Help: Multi-boot Vista, XP, Ubuntu

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jessi3k3

jessi3k3

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Hey guys, I'm having trouble booting into Ubuntu now. I originally had Vista preinstalled on my laptop so I successfully set up a dual-boot between Vista and XP. Now in vista I freed some space on my HDD and did not format that free space. I rebooted with Ubuntu 7.04 and ran through the setup process. I created an ext3 and a swap partition and everything went fine. I rebooted and chose the vista/longhorn option off of the GRUB (i think that was it) bootloader. From there I chose Vista and it booted into vista. I then used EasyBCD to reinstall Vista's MBR and tried to add a new entry for Ubuntu but this is where I'm stuck now. When I choose the linux tab in add/remove entry's I pick GRUB and then I have six partitions to choose from. I dont know which ones to choose but here is what I see.

Partition 0 (?????) <-Recovery partition
Partition 1 (HPFS/NTFS) <-Vista
Partition 2 (HPFS/NTFS) <-XP
Partition 3 (Extended 11GB)
Partition 4 (Linux Swap 1GB)
Partition 5 (Extended 10GB)
Partition 6 (Linux Native 10GB)

I tried partition 3 but when I choose ubuntu off of Vista's MBR it hangs and gives me a wierd message. I'll try it again, write down the message, and get back at you guys. Thanks.
Edit:
Alright, I get to this black screen. Here is what it says:

Code: 
BootPart 2.60 Bootsector (c) 1993-2005 Gilles Vollant [URL]http://www.winimage[/URL].com/bootpart.htm
Loading new partition
Bootsector from C.H. Hochstatter
_ <- Just Flashing

At this point there is no HDD activity or anything. I hit a key and the computer beeps. I have to hit the power button to shut off the laptop.
 
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Problem is that you installed GRUB to the MBR and not the bootsector. Reinstalling the Vista MBR removed GRUB entirely.

EasyBCD 1.61 has a new "grubless install" mode. Download the latest beta (see stickied thread in this forum) and install.
EasyBCD | Add/Remove | Linux/BSD | I don't have grub installed | Add Entry


If you'd rather not use EasyBCD 1.61, you'll have to boot into a Ubunutu Live CD, installl GRUB to the bootsector, then add an Ubuntu entry in EasyBCD.
Full instructions: http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Linux
 
Alright, thanks! I'll give it a shot right now and get back at you if it works.

Edit: Alright, were getting somewhere but it still isnt working. When it boots a lot of screens flash quickly and for a second I see the GRUB bootloader that I saw before reinstalling the MBR. The process stops with a grub> command line where i can type stuff. If I hit the TAB buttin I get a list of commands availale.
 
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That means your drive order must have changed too (in menu.lst).
You'll need to update menu.lst with the correct values (usually by booting to a live CD).
 
So do I just boot from the Live CD , restart, and that's it? Alright, I'll give it a shot.

Oh, and I checked the menu.lst in my C:/NST folder and it's empty (except for the couple of lines of comments). Is it supposed to be like that?

Edit: YES! I GOT IT WORKING! Thanks alot Computer Guru. Without you I would have been completely lost. I booted with the live cd and went to the boot/grub directory. I copied the menu.lst file onto a thumb drive, booted into Vista and replaced the empty one and now everything works. Once again, thank you very much for your help. Have a great day!
 
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Hey, that's awesome news!

Glad you got it to work.

With regards to NeoGrub's menu.lst, yes, it is supposed to be like that. By default it searches for the original Linux menu, and uses it. I guess in your case you had some drive mapping going on, that would tend to sometimes not work via "search & load." At any rate, congrats on getting it to run :smile:
 
Thank for any help.
Hi guys I think I have the same setup:
HD 1 Vista in partition 1 and XP Pro in Partition 2.
HD 2 Ubuntu for the entire drive
Easybcd 1.7.2
I can boot into Vista.
I can boot into XP PRO.
I can NOT boot into Ubuntu.
I think I have added the proper entries in Easybcd:
Windows Vista, XP PRO and NeoGrub Bootloader.
Sure would like to get over this last hump..

Here is my "MENU.lst. I'm sure there are errors.

# NeoSmart NeoGrub Bootloader Configuration File
# Modified 01-25-09
default 0 #Pick the task to be run if the user doesn't pick one within the time limit
timeout 10 #give the user 10 seconds to choose a task

# Between asterisk lines I don't know how to code
**************************************************************
#Vista entry
title VISTA #This is our 1st entry - it's number 0
find--set-root /NTLDR #Search for NTLDR on all partitions. Once found, use that partition as root
makeactive # make this the active Partition
# is makeactive the correct command????????

chainloader /NTLDR #Run NTLDR, the Windows XP bootloader
# is this a correct command???????
*****************************************************************

#XP PRO entry
title Xp PRO #This is our 2nd entry - it's number 1
find--set-root /NTLDR #Search for NTLDR on all partitions. Once found, use that partition as root
makeactive # make this the active Partition
# not sure about making this "ACTIVE"

chainloader /NTLDR #Run NTLDR, the Windows XP bootloader


#Ubuntu entry
title Ubuntu
root (hd1,0) #load Ubuntu from the 2nd harddrive's only partition
# The comment doesn't make sense as Ubuntu is on the 2nd HD with no partition

kernel /boot/vmlinux-2.6.22-14-generic root=/dev/sdbc
# Is it vmlinux or vmlinuz is it sdbc or zbdc
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic



.
 
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