How do I boot back into XP?

[Elliot B.]

When the computer starts, I get a 2-second countdown then Ubuntu starts. If I press ESC during the countdown, a list appears but XP isn't there.

Any ideas?

[markwolfe Veteran]

Boot into Linux.

Post the output of the command sudo fdisk -l (that is a lowercase letter "L", not the number one), which will list out all of your partitions.

Also post the contents of your /boot/grub/menu.lst file, which contains your OS choices when you boot your PC.

I assume that you followed the "backup" and "shrink" your partition advice from your earlier thread? If so, then you should have been able to tell Ubuntu to use the unallocated space (I hope you didn't select "use whole drive").

[Elliot B.]

Boot into Linux.

Post the output of the command sudo fdisk -l (that is a lowercase letter "L", not the number one), which will list out all of your partitions.

Also post the contents of your /boot/grub/menu.lst file, which contains your OS choices when you boot your PC.

I assume that you followed the "backup" and "shrink" your partition advice from your earlier thread? If so, then you should have been able to tell Ubuntu to use the unallocated space (I hope you didn't select "use whole drive").

Disk /dev/hda: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot	  Start		 End	  Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hda1   *		   1		7833	62918541	7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hda2			7834		9729	15229620   83  Linux

Disk /dev/hdb: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot	  Start		 End	  Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hdb1   *		   1		9728	78140128+   7  HPFS/NTFS

[karma_police]

Edit your /boot/grub/menu.lst file and add

title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1

Eventhough usually this is added automatically when you install Ubuntu.

[Elliot B.]

Edit your /boot/grub/menu.lst file and add

title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1

Eventhough usually this is added automatically when you install Ubuntu.

It is telling me I am not the owner so I can't save the file.

[karma_police]

you have to do it with root permissions

sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

Remember a backup of this file never hurts :p

[Simon Veteran]

Type "sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst" (without the quotes), then enter your password, and add the code karma_police gave you. Save the file, restart, if you need to press ESC to get to the menu, and Windows XP will be there.

Also, don't be alarmed when Windows does a file system check, it's normal after repartitioning. It'll show up with a background you would usually see for the login screen, and courier font. However, at the sight of a not-so-calm blue screen, be alarmed :p

[Elliot B.]

When I restarted, the screen was garbled and mentioned 'X'.

I am now using the Live CD.

Can I still use it to edit the file on "14.5 GB Volume: disk" (where Ubuntu is currently installed)? If so, what command do I use, as the one above just shows a blank document.

[Simon Veteran]

uh.......

You can access the file, yes, but GRUB has a safe mode. Did it give you a "grub>" prompt, or did it just completely bork?

[Elliot B.]

uh.......

You can access the file, yes, but GRUB has a safe mode. Did it give you a "grub>" prompt, or did it just completely bork?

GRUB is the bootloader, yes? If so, I don't understand your query.

I am using the Live CD now and I basically want to edit that file on partition 2 (that contains the screwed Ubuntu installation) so that I can boot into XP :)

[APH-Alex]

I really think that you accidentally deleted XP.

[karma_police]

Did you installed something? X don't die if you just try to edit the grub menu.lst

Anyway you can also let X go crazy and just hit ctrl+alt+f2 login and then

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

If you want to do it from the Live CD I assume that the drive is shown on the desktop ? If this is the case double click it and find the file, then go to the terminal and do

sudo gedit /path/to/the/file

[MR_Candyman]

http://www.sorgonet.com/linux/grubrestore/

basically,

1. Boot from a LiveCD like Knoppix, Mepis, or Ubuntu.

2. Open a terminal. Login as root. (Ubuntu users 'sudo')

3. Type 'grub' which makes a GRUB prompt appear.

grub>

4. Type 'find /boot/grub/stage1'. Your output should look something like this (hd1,3). That’s your hard drive/partition. Once you have that info, you can tell grub where your root directory is, and where the MBR should be.

5. Type 'root (hd1,3)' (this is where the last command told you where your root directory is

6. Type 'setup (hd0)' (this sets it back up in the mbr properly)

7. Type 'quit'

[Robgig1088]

I really think that you accidentally deleted XP.

Disk /dev/hda: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes

255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

/dev/hda1 * 1 7833 62918541 7 HPFS/NTFS

/dev/hda2 7834 9729 15229620 83 Linux

Disk /dev/hdb: 80.0 GB, 80026361856 bytes

255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 9729 cylinders

Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System

/dev/hdb1 * 1 9728 78140128+ 7 HPFS/NTFS

Nope, he didnt. Though i dont see how editing the grub file will screw X....... musta done something wrong...

[Elliot B.]

Did you installed something? X don't die if you just try to edit the grub menu.lst

Anyway you can also let X go crazy and just hit ctrl+alt+f2 login and then

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

If you want to do it from the Live CD I assume that the drive is shown on the desktop ? If this is the case double click it and find the file, then go to the terminal and do

sudo gedit /path/to/the/file

Typing CTRL+ALT+any of the Fx gives me a black screen and always has done :(

I see 'disk' on my desktop and inside is that boot folder.

I typed 'sudo gedit disk/boot/grub/menu.lst' into the console and again, it just brought up an empty file :/

Nope, he didnt. Though i dont see how editing the grub file will screw X....... musta done something wrong...

Screwing X had nothing to do with this, I was tying to install the NVIDIA drivers but I'm just going to give up, it's too much effort!

I'm just gonna try and get back into XP then format partition 2 :p

[markwolfe Veteran]

There is no "disk"

sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

If you play with CTRL+ALT+F1, F2, whatever, you can get back to your X session (GUI) usually somewhere around CTRL+ALT+F6 or there abouts. Each of those are separate logins (with around 6 tty logins being pretty typical), with the last usually your X session.

EDIT:

...

I'm just gonna try and get back into XP then format partition 2 :p

In that case, please also make sure that you boot your XP CD in "recovery console" mode, and do a fixmbr command to have your XP CD reset your MBR back to the Microsoft default (otherwise you will have a non-bootable PC until you do)

[Robgig1088]

ya know, you really should have read the community how-to. I would suggest using the fixmbr command on the XP cd and then, if you so choose, attempting again. Follow the guide here: http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Edgy . You'll find the community is very helpful. Just make sure you follow the directions verbatum and youre set! Theres a bit of a learning curve, but its nothing I havent been able to teach my computer-illiterate girlfriend! :p

[MR_Candyman]

ya know, you really should have read the community how-to. I would suggest using the fixmbr command on the XP cd and then, if you so choose, attempting again. Follow the guide here: http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Edgy . You'll find the community is very helpful. Just make sure you follow the directions verbatum and youre set! Theres a bit of a learning curve, but its nothing I havent been able to teach my computer-illiterate girlfriend! :p

ditto, been using linux for years, and my gf just started a few months ago, but it didn't take her too long to catch on. There's still some bash commands she has a problem with (heck, I have some too) but once you start getting the hang of it, it's pretty easy.

[Elliot B.]

ditto, been using linux for years, and my gf just started a few months ago, but it didn't take her too long to catch on. There's still some bash commands she has a problem with (heck, I have some too) but once you start getting the hang of it, it's pretty easy.

'Commands'. I have no time for commands. I want an OS that works without me having to type in commands.

I tried Ubuntu as I heard it was easier to use than other Linux distros but it seems not. It's hard to even upgrade the video drivers! (dont''comment on that, I won't be continuing with Linux so there is no point saying 'it's easy!' lol...

[markwolfe Veteran]

'Commands'. I have no time for commands. I want an OS that works without me having to type in commands.

Ok.

Here is how to get back your Windows MBR.

Put in the XP CD, and boot with it.

Select "recovery console".

Enter the command "fixmbr"

I hope that you don't mind using a "command" to get your Microsoft MBR back. After all, you want an OS that works without commands.