Trouble Installing Ubuntu 10.10 Dual Boot

[ftresident]

Hi Everyone,

I have a fairly old Dell Dimension 8400 with two disks.
I have Windows XP on the first disk (750GB) and have a second unused 200GB disk that I installed Ubuntu 10.10 onto.

Here are the problems I had:

1) After the install, the computer would only boot into Linux. I had no options at all at boot up for which OS to boot into.

2) I verified that my 750GB WinXP disk was still intact (/dev/sda). I tried created a file for WinXP in /etc/grub.d taken from the 40_custom file. I added a menuentry section to it and ran grub-update. grub-update complained about an error ddf1 invalid # of disks in RAID partition.

3) Ubuntu didn't seem to know about my Linksys AE1000 wireless adapter. And since I has no Wireless on the computer, I couldn't download drivers.

4) I rebooted the computer after trying to update grub and now my PC boots into Windows again.

Can anyone guess where I went wrong here? I expected to install Ubuntu and then have grub2 give me a choice of WinXP or Linux. Why did it intitally boot only into Linux, and why did it strangely revert back to WinXP later on?

I'd like to try this again. Can anybody please advise me on how to get this right the first time?

Thanks!

[Quackers]

If grub2 was installed as normal to the mbr of the drive you would expect Ubuntu to boot up directly. This is because grub2 has over-written the Windows part of the mbr. To get grub2 to recognise (and boot) the Windows installation you just need to open a terminal and run
sudo update-grub
The Windows loader should then appear in grub.cfg which will allow Windows to boot from the grub menu.

There is normally no need for a custom entry.

[ftresident]

If grub2 was installed as normal to the mbr of the drive you would expect Ubuntu to boot up directly. This is because grub2 has over-written the Windows part of the mbr. To get grub2 to recognise (and boot) the Windows installation you just need to open a terminal and run
sudo update-grubThe Windows loader should then appear in grub.cfg which will allow Windows to boot from the grub menu.

There is normally no need for a custom entry.

So I'm not sure what went wrong. I'd think grub2 installed to the mbr on disk2 since I installed linux there. Also, if it has overwritten the mbr on the Windows disk, I would not be able to boot into Windows now, right? I didn't run fixmbr or fixboot so the original mbr must have been preserved.

I really have no idea what happened, except that I installed Ubuntu, it installed cleanly, I was then able to ONLY boot into Linux, and then after trying to run grub-update, I am now only able to boot into Windows.

[Quackers]

If you left the grub install settings as default, it was probably installed to sda, the first hard drive. Windows should now boot through the grub menu, even though Ubuntu is on sdb drive and Windows is on sda.

[ftresident]

If you left the grub install settings as default, it was probably installed to sda, the first hard drive. Windows should now boot through the grub menu, even though Ubuntu is on sdb drive and Windows is on sda.

I don't see any menu. It just boots right into Windows like it did before I installed linux.

How can I verify whether grub2 installed into sda or sdb (from Windows, since I can no longer boot linux).

[Quackers]

Now I'm lost :-)
Please boot from the Ubuntu Live cd/usb and select "try ubuntu" then when the desktop is loaded make sure you have an internet connection and go to the site below and download the boot script to your DESKTOP and then open up a terminal (Applications > Accessories > terminal) and run


sudo bash ~/Desktop/boot_info_script*.sh

This will produce a results.txt file on your desktop. Please copy the contents of that file and paste them in your next post between CODE tags. For CODE tags click on New Reply (not quick reply)and then click on the # symbol in the toolbar.
This will give a full overview of your current system.
Thanks.

http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net/

[ftresident]

Thanks. Here you go.




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)/boot/grub.
=> No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdc
=> Grub 2 is installed in the MBR of
/dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba and
looks on the same drive in partition #1 for (,msdos1)/boot/grub.

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows XP
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Mounting failed:
fuse: mount failed: Device or resource busy
fuse: mount failed: Device or resource busy

sdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdc1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: vfat
Boot sector type: Windows XP: Fat32
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system:
Boot sector type: Unknown
Boot sector info:
Mounting failed:
fuse: mount failed: Device or resource busy
fuse: mount failed: Device or resource busy
mount: unknown filesystem type ''

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 750.2 GB, 750156374016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders, total 1465149168 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 1,465,127,999 1,465,127,937 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: sdb ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdb: 200.0 GB, 200049647616 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 24321 cylinders, total 390721968 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 2,048 374,792,191 374,790,144 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 374,794,238 390,721,535 15,927,298 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 374,794,240 390,721,535 15,927,296 82 Linux swap / Solaris


Drive: sdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdc: 4043 MB, 4043309056 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 491 cylinders, total 7897088 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdc1 * 63 7,897,087 7,897,025 b W95 FAT32


Drive: ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba: 749.6 GB, 749606010880 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91134 cylinders, total 1464074240 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba1 * 63 1,465,127,999 1,465,127,937 7 HPFS/NTFS

/dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba1 ends after the last sector of /dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba

blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sda1 1A7C8E2B7C8E01AD ntfs
/dev/sda Dell  ddf_raid_member
/dev/sdb1 69bf89ca-e27d-47cb-b9f3-e00c5deaaf1c ext4
/dev/sdb2: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdb5 34c4f3cd-c3a1-4881-9e14-9c57962705c1 swap
/dev/sdb: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdc1 EE71-6520 vfat NEW VOLUME
/dev/sdc: PTTYPE="dos"
error: /dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba1: No such file or directory

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

Device Mount_Point Type Options

aufs / aufs (rw)
/dev/sr0 /cdrom iso9660 (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/sdc1 /media/NEW VOLUME vfat (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=udisks,uid=999,gid=999,sh ortname=mixed,dmask=0077,utf8=1,showexec,flush)


=========================== sdb1/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='(hd1,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 69bf89ca-e27d-47cb-b9f3-e00c5deaaf1c
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='(hd1,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 69bf89ca-e27d-47cb-b9f3-e00c5deaaf1c
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/06_windowsxp ###
# 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.

menuentry "Windows XP Home (on /dev/sda1)" {
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd0,1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 0060ff4060ff3acc
drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
chainloader +1
}
### END /etc/grub.d/06_windowsxp ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
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='(hd1,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 69bf89ca-e27d-47cb-b9f3-e00c5deaaf1c
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=UUID=69bf89ca-e27d-47cb-b9f3-e00c5deaaf1c ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/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='(hd1,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 69bf89ca-e27d-47cb-b9f3-e00c5deaaf1c
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.35-22-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=UUID=69bf89ca-e27d-47cb-b9f3-e00c5deaaf1c ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-22-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='(hd1,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 69bf89ca-e27d-47cb-b9f3-e00c5deaaf1c
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 69bf89ca-e27d-47cb-b9f3-e00c5deaaf1c
linux16 /boot/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 ###

=============================== sdb1/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
/dev/sdb1 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sdb5 during installation
UUID=34c4f3cd-c3a1-4881-9e14-9c57962705c1 none swap sw 0 0

=================== sdb1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


133.2GB: boot/grub/core.img
73.1GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
73.3GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-22-generic
.3GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic
73.3GB: initrd.img
.3GB: vmlinuz
=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================

Unknown BootLoader on sdb2

00000000 69 76 9c 25 81 65 f5 88 4b 2e ce 16 f5 48 94 a4 |iv.%.e..K....H..|
00000010 41 0c 74 02 e9 2f 46 6f 54 bb 30 3f 2a 88 cb 72 |A.t../FoT.0?*..r|
00000020 87 3d 03 a0 39 fd ae 01 26 ad 83 ef c0 9a 15 a2 |.=..9...&.......|
00000030 6b 62 1d df 7d 53 24 fc 73 ca 83 c1 00 08 33 3c |kb..}S$.s.....3<|
00000040 9b 38 24 af 0d 81 1c cb 12 c3 80 89 76 41 dc 28 |.8$.........vA.(|
00000050 11 00 01 11 00 31 ed 44 a2 fa c1 22 1c 12 24 64 |.....1.D..."..$d|
00000060 97 3c f7 dc 08 e1 71 fc 2c 4b e0 c2 7c 3d 41 d7 |.<....q.,K..|=A.|
00000070 40 89 58 a3 2a 21 27 6d f9 f7 57 6e f6 9c 05 c3 |@.X.*!'m..Wn....|
00000080 ad de de de c3 b5 6b 00 0c 43 b8 58 62 10 0c 24 |......k..C.Xb..$|
00000090 17 b0 a0 a7 90 45 47 00 23 4e e8 e6 6a 31 38 00 |.....EG.#N..j18.|
000000a0 00 1e 5c 04 99 0e 58 23 27 a6 b0 9f 84 c6 1a 76 |..\...X#'......v|
000000b0 f7 3f 83 81 0c 08 d1 3d 64 f7 32 8e b7 e7 16 0c |.?.....=d.2.....|
000000c0 6d a3 49 4c 41 24 da 85 e2 b4 c9 06 28 26 2c 93 |m.ILA$......(&,.|
000000d0 63 26 e7 7a 30 e5 90 cd c8 33 13 f4 43 99 44 c6 |c&.z0....3..C.D.|
000000e0 2c 29 ed a3 60 81 71 b7 ad 28 54 c6 d6 01 5f 3f |,)..`.q..(T..._?|
000000f0 53 a2 f2 2f c6 da 8b d4 c7 cc dc 08 74 26 00 e6 |S../........t&..|
00000100 1d 31 79 2b 1d b4 6c dc b0 50 54 5c 31 74 9f e6 |.1y+..l..PT\1t..|
00000110 ce bf 03 e0 89 41 06 61 8c d6 8d 53 ba 56 19 18 |.....A.a...S.V..|
00000120 b8 c2 a5 21 93 ec 7a 61 84 fc 9b 71 19 2f 3d b9 |...!..za...q./=.|
00000130 f2 a9 0e f9 62 e7 5b fd 0e a4 5d b3 af 1b 1c 37 |....b.[...]....7|
00000140 3d 01 b8 b6 50 25 8e c5 ec 76 13 b3 dc 1d 9a 26 |=...P%...v.....&|
00000150 ae 1c c2 03 90 01 c8 ed b0 e8 e8 0e c7 47 40 76 |.............G@v|
00000160 24 3f 53 18 16 10 16 b5 3d 98 67 9e 13 d1 80 48 |$?S.....=.g....H|
00000170 1c f4 85 28 30 0f 04 07 a6 c1 14 fc 1e 31 d2 2c |...(0........1.,|
00000180 ab 28 00 49 13 4e 08 49 ce 09 c7 8a 47 42 50 91 |.(.I.N.I....GBP.|
00000190 41 06 a8 fa 3a 92 e9 20 3f 2e 75 ea 08 01 cd 10 |A...:.. ?.u.....|
000001a0 82 71 41 4a 83 16 42 1d 25 a8 c1 68 89 60 5b 24 |.qAJ..B.%..h.`[$|
000001b0 70 2e 22 2b 1e 31 eb 24 1d 30 db 36 76 54 00 fe |p."+.1.$.0.6vT..|
000001c0 ff ff 82 fe ff ff 02 00 00 00 00 08 f3 00 00 00 |................|
000001d0 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 ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba1



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

ERROR: ddf1: wrong # of devices in RAID set "ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba" [1/2] on /dev/sda
ERROR: ddf1: wrong # of devices in RAID set "ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba" [1/2] on /dev/sda
ERROR: creating degraded mirror mapping for "ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba"
ERROR: dos: partition address past end of RAID device
ERROR: ddf1: wrong # of devices in RAID set "ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba" [1/2] on /dev/sda
ERROR: ddf1: wrong # of devices in RAID set "ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba" [1/2] on /dev/sda
hexdump: /dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba1: No such file or directory
hexdump: /dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba1: No such file or directory
ERROR: ddf1: wrong # of devices in RAID set "ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba" [1/2] on /dev/sda
ERROR: dos: partition address past end of RAID device

[Hedgehog1]

Thanks. Here you go.

ftresident,

The trick is that while the grub scripts are stored in /dev/sdb1, the MBR of /dev/sda is the one that needs to have the grub boot loader installed on it. The commands below are correct for your PC based on your script results - you can cut and paste them.

Please boot off your LiveCD/LiveUSB, select 'TRY'

In the Terminal (Menu to: Applications >> Accessories >> Terminal):


sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt

sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt /dev/sda

The Hedge

:KS

p.s. this should give you the 'dual boot' menu and let you select Ubuntu or Windows.

[ftresident]

Hedgehog1,

Thanks. I tried these two commands. It said Installation Successful when I was done but the computer still always boot into Windows without giving me a choice.

[Quackers]

WHich drives are part of a raid array?
Also which drive is set first to boot in your bios?

[ftresident]

WHich drives are part of a raid array?
Also which drive is set first to boot in your bios?

I don't have a RAID array. I have two disks that are not RAIDed.
BIOS first boots off USB or CD, then my SATA drives. It doesn't let me pick which SATA drive to boot from.

[Quackers]

I don't have a RAID array. I have two disks that are not RAIDed.
BIOS first boots off USB or CD, then my SATA drives. It doesn't let me pick which SATA drive to boot from.

I see, so which drive is set to boot in the bios? You have a 750GB drive and a 200GB drive.
Drive sda is showing a mounting problem for sda1, which, I presume, is because it has raid metadata on it. Was the 750GB drive used in another machine, which had a raid array?
See the bit in red from your boot script output below

blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sda1 1A7C8E2B7C8E01AD ntfs
/dev/sda Dell ddf_raid_member
/dev/sdb1 69bf89ca-e27d-47cb-b9f3-e00c5deaaf1c ext4
/dev/sdb2: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdb5 34c4f3cd-c3a1-4881-9e14-9c57962705c1 swap
/dev/sdb: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdc1 EE71-6520 vfat NEW VOLUME
/dev/sdc: PTTYPE="dos"
error: /dev/mapper/ddf1_44656c6c202020201000006010281f0c3789c1f9ee665 eba1: No such file or directory

[ftresident]

I see, so which drive is set to boot in the bios? You have a 750GB drive and a 200GB drive.


The 750GB drive.



Drive sda is showing a mounting problem for sda1, which, I presume, is because it has raid metadata on it. Was the 750GB drive used in another machine, which had a raid array?


Yes, it was in another computer.
The disk was pulled from a PowerEdge server, and wiped clean with a hardware wiper.
I would have thought that the wiping process would have erased the RAID configuration.

How can I get rid of the RAID metadata on the disk?
And why didn't Windows complain about this?

[Quackers]

Ok, that makes sense. The raid metadata remains until it is specifically removed, unfortunately.
Am I correct in thinking that nothing boots now?

[ftresident]

Ok, that makes sense. The raid metadata remains until it is specifically removed, unfortunately.
Am I correct in thinking that nothing boots now?

No, I can boot into Windows with no problem, just as it did before I installed Ubuntu onto the second disk.

[Quackers]

Ah, ok, thanks.
We can try to remove the raid metadata using the Ubuntu live cd/usb. I'm not 100% sure it will work from the live desktop, but it's definitely worth trying.
Please boot from the Ubuntu live cd/usb and select "try ubuntu".
When the desktop loads open up a terminal and copy/paste the command below

sudo dmraid -rE /dev/sda and press enter.
If no errors are reported, reboot, taking out the cd/usb and then see if the grub menu appears.

[ftresident]

It didn't work.

It asked me if I was sure I want to erase all raid metadata.
I said "y" and it returned "ERROR:" before each of the next 3 lines.

[Quackers]

Oh dear! What were the next 3 lines please?

[ftresident]

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo dmraid -rE /dev/sda
Do you really want to erase "ddf1" ondisk metadata on /dev/sda ? [y/n] :y
ERROR: ddf1: seeking device "/dev/sda" to 384080063234048
ERROR: writing metadata to /dev/sda, offset 750156373504 sectors, size 0 bytes returned 0
ERROR: erasing ondisk metadata on /dev/sda
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$


It seems to have no effect. It still boots right into Windows.

[Quackers]

Hmm, I'm a bit stuck here.
I would advise re-installing grub, but if it's going to install itself to a drive with raid metadata, it's just going to have the same problems, I suspect.
I will ask another member to take a look, but I don't know if he's online at the moment.

[ronparent]

Let's not get tangled up in what windows xp see and what Ubuntu sees. XP requires a driver to see a raid array. No driver = no array. The same with ubuntu except that is the dmraid program. I usually prefer to erase the meta data before uninstalling dmraid for just the reason of what is occurring here. A long time after a drive is no longer used as raid and you forget the meta data is there a new install pops it back at you. But that is not the issue here.

For some reason the sda mbr is pointing to sda1 for the grub. The grub is actually installed on sdb1. The suggested grub 2 reinstall should do it, except it should be --root-directory=/mnt/ not /mnt! I don't know why it would ber booting directly into window unless sdc were first in boot order? It is unlikely that your bios does't allow you to shuffle your boot order. So I would check that first. It is probably best to leave the MBR that boots windows alone so you can always boot windows if everything else gets mucked up.

I would suggest trying the grub reinstall first. We can worry about the meta data next if it is still bothering something. The install itself shouldn't have dmraid installed, so it may not be material. Keep posting, Quackers can probaly untangle any raining problems once you are up and running.

[ftresident]

For some reason the sda mbr is pointing to sda1 for the grub. The grub is actually installed on sdb1. The suggested grub 2 reinstall should do it, except it should be --root-directory=/mnt/ not /mnt! I don't know why it would ber booting directly into window unless sdc were first in boot order? It is unlikely that your bios does't allow you to shuffle your boot order. So I would check that first. It is probably best to leave the MBR that boots windows alone so you can always boot windows if everything else gets mucked up.

I would suggest trying the grub reinstall first. We can worry about the meta data next if it is still bothering something. The install itself shouldn't have dmraid installed, so it may not be material. Keep posting, Quackers can probaly untangle any raining problems once you are up and running.

So just to get this straight, I should do the following:



sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt




sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/ /dev/sda


Right?

As for BIOS, it lets me pick from various devices, including SATA Drive and IDE drive. Since I have two SATA drives, it doesn't let me pick WHICH SATA drive to boot from.
At least, I don't think so.

I'd think setting the boot device in BIOS would be the easiest option, since each disk would be totally independent and would not need to know anything about the other one.

It doesn't see to be an option though.

[ronparent]

Yes those two commands should get the Ubuntu up and running and find any other installed OS's on the system.

It is not conceivable that you cannot shuffle the boot order in your bios. Have a closer look at it - it would give you better options.

[drmathprog]

I seem to have the same dual boot problem. Can someone kindly diagnose my results.txt and suggest a solution?



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 #5 for (,msdos5)/boot/grub.
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdc
=> Windows is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdd

sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdb1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdc1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: vfat
Boot sector type: Dell Utility: Fat16
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows 95
Boot files/dirs: /IO.SYS /MSDOS.SYS /COMMAND.COM

sdc2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdc3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdc5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdc6: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdd1: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: vfat
Boot sector type: Dell Utility: Fat16
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows 95
Boot files/dirs: /IO.SYS /MSDOS.SYS /COMMAND.COM

sdd2: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdd3: __________________________________________________ _______________________

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

sdd5: __________________________________________________ _______________________

File system: ntfs
Boot sector type: Windows XP
Boot sector info: According to the info in the boot sector, sdd5 starts
at sector 63.
Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:

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

Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sda: 251.0 GB, 251000193024 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30515 cylinders, total 490234752 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 * 63 490,223,474 490,223,412 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: sdb ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdb: 250.1 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 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 63 488,392,064 488,392,002 7 HPFS/NTFS


Drive: sdc ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdc: 250.1 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdc1 63 144,584 144,522 de Dell Utility
/dev/sdc2 144,585 245,651,462 245,506,878 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdc3 245,653,502 488,396,799 242,743,298 5 Extended
/dev/sdc5 245,653,504 478,445,567 232,792,064 83 Linux
/dev/sdc6 478,447,616 488,396,799 9,949,184 82 Linux swap / Solaris


Drive: sdd ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___

Disk /dev/sdd: 640.1 GB, 640135028736 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 77825 cylinders, total 1250263728 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition Boot Start End Size Id System

/dev/sdd1 63 353,429 353,367 de Dell Utility
/dev/sdd2 * 353,430 522,947,879 522,594,450 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdd3 522,947,880 1,250,258,624 727,310,745 5 Extended
/dev/sdd5 522,947,943 1,250,258,624 727,310,682 7 HPFS/NTFS


blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________

Device UUID TYPE LABEL

/dev/loop0 squashfs
/dev/sda1 12CC960FCC95ED6B ntfs New Volume
/dev/sda: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdb1 C0D8362BD8361FD8 ntfs New Volume
/dev/sdb: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdc1 07D4-030A vfat DellUtility
/dev/sdc2 5E5CD1015CD0D53D ntfs Data Disc (E:)
/dev/sdc3: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdc5 82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1 ext4
/dev/sdc6 b1a0400a-4b06-4bda-b05a-4530df1d469c swap
/dev/sdc: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdd1 07D4-030A vfat DellUtility
/dev/sdd2 1EA8699BA8697267 ntfs Windows
/dev/sdd3: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sdd5 1EB287D01693A333 ntfs Program Files
/dev/sdd: PTTYPE="dos"

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

Device Mount_Point Type Options

aufs / aufs (rw)
/dev/sr0 /cdrom iso9660 (ro,noatime)
/dev/loop0 /rofs squashfs (ro,noatime)
/dev/sda1 /media/New Volume fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096,default_ permissions)
/dev/sdb1 /media/New Volume_ fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096,default_ permissions)
/dev/sdc2 /media/Data Disc (E:) fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096,default_ permissions)
/dev/sdd5 /media/Program Files fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096,default_ permissions)
/dev/sdc5 /media/82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1 ext4 (rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=udisks)
/dev/sdd2 /media/Windows fuseblk (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096,default_ permissions)


=========================== sdc5/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 82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1
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 82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1
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 2.6.35-22-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 82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=UUID=82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/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='(hd2,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1
echo 'Loading Linux 2.6.35-22-generic ...'
linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=UUID=82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1 ro single
echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-22-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 82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1
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 82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1
linux16 /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sdd2)" {
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='(hd3,msdos2)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 1ea8699ba8697267
drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
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 ###

=============================== sdc5/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/sdc5 during installation
UUID=82b58ff7-e74f-4d30-8054-c0a4aa4b56a1 / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# swap was on /dev/sdc6 during installation
UUID=b1a0400a-4b06-4bda-b05a-4530df1d469c none swap sw 0 0
/dev/fd0 /media/floppy0 auto rw,user,noauto,exec,utf8 0 0

=================== sdc5: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================


138.8GB: boot/grub/core.img
216.1GB: boot/grub/grub.cfg
126.6GB: boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-22-generic
126.1GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic
126.6GB: initrd.img
126.1GB: vmlinuz

================================ sdd2/boot.ini: ================================

[boot loader]
timeout=2
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptOut
=========================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc =======================

Unknown BootLoader on sdc3

00000000 72 1d 42 21 a6 67 5a 4c e5 52 be d3 b5 00 57 51 |r.B!.gZL.R....WQ|
00000010 7e 65 91 a5 70 0b 92 b3 3e 0a 6a 9c 2b 29 b4 95 |~e..p...>.j.+)..|
00000020 b4 a8 0e 1f 6c ef 1b f0 fe ac f4 e6 a5 43 80 39 |....l........C.9|
00000030 8c 65 c1 89 35 e7 7e 28 d7 19 23 49 93 34 88 05 |.e..5.~(..#I.4..|
00000040 d1 24 96 f0 ee 07 91 9f 1d 16 8a 66 67 8a 4b f0 |.$.........fg.K.|
00000050 9a 94 8f 88 c5 b7 96 ad 5e fc d9 83 3b f8 b7 ca |........^...;...|
00000060 83 ab 5c d2 7e e9 26 4f a2 99 12 b6 f3 37 0b f1 |..\.~.&O.....7..|
00000070 de 3b fe f8 d7 ff ff ff fc 66 95 ff 6a c6 d8 91 |.;.......f..j...|
00000080 56 85 20 08 d8 4d d2 c4 1b 19 be 3b 37 c2 f7 f9 |V. ..M.....;7...|
00000090 87 54 6f 4e a3 66 9f 97 95 31 b3 52 6c f8 85 ea |.ToN.f...1.Rl...|
000000a0 e1 41 a5 10 71 dd 1f d7 d4 00 00 ce 32 9a bf ad |.A..q.......2...|
000000b0 d9 f8 0c 53 1a 78 13 55 50 2f a6 cc db a8 f3 b7 |...S.x.UP/......|
000000c0 11 97 43 72 09 96 4c a0 50 23 20 2d 02 98 96 4a |..Cr..L.P# -...J|
000000d0 75 05 c1 b0 20 41 1d 48 ac 0e 26 21 e9 69 73 47 |u... A.H..&!.isG|
000000e0 ca e3 4c 4b be 94 28 95 0d 15 b4 3a d2 71 01 d6 |..LK..(....:.q..|
000000f0 6e d1 32 71 1f 25 dc 52 df 10 b9 b4 b6 9e f2 d1 |n.2q.%.R........|
00000100 39 bb 7f 8e a6 be d9 65 e7 6f b7 f7 d6 7d fb 99 |9......e.o...}..|
00000110 7f ef 8b 45 07 31 87 61 87 e9 59 28 d9 34 7b e5 |...E.1.a..Y(.4{.|
00000120 10 59 c5 d2 11 cc ab a7 4b 2b 70 ff 8b cc 3b e4 |.Y......K+p...;.|
00000130 2e f5 0c 37 e4 d3 10 9f 62 0b bc 9a a4 25 8b 45 |...7....b....%.E|
00000140 75 81 8f c5 c8 88 4d 85 75 c5 52 35 58 4c 03 4f |u.....M.u.R5XL.O|
00000150 b6 02 f7 b9 4e a3 1b a7 63 74 f2 e8 75 fe 94 36 |....N...ct..u..6|
00000160 90 12 79 23 92 ab 37 aa dc bf 98 fb 83 49 40 06 |..y#..7......I@.|
00000170 0f 07 42 d2 f0 02 2a 22 51 98 59 5a d9 9a 36 14 |..B...*"Q.YZ..6.|
00000180 1e b4 4f e4 25 a9 a1 24 19 28 c8 29 0c 57 ad b5 |..O.%..$.(.).W..|
00000190 c7 a0 eb bb 02 9a 5a 08 03 b4 a7 8a 96 cc 6f b9 |......Z.......o.|
000001a0 67 96 53 63 89 ef 89 1d 58 d4 7b fa 9e 26 86 cd |g.Sc....X.{..&..|
000001b0 fd 41 56 f4 1c 58 4a e8 86 d1 03 90 d8 af 00 fe |.AV..XJ.........|
000001c0 ff ff 83 fe ff ff 02 00 00 00 00 20 e0 0d 00 fe |........... ....|
000001d0 ff ff 05 fe ff ff 02 20 e0 0d 00 d8 97 00 00 00 |....... ........|
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

[oldfred]

@drmathprog Welcome to the forums.

If the solutions posted have not worked please start a new thread. I do not see anything obvious in boot script, others may. What works and what does not. Your boot.ini in sdd2 thinks it is drive 0 or sda, but the drivemap command in grub's menu is supposed to make windows think it is in sda & ok. Did you move drives around? Are they all SATA?

[drmathprog]

Sorry, my problems seems like the original poster. I have an old Dell. It has 4 ATA drives. Win XP is installed on Drive 1, which is a partitioned drive.

I installed Ubuntu 10.1 on drive 3. Drives 0 and 1 are Win data drives.

The machine boots directly into windows with no display of grub offering a choice of dual boot.

I can boot into Ubuntu using the live CD and try it, so I was able to download and run the Boot Script Info. I was hoping my issue was simply that grub was mis-installed.

[Quackers]

Sorry, my problems seems like the original poster. I have an old Dell. It has 4 ATA drives. Win XP is installed on Drive 1, which is a partitioned drive.

I installed Ubuntu 10.1 on drive 3. Drives 0 and 1 are Win data drives.

The machine boots directly into windows with no display of grub offering a choice of dual boot.

I can boot into Ubuntu using the live CD and try it, so I was able to download and run the Boot Script Info. I was hoping my issue was simply that grub was mis-installed.

It appears that grub is installed to /dev/sda, whereas your Ubuntu system is on /dev/sdc
I would boot from the live cd and run these commands in the terminal

sudo mount /dev/sdc5 /mnt
sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt /dev/sdc
Then on reboot, enter your bios and set sdc as the first boot device (after cd drive).
Ubuntu should now boot directly. If it does, open a terminal and run
sudo update-grub and watch as grub.cfg is run, to see if the Windows Loader is picked up. If it is, reboot and you should see a grub menu giving you the choice of which OS to boot.

[drmathprog]

I can't change the disc boot order; it's C: or nothing.

It seems I can place a USB device prior to the discs, however.

Perhaps I should install Ubuntu on a thumb drive and dual boot from that?

[Quackers]

C: ? C: isn't a disc! You have 4 hard drives and can't specify which one boots?

[drmathprog]

I have three bios menus that seem to affect booting:
1) Drive Configuration
2) Hard Disc Drive Sequence
3) Boot Sequence

Within each menu, I have:

1) Drive Configuration ("This enable or disables each of the following")
a) Diskette Drive A
b) Primary Master Drive
c) Primary Slave Drive
d) Secondary Master Drive
e) Secondary Slave Drive
f) IDE Drive UDMA
2) Hard Disk Drive Sequence ("Determines the order in which hard drives will be configured in the system. The first hard drive in the system will be the bootable C: drive")
a) System BIOS Boot Devices
b) USB Device
3) Boot Sequence ("Determines the order in which devices will be used")
a) IDE CD-ROM device
b) Hard-Disk Drive C:
c) Diskette Drive
d) Integrated NIC

[oldfred]

C: then is just windows speak for first windows 'drive'. If you have multiple windows on different physical drives then which ever you boot is C: and the others are D: etc.
It should let you boot other drives. But with Ubuntu it will not be C: but sda, sdb, sdc etc.

Windows also moves boot files from a second install to the first install unless you force it not to. Grub will only boot your first install of windows as the other installs do not have boot files.

Is this system old enough to have the 137GB BIOS boot limit? Older systems will not boot from partitions beyond 137GB. They will read data from above the limit.

[drmathprog]

I think it's about a 2004 or 2005 model. The Windows drive is 640G, so I assume it's not limited in that way.