Multiboot problems mostly Linux

M

Muskt

Distinguished Member
Greetings group. I have been absent from the forum for quite a while, and am in need of assistance again.

My system is complicated. I am attempting to learn Linux (Simply Mepis 8.0). I would have better luck at learning it if I could boot it. I CANNOT!!

My system contains 4 (that is correct 4) SATA drives. I have my original Vista which boots as "F" dirve. (Yes the boot drive is listed as F) I am in the process (slowly) of rebuilding my Vista install and it is the C drive. I am also playing with the new Windows 7. It shows up as the K drive.

Easy BCD 2.0 Beta works perfectly on all three of the Vista installs. I am obviously not clever enough to figure out how to tell it how to find & run the Mepis install. i HAVE NOT, AND WILL NOT, INSTALL GRUB TO THE MBR!!!!!!!!! -- AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!!!!! I have had too many problems doing that.

When Easy BCD adds the Linux settings, it shows up as the J drive. It does not load, obviously. It goes through some motions, and eventually reports that a partition cannot be mounted and then terminates. I do not have a clue how to modify the menu.lst file, even if I could locate it.

I"M STUCK!!

Any assistance that doesn't require the installation of GRUB to the MBR, or starting over from scratch would really be appreciated.

Jerry in Anchorage
 
Are you getting a menu initially when you select your linux entry from the vista bootloader? You can use grub's edit feature at boot time to temporarily change entry settings. For the "root (hdx,y)" lines in your entries you need to modify x until you can successfully boot the OS. Now once your in, go to /boot/grub/menu.lst to save the changes for future booting.

If you don't get a menu you most likely havent installed grub to the bootsector of your linux partition. You'll need to do so in order for it to work properly.
 
I do have Grub in the correct location(I think). It only gives 2 options - MBR & ROOT.
From Windows, I do not have access to any of the Linux partitions. If I boot with the live CD & run GParted, It tells me that Linux is in SDB1. I then go there & find the grub folder & I can find the menu.lst file. I do not know how t tell Windows (EASY BCD) how to get there. I cannot locate any docs that tell me either. I know where the NEOGRUB file is, but haven't a clue as to what to p;ut in it to make it look in the correct place.

Jerry in Anchorage
 
Muskt said:
I do have Grub in the correct location(I think). It only gives 2 options - MBR & ROOT.
From Windows, I do not have access to any of the Linux partitions. If I boot with the live CD & run GParted, It tells me that Linux is in SDB1. I then go there & find the grub folder & I can find the menu.lst file. I do not know how t tell Windows (EASY BCD) how to get there. I cannot locate any docs that tell me either. I know where the NEOGRUB file is, but haven't a clue as to what to p;ut in it to make it look in the correct place.

Jerry in Anchorage
Click to expand...

Hi,
navigate to the Linux tab in EasyBCD, create an entry for Linux, and point it at the Linux partition (should be shown as "disk 1, partition 1" under the "Device" drop-down menu). Also, make sure to select Grub in the "Type" menu under the Linux tab. Next, check your "View Settings" window in EasyBCD, and then your Disk Management, to verify that the entry is pointing at your "system" partition, and not somewhere else. Next, reboot, and see if it works. If it doesn't, then please post your /boot/grub/menu.lst on your Linux partition, and also your /NST/menu on your Windows partition, so we can make sure they are configured correctly.

Cheers,

-Coolname007

EDIT: Also, what version of EasyBCD are you using? Try EasyBCD 2.0 Beta instead and you may obtain better results.
 
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Hey Jerry, loooooooooooooooooooong time no see!

How are you and the Mepis community holding up? It's good to hear from you :smile:

Cool, Jerry says in the first post that he's using 2.0 beta.

Jerry - let me find out what the right path to menu.lst is on Mepis and get back to you.
 
Computer Guru said:
Cool, Jerry says in the first post that he's using 2.0 beta.
Click to expand...

Oh right...:smile: I had of course read that, but simply forgotten. It was pretty late last night when I typed that, and I was involved in a separate discussion in another thread, and I was tired...:wink: I know that's not much of a excuse, but I need something to explain my stupid error, right? :brows:

-Coolname007
 
No Offense Taken

Thanks for the replies guys. When someone offers help, it would be pretty poor form to be offended. I appreciate any help I can get.

I had a major computer glitch a few months ago, & lost my Linux install. That had taken weeks of efforts by me and members of this forum to get me up & running. So, I am back attempting it again. My memory is not what it used to be, & I cannot remember how we accomplished the setup to get it to boot.

I like the new 2.0 Beta. Thank you for all your efforts in creating it.

I did not progress very far with the Linux learning. It is, to me, very foreign. I am determined, though to at least get comfortable with it. Hopefully starting as soon as I figure out how to boot it.

I booted via the live CD, & located the HD install & tracked down the menu.lst file. I copied it onto my Vista drive and rebooted into Vista. Guess what? It reformatted itself (menu.lst) into one long statement. POS!!! Anyway, I was able to decipher where it thinks it is located when running from the live CD. Only the creator knows where Vista thinks it is. I digress.

The menu.lst says that the boot is located at either (hd1,0) or SDB1. Those references may be the same place. I haven't a clue.

Here is what the file looks like to Vista.

timeout 15
color cyan/blue white/blue
foreground ffffff
background 0639a1

gfxmenu /boot/grub/message

title MEPIS at sdb1, newest kernel
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb3
initrd /boot/initrd.img
boot

title MEPIS at sdb1, previous kernel (if any)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz.old root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb3
boot

title MEPIS at sdb1, kernel 2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb3
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
boot

title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader) at sda1
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader) at sdd1
map (hd0) (hd3)
map (hd3) (hd0)
rootnoverify (hd3,0)
chainloader +1

title MEMTEST
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin

HOLY COW!! It printed it correctly. When I attempted to view/edit the file, it was totally run together.

I still do not know how to proceed.

So, do I need to insert some portion of the above into the NeoGrub config file?

Thanks,
Jerry in Anchorage
 
Muskt said:
The menu.lst says that the boot is located at either (hd1,0) or SDB1. Those references may be the same place. I haven't a clue.
Click to expand...
Those are indeed the same, and equals the second hard drive, first partition. That is because the (hdx,y) notation begins the count for both disks and partitions at 0, while the sdxy notation on the other hand starts counting at 1 for partitions, meaning it will always be one number ahead than the (hdx,y) notation.
Here is what the file looks like to Vista.

timeout 15
color cyan/blue white/blue
foreground ffffff
background 0639a1

gfxmenu /boot/grub/message

title MEPIS at sdb1, newest kernel
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb3
initrd /boot/initrd.img
boot

title MEPIS at sdb1, previous kernel (if any)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz.old root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb3
boot

title MEPIS at sdb1, kernel 2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb3
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
boot

title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader) at sda1
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader) at sdd1
map (hd0) (hd3)
map (hd3) (hd0)
rootnoverify (hd3,0)
chainloader +1

title MEMTEST
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
Click to expand...
Try this config instead in your Linux (not NeoGrub) menu.lst:

timeout 15
color cyan/blue white/blue
foreground ffffff
background 0639a1

gfxmenu /boot/grub/message

title MEPIS at sdb1, newest kernel
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb1
initrd /boot/initrd.img
boot

title MEPIS at sdb1, previous kernel (if any)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz.old root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb1
boot

title MEPIS at sdb1, kernel 2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb1
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
boot

title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader) at sda1
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader) at sdd1
map (hd0) (hd3)
map (hd3) (hd0)
rootnoverify (hd3,0)
chainloader +1

title MEMTEST
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
Click to expand...
Once you replace it, next try deleting whatever Linux entries you see in EasyBCD's Add/Remove Entries section, and creating a new one under the Linux tab, making sure to point it at the second disk, first partition in the "Device" drop-down menu, which should be shown as a "Linux native" partition, and checking that box titled "Grub isn't installed to the MBR/bootsector", which will install a version of NeoGrub that reads the menu.lst on the Linux partition, but only doing that after first removing NeoGrub under the NeoGrub tab if its already installed.

Let us know if this fixes the problem, or if you still have issues. :wink:

-Coolname007
 
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I had wanted to double-check the location of menu.lst on Mepis, it is indeed /boot/grub/menu.lst so you should be able to use NeoGrub normally without any problems.
 
No Luck

Coolname007--I tried to accomplish what you listed above and get an "unable to mount ******* Error 17" every time.

I think I followed your instructions; however, as with everything Linux, it makes little sense to me. I removed all things Linux from Easy Bcd. I booted with the live CD into Mepis. I located the menu.lst file and copied the changes you suggested and saved the file. I rebooted into Vista and added Linux to the boot sequence. I selecetd the "correct" drive and partition and then checked the Grub not in MBR box which caused the previously listed drive & partition to disappear. I saved the file & exited EasyBCD. I restarted EasyBCD & checked the entries and Mepis is listed as being on the "J" drive, which is my new version of Vista. WHY?? The NST directory is there (ON THE j DRIVE) & it contains a mini menu.lst and a NeoGrub.mbr file which I cannot open or edit. Where do I go from here?

Computer Guru, I would like to try the NeoGrub "normally" as you mentioneD above; however, again, I wouldn't know normal or abnormal. I cannot find any instructions as to what goes in the config file.

As I said the last time I attempted this , WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO COMPLICATED??

I can't find any documentation that provides much guidance. (Can you tell I'm getting frustrated again?)

I just want to load an operating system without buying a new computer to dedicate to it.

Thanks for your continued patience.

Jerry in Anchorage
 
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Muskt said:
Coolname007--I tried to accomplish what you listed above and get an "unable to mount ******* Error 17" every time.

I think I followed your instructions; however, as with everything Linux, it makes little sense to me. I removed all things Linux from Easy Bcd. I booted with the live CD into Mepis. I located the menu.lst file and copied the changes you suggested and saved the file.
Click to expand...
Did you just *copy* them into your menu.lst, or did you replace the other entries?
I rebooted into Vista and added Linux to the boot sequence. I selecetd the "correct" drive and partition and then checked the Grub not in MBR box which caused the previously listed drive & partition to disappear.
Click to expand...
Which drive and partition was previosly listed, and where? Are you speaking of the previous entries in your NeoGrub menu.lst?
I saved the file & exited EasyBCD. I restarted EasyBCD & checked the entries and Mepis is listed as being on the "J" drive, which is my new version of Vista. WHY?? The NST directory is there (ON THE j DRIVE) & it contains a mini menu.lst and a NeoGrub.mbr file which I cannot open or edit. Where do I go from here?
Click to expand...
If none of the above worked, try the following config in your NeoGrub menu.lst instead (just go to the NeoGrub tab in EasyBCD, and click on the "Configure" button to open up the menu.lst):

#This is our first entry
title Mepis
root (hd1,0) #Load Mepis from the 2nd harddrive's 1st partition.
chainloader +1
boot
#End Mepis entry
Click to expand...
That sort of config works perfectly fine for Ubuntu, but I'm not sure if it'll work for Mepis. You can try though...:wink:

-Coolname007
 
Last edited:
Tried these methods

I tried changing what you said with no change. Still got the error.
Next, I copied your entire file and still got the same error.
(looks like the server is down for maint , & I cannot access your previous message - I'll try from memory.)
When I added Linux, it asks for a drive & I selected the one that had the correct size & label for Linux It is called Drive 0 Partition 1. After I saved the Easy BCD configuration, exited , & reopened Easy BCD, the drive listed for Linux was "J". The drive 0 partition 1 -- is that the same as hd0,1 or hd1,0?? Man, I really don't like this.

I tried your last item & no luck there either.

Thanks
Jerry in Anchorage
 
Last edited:
Muskt said:
I tried changing what you said with no change. Still got the error.
Next, I copied your entire file and still got the same error.
(looks like the server is down for maint , & I cannot access your previous message - I'll try from memory.)
When I added Linux, it asks for a drive & I selected the one that had the correct size & label for Linux It is called Drive 0 Partition 1. After I saved the Easy BCD configuration, exited , & reopened Easy BCD, the drive listed for Linux was "J". The drive 0 partition 1 -- is that the same as hd0,1 or hd1,0?? Man, I really don't like this.

I tried your last item & no luck there either.

Thanks
Jerry in Anchorage
Click to expand...

Drive 0 partition 1 is not the same thing as (hd0,1). The former is the first hard drive, first partition, and the second is the first hard drive, second partition. :wink: If its showing as drive 0 partition 1 in EasyBCD, try changing the (hd1,0) to (hd0,0) in all cases, and see if it works.

-Coolname007
 
Time to cool down

OK, my blood pressure is probably 450 over 300 now.
This is really getting to me.
I tried the suggestions & got a bit farther than before. It still won't go beyond the initial Mepis loader screen - the one which asks what resolution you want to use to boot. After that I get the black screen saying that the vmlinuz file cannot be found.

I am just going to walk away till after work, or damage to the nearest window & my computer may result.

Thanks for trying.

It is no wonder that Linux is not very popular. When you cannot even get it to boot, something is very wrong.

Jerry in Anchorage
 
Muskt said:
OK, my blood pressure is probably 450 over 300 now.
This is really getting to me.
I tried the suggestions & got a bit farther than before. It still won't go beyond the initial Mepis loader screen - the one which asks what resolution you want to use to boot. After that I get the black screen saying that the vmlinuz file cannot be found.
Click to expand...

If you're getting to that screen now, it sounds like everything is correct, i.e. the disk and partition numbers in your menu.lst, but you may have to add some additional lines. Try placing the following right before the title line, but before the comment, in your NeoGrub menu.lst:

timeout 15
color cyan/blue white/blue
foreground ffffff
background 0639a1

gfxmenu /boot/grub/message
Click to expand...
As for the vmlinuz file not being found, well, we're work on that once you've copied the above...:wink:

-Coolname007

EDIT: And if that doesn't work, try replacing the whole entry in your NeoGrub menu.lst with this:

timeout 15
color cyan/blue white/blue
foreground ffffff
background 0639a1

gfxmenu /boot/grub/message

title MEPIS at sda1, newest kernel
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sda1
initrd /boot/initrd.img
boot

title MEPIS at sda1, previous kernel (if any)
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz.old root=/dev/sda1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sda1
boot

title MEPIS at sda1, kernel 2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
root (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp root=/dev/sda1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sda1
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
boot

title MEMTEST
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I'm trying

Thanks Coolname007, I really am grateful for your attempts to set my feet on the correct path.

Before your most recent post, I nearly had a meltdown (me, not the comp).

I removed Mepis from Easy BCD. I booted via the Live DVD, & reinstalled Mepis to the same locations. I installed GRUB into the Root.

So, now I need to sort through all your posts & determine how/what/where to start modifying things to try & get the thing to boot.

As you can probably tell, I am frustrated nearyly to tears (anger, not sadness).

I must go taxi throught the shower & head to the airport soon (I'm a commercial pilot). I won't be home from work till arount 7PM this evening. It is 7:45AM here in Alaska now.

Again, I am very grateful for all your efforts

Jerry in Anchorage
 
Muskt said:
I removed Mepis from Easy BCD. I booted via the Live DVD, & reinstalled Mepis to the same locations. I installed GRUB into the Root.
Click to expand...

Ok, so if you reinstalled Mepis to same locations, and installed Grub into the root partition, then the same advice above (or close to it...) should work for you now. :wink: Assuming your Mepis menu.lst is configured correctly this time around, then you will only need to copy the section in that menu.lst that is not commented out (with "#"-however, only copy the Mepis entries, not the Windows one, since there would be no point in getting Windows to boot from NeoGrub, when you can just boot it directly from the Vista boot menu) and paste it into your NeoGrub menu.lst, overwriting any entries currently there. Next, reboot and that should be the end of your troubles *crosses fingers hopefully*. :smile: I'm really sorry your multiboot experience has been this much of a pain in the you-know-what. I remember what it was like to get my own tri-boot (between Vista, XP, and Ubuntu 8.10) to work, using various methods. Obviously, anyone who attempts anything but a single boot, and a single OS installed, is likely to encounter all sorts of difficulties their first few times, mainly because the various software manufacturers (Microsoft, Apple, Linux, etc.) were not willing to sit down, and figure out a universal solution that would work with everyone. :frowning: They each had to unfortunately design their own methods of counting drives, partitions, etc. that differed from everyone else.

Anyhow, I hope the advice I just gave in this post will end all of your difficulties, and you'll soon have a working multiboot. :wink:

Cheers,

-Coolname007
 
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One more time

I have posted this exact message on the Easy BCD forum, because I am working this same problem over there. I hope that by getting more users involved, that I may find the problem.

I got home a bit earlier than anticipated.

Let's get going.

First, on your most recent post (about 3 up) I can do those things, easily, I think. Question. My install is on SDB1. What does that translate into with the hdx.x terminology? Would that be hd1,0?

Next. That modified menu.lst you listed above. Should it go in the Mepis install or in the NST in Vista? (or both?)

Next. I tried a boot into Mepis after only doing the fresh install, & it went farther than before. I got to the pretty colorful screen that asks which screen res I desire to load. I selected "default", and a couple of seconds later I got the black screen that says "hd1,0 error 17 cannot mount selected partition" --or something very close. It sounds like the drive designator is still incorrect to me, but then if I had a clue I wouldn't be asking all these questions.

Next. This is strange (although it works). My original Vista is listed as the F drive (Yes, that is the boot drive). The new Vista that I am building is listed as the J drive. The NST folder is on the J drive in My Computer when running the original Vista.

Here is the menu.lst file from Mepis obtained by searching the My Computer on the Mepis desktop:

timeout 15
color cyan/blue white/blue
foreground ffffff
background 0639a1

gfxmenu /boot/grub/message

title MEPIS at sdb1, newest kernel
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb1
initrd /boot/initrd.img
boot

title MEPIS at sdb1, previous kernel (if any)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz.old root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb1
boot

title MEPIS at sdb1, kernel 2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp root=/dev/sdb1 nomce quiet splash vga=791 resume=/dev/sdb1
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-1-mepis-smp
boot

title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader) at sda1
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader) at sdd1
map (hd0) (hd3)
map (hd3) (hd0)
rootnoverify (hd3,0)
chainloader +1

title MEMTEST
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin


Here is what I believe t be the fstab.etc:

# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
# Dynamic entries below
/dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1 ntfs-3g noauto,users,gid=users,dmask=002,fmask=113,relatime 0 0
/dev/sda2 /mnt/sda2 ntfs-3g noauto,users,gid=users,dmask=002,fmask=113,relatime 0 0
/dev/sdb1 /mnt/sdb1 ext3 noauto,users,exec,relatime 0 0
/dev/sdb2 /mnt/sdb2 vfat noauto,users,gid=users,dmask=002,fmask=113,relatime 0 0
/dev/sdb3 swap swap sw,pri=1 0 0
/dev/sdb4 /mnt/sdb4 ext3 noauto,users,exec,relatime 0 0
/dev/sdc2 /mnt/sdc2 ntfs-3g noauto,users,gid=users,dmask=002,fmask=113,relatime 0 0
/dev/sdc5 /mnt/sdc5 ntfs-3g noauto,users,gid=users,dmask=002,fmask=113,relatime 0 0
/dev/sdd1 /mnt/sdd1 ntfs-3g noauto,users,gid=users,dmask=002,fmask=113,relatime 0 0
/dev/cdrom /media/cdrom udf,iso9660 noauto,users,exec,ro 0 0
/dev/scd0 /media/cdrom udf,iso9660 noauto,users,exec,ro 0 0


Here is the menu.lst from the NST folder on the J drive from within Vista:

# NeoSmart NeoGrub Bootloader Configuration File
#
# This is the NeoGrub configuration file, and should be located at J:\NST\menu.lst
# Please see the EasyBCD Documentation for information on how to create/modify entries:
# EasyBCD Documentation Home - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki


title /boot/grub/menu.lst
find --set-root --ignore-floppies /boot/grub/menu.lst
configfile /boot/grub/menu.lst

# All your boot are belong to NeoSmart!


The file from the NST folder is unmodified by me. (Cuz I'm stuck.)

OK, that is all I have for now.

Once again, Thanks.

Jerry in Anchorage
 
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