[ubuntu] Ubuntu/Win7 dual boot - now Win7 won't load [Archive]

View Full Version : [ubuntu] Ubuntu/Win7 dual boot - now Win7 won't load

rmm64

December 31st, 2010, 08:45 PM

Hi all, new user here hoping to get some help and save the day.

Some background. I was referred to Ubuntu 10.04 by a friend to fix a bad drive partition (not the boot drive) which worked great. I then also used it to recover some files that had accidentally been deleted. The Ubuntu utilities worked so well I decided to install and run a dual boot alongside Windows 7 Ultimate x64. Install went fine and Grub worked as it should, allowing the choice of which to boot at startup.

So after some time, I was notified upgrades were available, so I allowed them to install. After rebooting, Grub failed to load, thus I couldn't boot either OS. So, unsure what to do, I reinstalled Ubuntu again and was able to dual boot both OS again. Problem (semi) fixed and I was back in Win7 again for normal stuff.

So my computer freezes up overnight (while in Win7) and my wife restarts the computer not knowing about the previous probs. Now, no Grub loader, no OS boot, again. Rather than installing yet ANOTHER Ubuntu, I ran Testdisk off the CD and was able to fix the partition and get Grub to load again, only now I can only boot into Ubuntu. Selecting Windows 7 results in a load error forcing me to restart.

So right now I can only get into Ubuntu (which I've updated to v11.04 now.) I'm semi-certain it's either a problem with Grub or the MBR, but am unsure how to fix this without potentially messing it all up forcing me to reformat the drive and reinstall Win7 (there's a few valuable files I'd need to recover before doing that, as a very last resort.) It could be my installing Ubuntu twice now has messed up Grub too, but am unsure (it loaded either OS fine before the upgrade.)

I tried using Testdisk again to recover the partion, but either I'm not understanding the results shown, or the partition is missing (getting no results on the install drive, yet here I am using Ubuntu now.)

I'm hoping someone can help me figure this out and help me get my Win7 install to load again as I really need to recover some files before doing anything as drastic as reinstalling (plus the added pain of reinstalling all my software again.) I figured it was best to ask here before screwing something up even worse than it is (if I haven't already.) I've seen similar postings online with solutions, but was unsure of the suggested results as compared to my specific situation since there can be numerous variables.

I ran the boot_info_script as suggested in another thread, and can see Windows Vista/7 listed, so am hoping it's still recoverable and it's just a MBR or Grub error that can fixed. I do see where Grub 2 is installed into both sda and sdb, so maybe that's the issue too?

Here are the results:

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 #256 for /boot/grub.
=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb and looks on the same drive in
partition #256 for /boot/grub.
=> No known boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdc
=> No known boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdd

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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:

sdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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:

sdb2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 10.10
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab /boot/grub/core.img

sdb6: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdc1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system:
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Mounting failed:
mount: unknown filesystem type ''

sdc2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system:
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Mounting failed:
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''

sdc3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system:
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Mounting failed:
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''

sdc4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system:
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Mounting failed:
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''

sdd1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system:
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Mounting failed:
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''

sdd2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system:
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Mounting failed:
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''

sdd3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system:
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Mounting failed:
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''

sdd4: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system:
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Mounting failed:
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''
mount: unknown filesystem type ''

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 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/sda1 2,048 3,907,026,943 3,907,024,896 7 HPFS/NTFS

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

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdb1 2,048 977,290,203 977,288,156 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2 977,291,262 1,953,523,711 976,232,450 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 977,291,264 1,929,746,431 952,455,168 83 Linux
/dev/sdb6 1,929,748,480 1,953,523,711 23,775,232 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Drive: sdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

Invalid MBR Signature found
/dev/sdc1 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdc2 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdc3 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdc4 ? 0 -1 Unknown

Drive: sdd ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

Invalid MBR Signature found
/dev/sdd1 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdd2 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdd3 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdd4 ? 0 -1 Unknown

blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/sda1 66728F20728EF459 ntfs Samsung 2TB SATA
/dev/sda: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdb1 C47C2ED67C2EC2D2 ntfs Western Digital 1TB SATA
/dev/sdb2: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdb5 640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e ext4
/dev/sdb6 895f59a9-81be-4f97-a5e5-93ce6818b786 swap
/dev/sdb: PTTYPE="dos"
error: /dev/sdc2: No such file or directory
error: /dev/sdc3: No such file or directory
error: /dev/sdc4: No such file or directory
error: /dev/sdd2: No such file or directory
error: /dev/sdd3: No such file or directory
error: /dev/sdd4: No such file or directory

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

Device Mount_Point Type Options

/dev/sdb5 / ext4 (rw,errors=remount-ro,commit=0)
/dev/sda1 /media/Samsung_2TB_SATA fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096,default_ permissions)
/dev/sdb1 /media/Western_Digital_1TB_SATA fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096,default_ permissions)

=========================== sdb5/boot/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='(hd2,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e
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='(hd2,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e
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 2.6.35-24-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd2,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-24-generic root=UUID=640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-24-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.35-24-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd2,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.35-24-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-24-generic root=UUID=640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-24-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-27-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd2,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-27-generic root=UUID=640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-27-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-27-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
recordfail
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd2,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.32-27-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-27-generic root=UUID=640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-27-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='(hd2,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd2,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e
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 part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 5ab0429bb0427d8f
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 ###

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

=============================== sdb5/etc/fstab: ===============================

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>

proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0
#Entry for /dev/sdb5 :
UUID=640e8599-2f10-4189-a953-980c1cd0895e / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
#Entry for /dev/sda1 :
UUID=66728F20728EF459 /media/Samsung_2TB_SATA ntfs defaults,nls=utf8,umask=0222 0 0
#Entry for /dev/sdb1 :
UUID=C47C2ED67C2EC2D2 /media/Western_Digital_1TB_SATA ntfs defaults,nls=utf8,umask=0222 0 0
#Entry for /dev/sdb6 :
UUID=895f59a9-81be-4f97-a5e5-93ce6818b786 none swap sw 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

=================== sdb5: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================

582.1GB: boot/grub/core.img
552.1GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
501.4GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-27-generic
501.8GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-24-generic
582.1GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-27-generic
582.1GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-24-generic
501.8GB: initrd.img
501.4GB: initrd.img.old
582.1GB: vmlinuz
582.1GB: vmlinuz.old
=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================

Unknown MBR on /dev/sdc

Unknown MBR on /dev/sdd

Unknown BootLoader on sdb2

00000000 ff ff ff ff fd 9e 17 9d aa 2e 9b 57 95 ea 97 2a |...........W...*|
00000010 ff ff ff ff ff ff e1 ba 14 37 1a 6d 9a af a6 99 |.........7.m....|
00000020 2e 96 40 18 88 54 f9 a5 24 69 61 2e 78 58 40 a4 |..@..T..$ia.xX@.|
00000030 24 27 ea b8 91 b7 05 58 d6 d3 8d 96 10 52 e8 2c |$'.....X.....R.,|
00000040 cf 45 dd 0b 0a f4 42 a4 bc 89 29 da 15 01 bc 7e |.E....B...)....~|
00000050 a2 10 e4 7a 98 19 91 c4 7c 47 10 83 48 cf 25 63 |...z....|G..H.%c|
00000060 80 45 83 e0 02 91 78 84 0b b9 bc 75 29 85 80 62 |.E....x....u)..b|
00000070 2a 0e 73 ec 4d 48 69 c6 f1 76 83 26 e7 19 e8 2d |*.s.MHi..v.&...-|
00000080 e7 f9 20 58 41 43 a2 a9 e9 02 3b 10 82 64 ce 56 |.. XAC....;..d.V|
00000090 25 48 5a 25 30 89 54 be 39 15 ca 64 6a 92 1b f6 |%HZ%0.T.9..dj...|
000000a0 ae a5 52 c6 b2 96 96 82 a8 4b 23 1a 94 ea cd b7 |..R......K#.....|
000000b0 ed aa 75 44 ef 75 b8 ec 70 b3 11 bb 6d 55 cb 2d |..uD.u..p...mU.-|
000000c0 1f 33 66 1d 66 9f 70 21 da be 9e 3e af b8 9f 1a |.3f.f.p!...>....|
000000d0 be e9 bc d2 15 75 bf 8d 53 76 c5 ed 8d ea bf d6 |.....u..Sv......|
000000e0 35 73 ad ff ed 9d ef 5b ce 35 ad fa e7 fc ff ff |5s.....[.5......|
000000f0 ff ff ff ff ff ff f1 ef 48 f1 9c 63 03 22 21 27 |........H..c."!'|
00000100 f8 d3 e5 c3 c8 00 a4 78 87 69 52 3b 10 0a 54 08 |.......x.iR;..T.|
00000110 b4 47 73 53 d9 c1 40 ee 55 23 63 1a a1 38 85 a2 |.GsS..@.U#c..8..|
00000120 98 13 c5 9a e1 75 0d 0e 2b 4e 56 37 cc 6a c6 c8 |.....u..+NV7.j..|
00000130 73 f9 d5 52 af bc 45 f7 f4 9d fc 78 6d 69 74 66 |s..R..E....xmitf|
00000140 d4 4e 4a 25 42 3e 3b a4 6e d5 69 f6 c7 06 05 72 |.NJ%B>;.n.i....r|
00000150 ea 31 34 6f 7a bf 06 1a 10 9b 53 43 8d 15 0a 33 |.14oz.....SC...3|
00000160 8b ad 24 52 b6 1c 2a e3 f9 2e cb 11 93 30 71 8a |..$R..*......0q.|
00000170 cd af 02 ba be 31 48 8d 77 a4 b7 ff fb d0 44 3b |.....1H.w.....D;|
00000180 00 06 d9 88 5b 86 3d e0 01 09 31 1b 20 cd 3c 00 |....[.=...1. .<.|
00000190 1a 1d e7 64 1d 87 80 0a da 3c 2d 43 b0 90 01 ad |...d.....<-C....|
000001a0 e0 45 8a d9 01 74 86 13 a3 b9 09 72 d5 1b 97 0c |.E...t.....r....|
000001b0 e5 1d 87 6a 39 b2 89 c7 da 8f b2 d9 1a 6b 00 fe |...j9........k..|
000001c0 ff ff 83 fe ff ff 02 00 00 00 00 50 c5 38 00 fe |...........P.8..|
000001d0 ff ff 05 fe ff ff 02 50 c5 38 00 d0 6a 01 00 00 |.......P.8..j...|
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

Unknown BootLoader on sdc1

Unknown BootLoader on sdc2

Unknown BootLoader on sdc3

Unknown BootLoader on sdc4

Unknown BootLoader on sdd1

Unknown BootLoader on sdd2

Unknown BootLoader on sdd3

Unknown BootLoader on sdd4

=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================

hexdump: /dev/sdc: Input/output error
hexdump: /dev/sdd: Input/output error
hexdump: /dev/sdc: Input/output error
hexdump: /dev/sdc: Input/output error
hexdump: /dev/sdd: Input/output error
hexdump: /dev/sdd: Input/output error
hexdump: /dev/sdc1: Input/output error
hexdump: /dev/sdc1: Input/output error
hexdump: /dev/sdc2: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdc2: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdc3: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdc3: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdc4: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdc4: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdd1: Input/output error
hexdump: /dev/sdd1: Input/output error
hexdump: /dev/sdd2: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdd2: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdd3: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdd3: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdd4: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/sdd4: No such file or directory

Much thanks to any and all that can help me figure this out and (hopefully) solve it to get Win7 and Ubuntu dual booting as they should.

I'm hoping someone can give me a detailed, step-by-step instruction of what to do. I'm fairly tech-savvy, but am very intimidated making changes to base system settings such as the MBR.

And Happy New Year to all!

presence1960

December 31st, 2010, 09:15 PM

rmm64

December 31st, 2010, 09:25 PM

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

=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks on the same drive in
partition #256 for /boot/grub.
=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb and looks on the same drive in
partition #256 for /boot/grub.
=> No known boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdc
=> No known boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdd

Part of your problem is in red above.

Questions:

Do you have RAID set up?

What is dev sdc & sdd and what is on them?

No, not running a RAID setup.

I assume sdc & sdd are the other supplemental drives I have. I have a total of 4 internal HDs. One 80GB (the main drive where both Win7 and Ubuntu are installed), and three other drives (a 120GB, 1TB, and 2TB.) The 1TB drive was the one originally having partition probs that prompted me to try Ubuntu to get it fixed. I've since moved all the files off that drive to the new 2TB drive I installed, so now the 1TB is completely empty. I think it may still have some partition or bad sector issues, but I can deal with that later. I just really need to get Win7 loading and working properly.

If I can't get the dual boot working properly, I'd rather just wipe out the Ubuntu installs completely and get Win7 working correctly (again, ideally without having to reinstall.) I can always run Ubuntu off the CD when I need it.

Hope that helps clarify.

presence1960

December 31st, 2010, 09:37 PM

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 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/sda1 2,048 3,907,026,943 3,907,024,896 7 HPFS/NTFS

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

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdb1 2,048 977,290,203 977,288,156 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2 977,291,262 1,953,523,711 976,232,450 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 977,291,264 1,929,746,431 952,455,168 83 Linux
/dev/sdb6 1,929,748,480 1,953,523,711 23,775,232 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Drive: sdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

Invalid MBR Signature found
/dev/sdc1 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdc2 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdc3 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdc4 ? 0 -1 Unknown

Drive: sdd ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

Invalid MBR Signature found
/dev/sdd1 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdd2 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdd3 ? 0 -1 Unknown
/dev/sdd4 ? 0 -1 Unknown

sda is the 2 TB disk.
sdb is the 1 TB disk. Ubuntu is installed on this disk in sdb5 with swap on sdb6.

Your windows is not installed on either of these disks. You say your windows is installed on the 80 Gb disk. We need to try to fix whatever errors are on that disk, as it is either sdc or sdd. The errors are keeping the script from mounting that disk and reading it.

1. Reboot & go into BIOS and set the 80 Gb disk as first in the hard disk boot order. Save changes to CMOS and boot the windows 7 install DVD or the Recovery Console CD. Click repair, then choose command prompt. Type
chkdsk C: -r
Wait for it to finish, do not interrupt it, it may take a while. When completed try booting windows. If it doesn't boot repeat above until running chkdsk shows no errors.

If we can get windows running we can always fix GRUB.

presence1960

December 31st, 2010, 09:45 PM

rmm64

December 31st, 2010, 11:14 PM

also from the command prompt after chdsk is done you can try running:

bootrec.exe /fixbootwhen that is completed run:

bootrec.exe /fixmbrThen type exit and reboot without the CD/DVD leaving 80 Gb as first disk to boot and see if windows boots.

Ok, I've tried as suggested rebooting with the Win7 install disc and running the command prompt repairs. First off, using the "chkdsk c: -r" prompted an invalid parameter -r response. I tried running it as just "chkdsk c:" which did scan the drive and reported no errors. I also tried the Startup Repair and System Repair options to no avail. When prompting to load the drivers, the Windows install disc did see the installation, but reported the partition size as 0 and unknown. Also, changing the 80GB drive where Windows is gave an error as well.

Now when Grub loads, Ubuntu fails to load as well, giving the following response:

Try (hd0,0): NTFS5: No wubildr
Try (hd0,1): invalid or null
Try (hd0,2): invalid or null
Try (hd0,3): invalid or null
Try (hd1,0): NTFS5: 2
Try (hd1,1): invalid or null
Try (hd1,2): invalid or null
Try (hd1,3): invalid or null
Try (hd2,0): NTFS5, No wubildr
Try (hd2,1): invalid or null
Try (hd2,2): invalid or null
Try (hd2,3): invalid or null

Selecting Windows 7 from the Grub loader gives the same response as before:

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:

1. Insert your Windows installation disc and restart your computer
2. Choose your language settings and click "Next."
3. Click "Repair your computer."

If you do not have this disc, contact your system administrator or computer manufacturer for assistance.

Status: 0x0000225
Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.

If I'm understanding this right, it seems the partition is messed up on the main C drive and with the (re)install of Ubuntu to another drive, Grub is (or was now) looking in the wrong place for Windows (and now it seems Ubuntu too.)

Please tell me this can be saved. Perhaps I can use Testdisk to find and/or repair the partition info and get things set back to the way they were before?

I think I need to step away from this right now and take a break. Hopefully when I come back in a bit, someone will have some ideas or suggestions on what else I can try to salvage this and get things to work. At this point, I'd even be happy just to get Ubuntu working right again (NOT off the CD as I am now), and get access to the files on my C: drive so I can at least save what I need to reinstall Windows again. VERY frustrated.

Thanks for the help thus far. Looking forward to more options.

presence1960

December 31st, 2010, 11:24 PM

I think it is a good idea for you to take a breather. testdisk is an option to repair windows partition. I have not used it in a while. I will need to search for documentation to repair the windows MBR. I know I have it in a text file somewhere in my data disk.

maybe meierfra will be around when you come back. He is a whiz with windows and helped show me how to use test disk to repair an MBR. In my opinion he is a "go-to" guy in this type of situation. That is when I made the text file with the instructions. I hope I can find it for you.

presence1960

December 31st, 2010, 11:30 PM

Herman

January 1st, 2011, 01:48 AM

chkdsk c: -rI think you mean CHKDSK C: /R

Often it can be abbreviated to CHKDSK /R
I think if we just type the command CHKDSK without any parameters it just does a scan and prints out the report.
CHKDSK /F gives a quick file system check and CHKDSK /R gives you a thorough file system check.

I always recommend CHKDSK /R, any less is a waste of time in my opinion. Sometimes it takes a long time to complete, but it's worth the wait when you know the job has been done properly. Sometimes it takes two or three runs of CHKDSK /R to clean up all file system errors in Windows. I don't know why.

presence1960

January 1st, 2011, 01:54 AM

I think you mean CHKDSK C: /R

Often it can be abbreviated to CHKDSK /R
I think if we just type the command CHKDSK without any parameters it just does a scan and prints out the report.
CHKDSK /F gices a quick file system check and CHKDSK /R gives you a thorough file system check.

I always recommend CHKDSK /R, any less is a waste of time in my opinion. Sometimes it takes a long time to complete, but it's worth the wait when you know the job has been done properly. Sometimes it takes two or three runs of CHKDSK /R to clean up all file system errors in Windows. I don't know why.

Yes, Herman. I guess I mistyped it. I had chkdsk C: -r. Thanks for catching that.

rmm64

January 1st, 2011, 07:09 AM

A stroke of luck, found it quickly. here it is:

OK, I think we should use "testdisk" to check if your Windows XP boot sector needs fixing; first make sure the Ubuntu Universe repository is enabled in System > Admin > Software Sources, and then download and run testdisk with the following commands:

sudo apt-get install testdiskNext:

sudo testdiskAfter starting testdisk, choose "No log", choose the correct HDD and "Proceed", choose "Intel", choose "Advanced", select the Windows sda1 partition (or whatever your's is), choose "Boot", then choose "Rebuild BS"; if testdisk gives you a warning that the "Extrapolated boot sector and current boot sector are different", then choose "Write". After you are done doing the "Rebuild BS" in testdisk, reboot and let me know exactly what happens when you boot Windows XP from the Grub menu. Or if testdisk says the boot sectors are identical and doesn't give you an option to "Rebuild BS", let me know, and we can work from there.

P.S. I know the verbiage says XP, but I just ran those instructions and it worked on my windows 7. It gave me the option to Rebuild BS which is what you want to see.

Ok, have tried your suggestions, but no luck getting Win7 to load yet.

Did the Rebuild BS in testdisk with the following result:

Disc 1 /dev/sdb - 80GB
Partition: HPFS-NTFS
Boot Sector Status: OK
Backup Boot Sector Status: Bad
Sectors are not identical
A valid NTFS Boot sector must be present in order to access any data; even if the partition is not bootable

Also retried booting the Win7 install disc and running the repair again (with the correct parameter as was mentioned) with my 80GB drive listed first in boot list, just to be sure.

Was prompted to load the drivers (Win7 did not show in the list as an installed OS), so when I clicked to browse the drivers, imagine my surprise when my 120GB drive (formally a non-OS drive labeled as B) came up listed as my C: drive. All the programs and files I had stored there are intact, so that's good, but there's no OS installed on that drive.

I then exited the repair and rebooted (still with the 80GB drive first in boot priority), and immediately after POST, got the following message,

error: no such device
followed by a long string of numbers & letters and the following prompt:
grub rescue>

I obviously don't know what, if anything, 'grub rescue' expects me to type in at the prompt, so I just rebooted again and am back running Unbuntu off the CD to get back online.

With my limited understanding, it seems to me the partition is completely gone off my original C: drive since it's not loading at startup (though BIOS still sees it fine) so I believe the drive is ok, just not partitioned, or partitioned correctly. But that's just an semi-uneducated guess. It seems to me that something has screwed up the MBR and partitions, mixing what was my C: and B: drives, and maybe that is why Grub is unable to load Win7 as it's lost where it is? I'm also thinking that with the 120GB drive listed first in boot priority, that is when grub actually loads and I was (previously) able to load Ubuntu (though that's not working now either)

I'll tell ya, this is NOT how I wanted, nor expected, to be spending my New Year's weekend, but it is what it is. Here's hoping someone's out there with an answer tonight that isn't celebrating NYE.

Standing by.

rmm64

January 1st, 2011, 07:17 AM

I'm also wondering now if I installed Ubuntu for a 3rd time, if it might fix the Windows 7 loader (as before), just long enough for me to get back into Windows then remove all the Ubuntu installs and partitions from within Windows. Also curious as why my 80GB drive with the Win7 install was listed 2nd in the boot priority in BIOS (after the 120GB drive), but has been booting Win7 fine all this time. I previously had XP/Vista installed on that drive, but switched it with the 80GB drive when I installed Win7 a long time ago (right after Win7 was released.) I never really gave it any thought before, but if the 80GB was listed as a slave, and the 120GB as the master, it never seemed to cause any issues until this Ubuntu thing popped up the other day after running the Ubuntu updates, especially given I was dual booting both for about a week before letting it update. I dunno, just rambling now.

rmm64

January 1st, 2011, 08:23 PM

bumping this to be seen, with some updated info as well. Maybe some of this will help sort out the previous info I could provide and make better sense of what's going on and where/what everything is so someone can help.

I ran testdisk again this morning on the 80GB drive (sdb) (my old C: drive where Win7 was installed), tried to recover the partition but no luck. So I loaded up the NTFS Config utility so I can access the other internal drives I have.

I ran the Disk Utility to see what's what, and got the following results:
The 120GB drive (sda) (formerly labeled as B: under Win7), seems to be intact with all the files that were there before. It's showing as an NTFS partition under device dsa1

My 80GB drive (sdb) shows it partitioned for NTFS with an unknown volume and no usage listed (unlike the others that are all listed as filesystem.

The 2TB drive (sdc) is intact, partitioned for NTFS with all files intact.

My 1TB drive (device sdd) (formerly labeled as D:) I'm assuming is where the 2nd install of Ubuntu got installed to on device. The drive was completely empty before with just a single partition, but now shows 500GB partitioned for NTFS (sdd1), 500GB extended partition (sdd2), 488GB for a Linux partition (sdd5), and a 12GB Linux swap partition (sdd6).
I didn't find any other partitions for Linux, so don't know where the original install has gone. The reason I know the Linux install on the 1TB drive above is the 2nd one is because I'd begun setting up different user accounts in it and could see them in the folders on that partition. Also FYI, that install was loading fine until I tried running the chkdsk repairs yesterday off the Win7 install disk, but now the Grub loader sees Ubuntu installed (only when I have the 120GB listed first in boot priority), but won't load it (see previous post about the error message.

Right now I'm using PhotoRec to try and recover anything possible off the 80GB drive, just in case I end up having to reformat/reinstall Win7 to it again. At least I can hopefully salvage the files that were on there I need. Since it was only 80GB to start, I'm just letting it recover everything and save it into a folder I created on the 2TB drive. I can sort through the files it finds later once I have everything working again. I'm still hoping someone can offer a suggestion that will bring my computer back to a working Win7 install without having to start over and reinstall everything, but at least I'm taking some comfort in that it does seem to be recovering the files that were on there (currently about 20mins in reading sector 267XXXXX/156280257 with about 100K files found (and still going) and still another 1hr36mins to go.

So there ya go. I'm still holding onto slim hope of getting this fixed. Think it's time to go relax with some PS3 action while PhotoRec finishes pulling files off the old C: drive.

Looking forward to anymore suggestions. Much thanks for the help offered and anymore someone can think of. Hope you all had a great time last night for NYE and got home safely.

update: ok, looks like pulling EVERYTHING off choked PhotoRec, gonna have to start over and select only the file types I know I need to save.

rmm64

January 1st, 2011, 11:27 PM

ok, I'm getting a "Segmentation fault (core dumped)" message part way through trying to recover files with PhotoRec. It's getting some of the files, but erroring out with that message about 25 mins into the process (with 1hr17mins left to go), so it's obviously not recovering all the files.

Anyone have any suggestions for this? What could be causing it?

rmm64

January 2nd, 2011, 06:59 PM

hey guys, bumping this again hoping to get a response.

also, slight update to my last post. Haven't been able to select ALL the files I need to recover without getting the error message from PhotoRec, but so far seem to be having some luck getting it to finish going through one filetype at a time. It's tedious process, but seems to be working at least. I've successfully recovered one filetype, now on my second (knock wood.) This actually works a little better anyway as now I can recover the files into separate folders which will make it easier later to sort through.

Now, if someone could read through the thread and see if there's anything else I could try to save my Win7 install without having to reformat, that would be wonderful. I know it's New Year's weekend, but there seems to be quite a bit activity here anyway (since my post was buried 4 pages back in under 20 hrs.) I figure if nobody has offered any other suggestions by the time I've gone through (one by one) and recovered the files I need, I'll have no other choice but to reformat/reinstall (ugh!) as I really need to get this system back to a working state again. I have clients waiting on work.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
PLEEEEEEEEEASE???

Herman

January 3rd, 2011, 05:11 AM

I think you need to start investigating your computer's hardware to try to determine if it's all okay or which part is faulty if any.

rmm64

January 4th, 2011, 04:54 PM

I think you need to start investigating your computer's hardware to try to determine if it's all okay or which part is faulty if any.

The hardware is fine. If you'd read the thread in its entirety, you'd have seen where I stated that chkdsk reported no errors at all on my C: drive (run 3 different times to verify.)

Everything was working fine prior to Ubuntu running/installing updates (which was within 48 hours of installing it), that's when the problems began and it cascaded from there. Before installing it, I'd ran Win7 without a problem for 2+ years, so yes, I blame Ubuntu for being the cause of this, not a hardware issue. IMHO, it's no more stable or supported than the Win95 initial release, which is why it will NOT be installed on my computer again.

And I have to say that the lack of responses since my initial posting days ago has only reinforced my doubts about running an open source OS. At first I believed there was community support for the product and that I may be able to salvage my original setup, but aside from the few suggestions given (which all failed, and frankly, made things worse) there's been nothing despite my replies to bump the post to top of the thread. So much for a "community."

oldfred

January 4th, 2011, 07:40 PM

When you had grub looking for partition #256 that is normally from a wubi install where it installs grub to the MBR when you really want the windows boot loader. But the boot script did not find any wubi install since it could not see all the partitions. Wubi is just a file inside the NTFS partition and uses the windows boot loader to boot. It relies on the NTFS partition, so if windows has problems the Ubuntu wubi install will also.

You then also had another Ubuntu install in sdd. But it seems like all your issues are related to windows issues. Wubi does have a bug that installs grub incorrectly but is easily fixed by reinstalling the windows boot loader.