Dual Boot - Vista/Ubuntu instead of Vista/Fedora

bondmatt

Member
I have an HP desktop with Vista from the factory. I installed Ubuntu 8.04 and used EasyBCD to chain bootloaders retaining the Vista bootloader as primary.

I then installed Fedora 12 and attempted to retain the same setup by putting its bootloader in the / partition but Grub 2 was now the primary bootloader. (I wiped out Ubuntu when I installed Fedora.) The Vista bootloader was still there. I tried to use EasyBCD to go back to the previous setup but I was unable to do so. This was tolerable and I used Fedora for the short period of time I needed it.

Now I have installed Ubuntu 10.04 and installed its bootloader in the / partition. (I wiped out Fedora installing Ubuntu 10.04). Now the Vista bootloader is the first one I see but EasyBCD is still unable to edit it or restore the original. The Linux option in the Vista bootloader, from when I had Ubuntu 8.04, is still there but does not work. I cannot boot 10.04 from the disk.

How can I fix this? My one thought is to use Neosmart's Vista recovery disc to revert the mbr and bootloader to factory settings. However, I have concerns that this will cause problems since I have partitions that were not there from the factory. Then again if I have to reinstall Ubuntu 10.04 that is not a problem.

Thank you for any advice,
- Matt Bondy
 
Thank you for the advice. I was trying to use 1.7.2, now I have 2.0 beta

I tried to install Grub 2 as the primary bootloader and ended up with a computer that would not boot. I used the Vista restore cd/dvd that Neosmart has promoted and it reverted the bootloader to the settings I originally had with Ubuntu 8.04. I thought I was in the clear since EasyBCD now started up without lots of errors. I deleted the old 8.04 boot entry and have since tried every reasonable combination of settings. I have been unable to get 10.04 to boot from the disk. (I have tried reinstalling 10.04 multiple times).

Grub is in the / partition. Is it possible I have Grub and not Grub 2? I am not exactly using 10.04. I am trying to install the latest CAELinux which is Ubuntu 10.04 with a bunch of open source engineering software. The creator makes a live DVD image of his system with scripts to automatically configure everything. Is it possible he uses Grub? I will ask him through his website but I might have to wait some time. The one time I created a boot entry with EasyBCD and specified that Grub (not Grub 2) was the linux bootloader I did not see the Grub command line. I was still unable to boot linux but the bootloader I used to see was on the screen (no kernels to choose from).

Thanks again,
- Matt Bondy
 
If it is legacy grub, you should tick the "grub isn't ..." box if the Linux system is on a different HDD toVista.
Leave the box unticked if they share the same HDD.
 
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