tmpfs (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
/dev/sda4 on /tmp type ext4 (rw,commit=0)
/dev/sda6 on /var type ext4 (rw,commit=0)
/dev/sda1 on /boot type ext4 (rw,commit=0)
/dev/sda7 on /home type ext4 (rw,commit=0)
binfmt_misc on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type binfmt_misc (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev)
gvfs-fuse-daemon on /home/davidjheinrich/.gvfs type fuse.gvfs-fuse-daemon (rw,nosuid,nodev,user=davidjheinrich)



$ sudo fdisk -l
[sudo] password for davidjheinrich:
omitting empty partition (5)

Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 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: 0x0004258c

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1993 2022 240975 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 2023 5912 31246425 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 5913 121601 929271862 5 Extended
/dev/sda4 9803 11047 10000431 83 Linux
/dev/sda5 5913 9802 31246362 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 11048 12292 10000431 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 12293 121601 878024511 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdb: 4009 MB, 4009754624 bytes
23 heads, 22 sectors/track, 15477 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 506 * 512 = 259072 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x9d3285cd

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 16 15478 3911744 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)



$ sudo cfdisk /dev/sda
cfdisk (util-linux-ng 2.17.2)

Disk Drive: /dev/sda
Size: 1000204886016 bytes, 1000.2 GB
Heads: 255 Sectors per Track: 63 Cylinders: 121601

Name Flags Part Type FS Type [Label] Size (MB)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unusable 16384.76
sda1 Boot Primary Linux ext3 246.76
sda2 Primary Linux ext3 31996.34
Logical Free Space 0.04 *
sda5 NC Logical Linux swap / Solaris 31996.31 *
Logical Free Space 0.04 *
sda4 Primary Linux ext3 10240.45 *
sda6 Logical Linux ext3 10240.48
sda7 Logical Linux ext3 899097.14

Also see the results of running sudo bash ./boot_info_script055.sh on this pastebin (http://pastebin.com/D4V1Tk0Y) (see this boot info script website (http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net/)):


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 #1 for (,msdos1)/grub.
=> No boot loader? is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb
=> No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdh

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 10.10
Boot files/dirs: /etc/fstab

sda3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sda5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sda6: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sda7: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sda4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: vfat
Boot sector type: MSWIN4.1: Fat 32
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

sdh1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/menu.lst /etc/fstab

=========================== 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
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sda1 * 32,001,480 32,483,429 481,950 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 32,483,430 94,976,279 62,492,850 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 94,976,341 1,953,520,064 1,858,543,724 5 Extended
Extended partition linking to another extended partition
/dev/sda5 94,976,406 157,469,129 62,492,724 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 177,470,118 197,470,979 20,000,862 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 197,471,043 1,953,520,064 1,756,049,022 83 Linux
/dev/sda4 157,469,193 177,470,054 20,000,862 83 Linux

/dev/sda3 overlaps with /dev/sda4

Drive: sdb ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdb: 4009 MB, 4009754624 bytes
23 heads, 22 sectors/track, 15477 cylinders, total 7831552 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdb1 8,064 7,831,551 7,823,488 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)


Drive: sdh ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdh: 2000.4 GB, 2000398934016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders, total 3907029168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdh1 1 3,907,029,167 3,907,029,167 ee GPT


GUID Partition Table detected.

Partition Start End Size System
/dev/sdh1 34 3,907,029,134 3,907,029,101 Linux or Data

blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/sda1 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d ext4
/dev/sda2 df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ext4
/dev/sda3: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sda4 c3dc04e2-0baf-4d00-97d4-1c2c60d19802 ext4
/dev/sda5 2442d81f-02f3-4833-81c2-c5b6bb83a31a swap
/dev/sda6 c0c31913-68a6-4ba6-8d4d-6391baebe119 ext4
/dev/sda7 fed753a6-3668-4475-bf93-4644791a3566 ext4
/dev/sda: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdb1 1547-F258 vfat DIESEL
/dev/sdb: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdh1 99354207-cfae-4373-8c2a-11003514ac94 ext4 Backup 1
/dev/sdh: PTTYPE="gpt"
error: /dev/sdc: No medium found
error: /dev/sdd: No medium found
error: /dev/sde: No medium found
error: /dev/sdf: No medium found
error: /dev/sdg: No medium found

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

Device Mount_Point Type Options

/dev/sda2 / ext4 (rw,errors=remount-ro,commit=0)
/dev/sda4 /tmp ext4 (rw,commit=0)
/dev/sda6 /var ext4 (rw,commit=0)
/dev/sda1 /boot ext4 (rw,commit=0)
/dev/sda7 /home ext4 (rw,commit=0)


============================= sda1/grub/grub.cfg: =============================

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

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

function load_video {
insmod vbe
insmod vga
}

insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos3)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
set gfxmode=640x480
load_video
insmod gfxterm
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
set locale_dir=($root)/grub/locale
set lang=en
insmod gettext
if [ "${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 2.6.35-23-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
linux /vmlinuz-2.6.35-23-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro quiet splash
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.35-23-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.35-23-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.35-23-generic ...'
linux /vmlinuz-2.6.35-23-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.35-23-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.35-22-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
linux /vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro quiet splash
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.35-22-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.35-22-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.35-22-generic ...'
linux /vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.35-22-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-26-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
linux /vmlinuz-2.6.32-26-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro quiet splash
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-26-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-26-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.32-26-generic ...'
linux /vmlinuz-2.6.32-26-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-26-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
linux16 /memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
linux16 /memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
if [ "x${timeout}" != "x-1" ]; then
if keystatus; then
if keystatus --shift; then
set timeout=-1
else
set timeout=0
fi
else
if sleep --interruptible 3 ; then
set timeout=0
fi
fi
fi
### 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 ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###

=================== sda1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


16.3GB: boot/grub/core.img
16.3GB: grub/core.img
16.4GB: grub/grub.cfg
16.3GB: grub/stage2
16.5GB: initrd.img-2.6.32-26-generic
16.4GB: initrd.img-2.6.35-22-generic
16.4GB: initrd.img-2.6.35-23-generic
16.4GB: vmlinuz-2.6.32-26-generic
16.4GB: vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic
16.4GB: vmlinuz-2.6.35-23-generic

=============================== sda2/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/sda3 during installation
UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /backup was on /dev/sda5 during installation
#UUID=bd3a4de2-6118-4a88-9e76-9e2a153f9682 /backup ext4 defaults 0 2
# /boot was on /dev/sda2 during installation
UUID=3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d /boot ext4 defaults 0 2
# /home was on /dev/sda8 during installation
UUID=fed753a6-3668-4475-bf93-4644791a3566 /home ext4 defaults 0 2
# /tmp was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=c3dc04e2-0baf-4d00-97d4-1c2c60d19802 /tmp ext4 defaults 0 2
# /var was on /dev/sda7 during installation
UUID=c0c31913-68a6-4ba6-8d4d-6391baebe119 /var ext4 defaults 0 2
# swap was on /dev/sda1 during installation
# UUID=d6e7656c-54a0-44d6-baa5-1432b296af91 none swap sw 0 0
UUID=2442d81f-02f3-4833-81c2-c5b6bb83a31a none swap sw 0 0

/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/scd1 /media/floppy1 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

=================== sda2: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


16.7GB: initrd.img
16.7GB: initrd.img.old
16.6GB: vmlinuz
16.6GB: vmlinuz.old

=========================== sdh1/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 3

## 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 topsecret

#
# 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=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d

## 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

## specify if running in Xen domU or have grub detect automatically
## update-grub will ignore non-xen kernels when running in domU and vice versa
## e.g. indomU=detect
## indomU=true
## indomU=false
# indomU=detect

## 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 10.04.1 LTS, kernel 2.6.32-25-generic
uuid 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-25-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro quiet splash
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-25-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS, kernel 2.6.32-25-generic (recovery mode)
uuid 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-25-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro single
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-25-generic

title Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS, kernel 2.6.32-24-generic
uuid 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro quiet splash
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-24-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS, kernel 2.6.32-24-generic (recovery mode)
uuid 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro single
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-24-generic

title Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS, kernel 2.6.32-23-generic
uuid 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-23-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro quiet splash
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-23-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS, kernel 2.6.32-23-generic (recovery mode)
uuid 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-23-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro single
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-23-generic

title Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS, kernel 2.6.32-22-generic
uuid 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro quiet splash
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-22-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS, kernel 2.6.32-22-generic (recovery mode)
uuid 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic root=UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 ro single
initrd /initrd.img-2.6.32-22-generic

title Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS, memtest86+
uuid 3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d
kernel /memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

=============================== sdh1/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'vol_id --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 defaults 0 0
# / was on /dev/sda3 during installation
UUID=df856144-d9bf-4ea2-8829-691eee29e4a0 / ext4 relatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /backup was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=bd3a4de2-6118-4a88-9e76-9e2a153f9682 /backup ext4 relatime 0 2
# /boot was on /dev/sda2 during installation
UUID=3695fb5e-2c7b-4991-928a-e2648c4e5b1d /boot ext4 relatime 0 2
# /home was on /dev/sda8 during installation
UUID=fed753a6-3668-4475-bf93-4644791a3566 /home ext4 relatime 0 2
# /tmp was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=c3dc04e2-0baf-4d00-97d4-1c2c60d19802 /tmp ext4 relatime 0 2
# /var was on /dev/sda7 during installation
UUID=c0c31913-68a6-4ba6-8d4d-6391baebe119 /var ext4 relatime 0 2
# swap was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=d6e7656c-54a0-44d6-baa5-1432b296af91 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom0 udf,iso9660 user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

=================== sdh1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


610.0GB: boot/grub/menu.lst
610.0GB: boot/grub/stage2
610.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-22-generic
610.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-23-generic
610.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-24-generic
610.0GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-25-generic
610.0GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic
610.0GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-23-generic
610.0GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-generic
610.1GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-25-generic
610.0GB: initrd.img
610.0GB: initrd.img.old
.1GB: vmlinuz
.1GB: vmlinuz.old
=======Devices which don't seem to have a corresponding hard drive==============

sdc sdd sde sdf sdg

Plan and Suggestions?

My thinking is I'm going to run sudo rsync -arux / /mnt/Backup 1 (my 2TB backup HD's name) from a new admin user to backup, before I try anything else. I have SATA hard-drives, and wilee-nilee has told me that because my HD's are SATA, WinXP won't work well with them unless I change the BIOS to ahci/ide, but then Ubuntu might not boot. So maybe I should get Win Vista? (Spectraview II can't yet run in Windows7, so I can't use that).

But if Windows won't even let me install, isn't there a problem even if I backup everything and try to install windows first?

akand074
December 18th, 2010, 09:04 PM
You only have 3 primary partitions. Meaning your allowed to make one more primary partition. Just delete whatever partition you don't want and make enough room for Windows XP (you can even leave it as unallocated space). Then boot into your Windows XP disk and choose the unallocated space to install Windows in (that way it will automatically make it Primary/NTFS and whatever other settings it may want). It will wipe out your GRUB again, so you'll have to reinstall it after that.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, if I were you I would avoid Vista. Stick with XP if you can't use 7.

wilee-nilee
December 18th, 2010, 09:25 PM
Have you looked in the bios to see if it is set to sata or ide HD? Try the old non sata and see if Ubuntu boots if it does you should be able to do a custom install of XP in the empty space. Custom from the XP CD, to unallocated space before the Ubuntu.

This will change the partition number for Ubuntu though no big deal as MS will be in the MBR, and the grub2 bootloader can be reloaded.