Windows Boot Manager won't appear

[Clex19]

I have downloaded and run Wubi. I had it reboot my computer. It did, but the Windows Boot Manager didn't show up; it just went straight to Windows XP like a normal reboot. How do I get it to let me choose Ubuntu instead of Windows XP?

[wilee-nilee]

Check the time out of the windows loader.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022

[Clex19]

@wilee-nilee
Okay, I made the timeout 30 seconds like it has in the link you provided. I tried rebooting my computer again, and it still didn't work.

[wilee-nilee]

If it was me and a fresh install I would probably remove it, but here are a couple of links. Notice the first does it look familiar, and did you do any thing outside the basic auto install. Such as build a partition, put the wubi in other then the C partition....etc.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wubi

Did you download from here?
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/windows-installer
This installer guide is on the above links page.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide

[Clex19]

I believe that I did everything correctly. I only did what Wubi told me to do, and I did get it from http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/windows-installer. This is the second fresh install I've tried, so I'm not so sure if another will work...Can you think of anything else?

[wilee-nilee]

Here is a megathread that may have information, there are two common problems.
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1639198

I'm not real familiar with wubi so i have just suggested the problems I have seen others have.

[Clex19]

Well, the two common problems in the megapost do not apply to me, because I'm able to boot Windows normally. I just can't get to Windows Boot Manager, where I can choose to use Ubuntu instead. My computer reboots as if Wubi was never used at all.

Thanks for trying. :)

[bcbc]

what are the contents of the boot.ini?

[pasokon925]

bcbc: what are the contents of the boot.ini?
pasokon925: "Computer: HP a1240n. OS: Windows XP SP3 with AVG Free Edition 2011"
[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOW S

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

[bcbc]

[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOW S

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdconsYou're missing the entry for Ubuntu. I'm not sure what causes this, but it does seem to happen every now and then.

If you feel brave you can add the entry yourself. Best to backup C:\boot.ini first, and make sure you have a rescue disk (because if you mess it up Windows will sometimes not boot).

Add this to the bottom:

C:\wubildr.mbr = "Ubuntu"To edit, right click on My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Startup & Recovery settings, click on "Edit".

PS you also need to change the Timeout to 15 or 30.

[pasokon925]

The installation via USB Drive for Windows XP works perfectly.
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download

Thank you everyone.

Computer: HP a1240n
OS: Windows XP SP3 with AVG Free Edition 2011

[mooseman123]

Add this to the bottom:

C:\wubildr.mbr = "Ubuntu"To edit, right click on My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Startup & Recovery settings, click on "Edit".

How could I do this on Windows 7?

Thanks!

[bcbc]

How could I do this on Windows 7?

Thanks!

bcdedit or easyBCD. I haven't used easyBCD but I believe it would be simplest (however you need to install it). If you want to use the existing bcdedit command line tool refer to microsoft site for instructions or enter: bcdedit /? from an administrator command prompt.

For windows vista/7, the Wubi installation process normally adds an entry to the BCD that points at \ubuntu\winboot\wubildr.mbr on the installation 'drive' (not C:\wubildr.mbr).

[mooseman123]

bcdedit or easyBCD. I haven't used easyBCD but I believe it would be simplest (however you need to install it). If you want to use the existing bcdedit command line tool refer to microsoft site for instructions or enter: bcdedit /? from an administrator command prompt.

For windows vista/7, the Wubi installation process normally adds an entry to the BCD that points at \ubuntu\winboot\wubildr.mbr on the installation 'drive' (not C:\wubildr.mbr).

It was added and working, but somehow Windows reverted the mbr back to just Windows. Is there a way I can do it without a download?

[bcbc]

It was added and working, but somehow Windows reverted the mbr back to just Windows. Is there a way I can do it without a download?

You can use bcdedit.exe. I'm not sure of the commands - I've used this to delete the entry, but not add it. I recommend using the /? help option I referenced above and/or referring to support.microsoft.com.

Here's a link I found that looks reasonable: http://wiki.birth-online.de/know-how/software/windows/install-wubildr
I haven't checked this link so please verify the commands before running

[mooseman123]

Thanks for the link. It worked, and I can now un-install. I can't re-install, however. I'm over on the thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=10826985