Still trouble with Triple Boot

P

phenix

Distinguished Member
Can boot Windows Vista.
Can boot Windows XP PRO.
Ubuntu is having fits.
I have Easybcd(and think I used it correctly).
Windows is installed 1st.
I have read the article "Dual-booting Ubuntu Linux and Windows Vista"
When I went through it step by step I had trouble with step #4.
I never did see the ""ADVANCED Button". That's probably what my problem is.
Also I can't make out the writing in the pictures.

I tried, in the bios, turning off the Windows drive and I was able to boot into Ubuntu.
So, obviously I don't understand something about "Easybcd".
I have tried it with Grub checked and unchecked.

So, as a remedy to my plight, should I reinstall Ubuntu again???
Thanks for any suggestions.
 
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First let's start fresh here so I can catch up on your setup a little. Do you have XP and Vista setup as a dual boot on the first host drive and now adding ubuntu in on a second correct?

When first installing ubuntu from the live cd and leaving the Vista host drive here plugged in the ubuntu installer trashed the Vista mbr by placing it's own form of Grub entry there. Once the boot order was set for the ubuntu drive then Vista was seen as an option with 8.10 as the default. That wasn't going to work.

Once you have the Windows mbr informatio corrected unplug the Windows drive and forget the default layout the ubuntu installer uses to opt for the custom partitioning scheme. With a small distro like ubuntu you won't need any swap partition but simply the root/system you highlight and edit to be the "/ mount point" not "/boot" there. Once ubuntu is reinstalled replug the Windows drive back in.

Once you are booted back into Vista with all that taken care of You can now add ubuntu in with the EasyBCD tool without fuss. Just remember to check off the "do not install Grub into bootsector" box when going to add the new entry in and ubuntu should load right up on the next system restart.

The keys are isolating the WIndows mbr from the ubuntu installer and allowing NeoGrub to be pointed at the ubuntu boot loader placed on the root partition. It seems to work every time without problems.
 
Thanks PC eye for replying.
I must be dancing all around this and having no end of problems.
Tell me if I am wrong in going into the BIOS and turning off the Vista drive instead of pulling plugs?
Vista and XP are set up on a SATA drive 1 and both are booting.
Ubuntu has the 2nd Sata drive all to itself.
Ubuntu will boot if the Windows drive is disabled.
I have tried it with the "do not install Grub into bootsector" checked and unchecked.
Thanks again
 
The Windows drive wouldn't be turned off. You would simply be changing the default boot drive from the XP/Vista sata over to the one ubuntu is installed on to see that as the new default boot device. That would then see the ubuntu boot loader listing 8.10 at the top of the list with a couple of other ubuntu options followed by Windows at the bottom there.

If you want to have the Windows as default you would use the EasyBCD tool to add ubuntu into the Vista BCD as a boot option along with XP. NeoGrub installed to the Vista primary but not mbr then sees the distro loaded when pointed it to the root you made the / mount. That likely wasn't done when installing ubuntu explaining why you haven't seen the distro load when selected at startup from the Vista boot menu.

It looks harder then what it actually is. Another thing that will help is actually seeing ubuntu installed on the ext2 not ext3 often preferred by regular Linux users while not comfortable with the 1.7.2 release currently out. When setup here the root was the ext2 type and readily saw ubuntu load when the edit option saw the root made / mount along with checking off the "do not install" box since NeoGrub will then turn to the ubuntu boot loader already placed by the installer.

The idea of unplugging the data cable off of the Windows drive to begin with is to prevent the ubuntu installer from making any changes to the boot information. That effectively isolates the first drive even if you were installing another copy of Windows on the second drive and not ubuntu. Otherwise the ubuntu boot loader becomes the default for the system.
 
Before doing anything you may want to review the basic steps here. First make sure the dual boot of both versions of Windows are in working order before proceeding with Step #1.

!)isolation of a working Windows drive by unplugging the data cable. The power can be left in during the brief interruption since ubuntu installs fast.

2)Having partitioned a good sized root primary partition for ubuntu's system files to install onto. The idea of seeing a second swap partition while not needed for ubuntu, Zenwalk and other small distros leaves room for adding larger distros like Fedora, Mandriva(formerly Mandrake), etc. there. optional.

3)Ext2 seems reliable while many prefer ext3 for the root. What is required for EasyBCD and this distro in particular is seeing the root made the "/ mount point" using the custom partitioning option before the Linux system files are actually copied.

4)With the installation complete replugging the Windows drive back in comes next once you know the installation went on well. You then boot into Vista in order to add the new entry for ubuntu in there.

5)The new entry sees the drive/partition pointed to, what you decide to name the distro if preferred, and still checking off the "do not install Grub into bootsector" box.

The rest is controlled by setting the amount of time the boot option menu will be displayed in the EasyBCD settings, setting the default OS with VIsta recommended, and testing the new entry by restarting and selecting ubuntu from the boot menu. That should break it down a bit and see some good results.
 
Thank you so much PC eye. I now have 3 OSs that I can boot into. I was using a tutorial called
"Dual-booting Ubuntu Linux and Windows Vista". I would like to make some constructive comments on this tutorial. The first the 6 pictures are to small to read. I think this is why I missed the "advanced" button. The next window that comes up and asks for the drive
has a box called something like "boot ?????" with a check mark. I left it in and guessed correctly. At the end of the tutorial is a blurb about "Smooth Dual-Booting" that I have no idea where to enter.
When booting into Ubuntu this is what happened. Got a black screen with it asking me to hit "esc" but was so fast I couldn't. Then another page of black with white letters then Ubuntu started to run.
Now I need a good backup!!!!
 
When ubuntu or any other distro first loads you will run into a few black screens with options for entering commands or changing settings. That's normal there. The defaults for each however will see all the packages load in a lengthy list as they scroll down the screen until reaching the main gui.

When dual or multibooting across drives with Vista the 5 steps there seem to be the working formula despite what I've also run into with various articles. For dual booting on the same drive I'll have a chance to test that soon enough between Vista here with the other drives unplugged since the second storage partition there is no longer needed.
 
Phenix. If you're refering to our tutorial in the wiki, you "click" the illustrations to see them full screen size.
 
If those were thumbnails you should see them popup into a new window when clicking on them. What I see is a "Begin Setup.png" or another name download prompt for saving the image to the drive not a thumbnail.



You'll see that when clicking on any screens displayed throughout the guides. http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Ubuntu Apparently once you save the image to your hard drive you then open it for large screen viewing.
 
IF you feel you need them for reference later you would save them to a folder for viewing while offline.
 
It's been my habit in the past to print off tutorials so that I can reference them while working on a problem. They are very clear when right clicking. But NOT when printing the tutorial.
Next time I will take a screen shot of each picture along with a print of the tutorial, then I will be
in business.
Thanks Guys
 
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