Windows 7 and Backtrack 5 dual boot with EasyBCD

Hello, First i would like to acknowledge the fact that there are many posts on how to dual boot Backtrack5 and windows 7

However. with the number of times that i've pretty much bricked my laptop. id like to get Specific help on my laptop as this thing has a mind of its own...

Last time (monday) i used BCD I used Neogrub and then i used Grub (Legacy) to find Z:\ (BT File) and also had the BT files in my Z:\ drive, I went to BCD Deployment Clicked on Install the windows Vista/7 Bootloader to the MBR and clicked Write MBR. when i rebooted my computer it was stuck at a flashing _ <-.

Okay, So My main operating system is windows 7, backtrack 5 is the Secondary OS that i'd like to use, I've already shrunk my D:\ drive to allocate 10 GB for BT5 and formatted it with Fat32.

What im looking for is specific instructions on how to take windows 7 and use EasyBCD to dual boot Backtrack 5. From step 1-finish.

If there is another post if you could link it. however im kinda tired of bricking my laptop.



Also

(if you brick your laptop or PC using a Dualboot software, the solution is)

1. Use a windows recovery USB/CD or Windows 7 Installation CD.
2. Boot your computer to the CD.
3. Choose the language/keyboard and continue.
4. Go to repair my computer.
5. Choose Command Prompt
6. (press enter after each line)
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot (may show up as Missing element)
bootrec /rebuildBCD

7. reboot your computer.
8. if it is not fixed yet go back into the recovery options and run startup repair.
(this may take a couple of times to fix.)

Thats how i have to unbrick my laptop.
(though) as i said before it has a mind of its own. and by that i mean my laptop detects my CD Drive like 1% of the time :'(
 
You are not bricking your laptop. You are just causing the boot menu to get lost. Bricking a device means that it will not operate at all and just sits there like a brick taking up space. Since you are able to recover your laptop, all you did was destroy the boot menu.

I bricked my cell phone. It wouldnt even power on with a full battery charge. That is bricking a device. Having to get it replaced by the manufacturer is bricking a device. :wink:

The steps listed in the other threads are what will exactly be stated here.

Open EasyBCD
Click Add Entry
Click Linux
Select GRUB2
Click Add Entry
Check the settings
Restart PC.

I have personally used this method to dual boot my Windows install with BT5. It is the same set of instructions listed here, which show EasyBCD being used. Make sure you are using the latest version of EasyBCD and it should work like it has for me and others.

Good Luck!
 
Thanks i will let you know how this works out!

Addendum:

should i put The BT5 Files in my 10GB Partition? lol i know its stupid :/
 
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I put the files on the partition created for BT5. The reason is that BT doesnt use the same file system that Windows does. So if you mistakenly put it on the wrong partition, you could end up losing your Windows install as well as all of your files.

You can install the bootloader to the MBR though. That will not affect your Windows install at all. What will happen is that you will be presented with the GRUB loader upon reboot and have to boot back into Windows right away and use EasyBCD to restore the BCD. From there you can use EasyBCD to add the entry for BT5 and once all is said and done you will be presented with the boot loader that you are familiar with and things will operate as expected.

For reference on how to accomplish these things:

Repairing the Windows Bootloader - EasyBCD - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

That is how to restore the boot loader.

Linux - EasyBCD - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

That is the documentation to add an entry for Linux, specifically BT5.

1. Choose "Linux\BSD" from the tabs on the top.
2. Select GRUB2 from the drop-down menu.
3. Choose the correct drive and partition number for your Linux partition. This should be the same partition as the one we just finished configuring. Refer to the image above for an example.
4. Enter the name you would like to give the Linux entry in the bootloader.
5. Press "Add Entry" and reboot to test.

It is as simple as that. Good luck!
 
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