triple boot seems ok but

[cra_arc]

ok my first real post so hope its in right section.

if not aplogies in advance


i have been reading forums a little in advance so hope im on right track ...if not i guess you all will tell me .... ( nicely plz)
have got this in bcd

btw all boots ok individually. set up on sata raid for these 3 systems

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {9dea862c-5cdd-4e70-acc1-f32b344d4795}
device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {7ea2e1ac-2e61-4728-aaa3-896d9d0a9f0e}
default {28f114ff-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
resumeobject {28f114fe-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
displayorder {28f114ff-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
{2e2dd020-0788-11de-bf26-dda5678af0bf}
{28f114f1-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
toolsdisplayorder {b2721d73-1db4-4c62-bf78-c548a880142d}
timeout 30
Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {28f114ff-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-US
inherit {6efb52bf-1766-41db-a6b3-0ee5eff72bd7}
recoverysequence {28f11500-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
recoveryenabled Yes
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {28f114fe-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
nx OptIn
Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {2e2dd020-0788-11de-bf26-dda5678af0bf}
device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Microsoft Windows Vista
locale en-US
inherit {6efb52bf-1766-41db-a6b3-0ee5eff72bd7}
osdevice partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {2e2dd021-0788-11de-bf26-dda5678af0bf}
nx OptIn
Real-mode Boot Sector
---------------------
identifier {28f114f1-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
path \NTLDR
description Windows xp 32



as i said i can select all ok and boot into each ..( after about 10 days of trying !!!!)

now i have a few other drives

2 more on sata but not in raid array ..

1 which is not connected at present which i am about to connect with ubuntu on
am thinkin of putting ipc osx86 ppf2 10.5.6 on there when i connect it..

reason for this post is...... as i can read all the info on the system now... i may not be able to after trying to load ubuntu or osx on other drives i will have a starting point to work from..

so if all fails... hopefully some one will be able to get me back to here ..

my thinking is i tried before with ubuntu and kubuntu and another linux sys and it seemd to mess by boot sequence for my main drives with windows on and the only way i could get it runnin was to reload all my win systems again.. i dont want to have to do that again so i hope from what i posted someone can say if im goin the rite way about it

p.s. as said i am new to most of this so be gentle.....


so here goes allxsssd etc...

if all fails guess i will spend another week sorting it all out .....


oh my edit reason for all this is i want 3 win sys on the raid with some form of linux and also osx on another drive or 2 drives.. why ????? no idea

im a 48 year old gamer who plays wow but got hooked on gettin this workin for some reason.... must be mad....


mmmn okie another update

i have discoved when rebooting to vista from win7 i get a infamous BSOD

and on reset i have a screen mesage out of range on monitor each time untill i switch ( btw am using a kvm between this and other systems ) systems or re afirm main system... so if i switch or push system2 switch on kvm (regardless if its n or not) and come back to main sys it seems to boot or at least show on mnitor...

any ideas ????? thx in advance

colin.

 

[JustinW]

Problem with your kvm switch maybe? Everything else seems ok.

 

[cra_arc]

okies have the thre windows formats booting fine and stable no kvm switch problems except sometimes recognising all the peripherals etc but that isnt a bott problem..


i now have win xp32 winvista64 win7 on a raid array
and can boot into linux on its drives if i disconect raid drives and put linux drive on boot from bios

but if i boot to windows vista and run bcd and try and poin it at the linux drive it hangs on some german name in the boot sequence (its ubuntu btw) will try and post it later, but gets no further

i tried to load bcd ver 2 beta but when i try and add/remove entry i get a message


bootgrabber.exe has stopped working
check online for a solution and close prog
close prog


thats as far as i can get

should i go back to 1 71 or what ever version it was
and if so how do i get it to point at the correct drive (which isnt shown in my computer btw but is in admin tools as an unamed drive) and not get the annoying message at boot

i will log and see if i can write it down now.


thx again
colin

 

[JustinW]

Linux doesn't like your RAID setup appraently for your windows drives according to what you haft to do to boot Linux on its own. EasyBCD can't fix that because all it does is add an entry to boot it. You will need to obtain the necessary drivers for it.

 

[cra_arc]

ok i have just put bcd 1.7.2 back in

and have bascially got this in settings

There are a total of 4 entries listed in the Vista Bootloader.
Bootloader Timeout: 30 seconds.
Default OS: Windows 7
Entry #1
Name: Windows 7
BCD ID: {default}
Drive: D:\
Bootloader Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
Windows Directory: \Windows
Entry #2
Name: Microsoft Windows Vista
BCD ID: {current}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
Windows Directory: \Windows
Entry #3
Name: Windows xp
BCD ID: {28f11505-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \NTLDR
Entry #4
Name: NeoSmart Linux
BCD ID: {28f1150a-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \NST\nst_grub.mbr

gonna try and reboot into linux now

from boot menu and will write up any messages

Addendum:

okie the message i get when tryin to select linux in boot screen is this


bootpart 2.60 bootsector (c) 1993-2005 gilles vollant http://www.winimage.com/botpart.htm

loading new partition

bootsector from c.h. hochstatter

a disk error occurred
press ctrl alt dele to restart.

to me it seems like its not finding linux on its drive ?

if that is the case how should i rewrite

this section.


Entry #4
Name: NeoSmart Linux
BCD ID: {28f1150a-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \NST\nst_grub.mbr

if indeed that is what it is



thx for all your comments so far .
as i said im new to this so anything is a bonus..

Addendum:

have now tried with 1.7.2. adding an entry with grub isnt installed in boot sector and i get this

grub4dos 0.4.3 2007-06- mem 624k/3069 etc

minimal bash-like line editing is supported fr the first word

tab lists possible command completions any where else

tab lists possible completions of a device/filename]

grub >_


and can get no further



thx
colin.

 

[Terry60]

Colin, 1.7 EasyBCD has issues with the latest builds of Linux since they changed grub syntax.
Use the 2.0 Beta version, which has fixed the problems.

 

[Coolname007]

And if its still not working after that, then post the menu.lst located at /boot/grub/menu.lst on your Linux partition.

Cheers,

Jake

 

[cra_arc]

ok thx for help but

i cant use ver 2 of bcd as i get a pop up saying

bootgrabber.exe has stopped working
check online for a solution and close prog
close prog

when i click on linux tab under add remove entries

that was with the very latest version

Addendum:

and this is how the file reads

# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
# grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
# grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
# and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 3

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
# password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
#
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic
uuid bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic (recovery mode)
uuid bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic

title Ubuntu 8.10, memtest86+
uuid bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST


i have to disconect my raid and leave this drive as the only one connected to boot into ubuntu linux


thx again and apologies for so many questions etc
colin

 

[Coolname007]

Ok, so you definitely need to use 2.0 Beta of EasyBCD then, since your menu.lst has UUID lines instead of "root (hdx,y)" ones. But obviously that error you mentioned with BootGrabber creates a problem...
Which version are you currently using? Build 59, and you're still getting that error? I guess there must still remain a few bugs with BootGrabber then. How about running the following commands from EasyBCD's PowerConsole:

MbrFix /drive 0 listpartitions
bootpart

and post their ouptut, as well as a screenshot of Disk Management? Previous problems with BootGrabber was when the MBR partition table was screwed up, and so BootGrabber couldn't handle the information being produced and crashed, causing EasyBCD in turn to hang when trying to list the drives and partitions in the "Device" menu under the Linux tab.

Cheers,

Jake

 

[mqudsi]

I've fixed up a lot of the bugs in BootGrabber (tested with tastewar - many thanks!). cra_arc, check your Private Messages inbox and reply if you're interested in testing.

 

[cra_arc]

hope you can see them clear enough as i dont have a graphics prog on pc atm.

zoom in on page i guess works ok.

thx
colin


Addendum:


how weird is this

i loaded ver 2.0.0.53

add/remove programs added an entry for

Entry #4
Name: NeoSmart Linux
BCD ID: {28f11511-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \NST\NeoGrub.mbr

tried again and it booted to linux and i can get back into win vista with out having to go into xp and rebuild mbr anymore

perhaps its beacuse i did

MbrFix /drive 0
bootpart

as suggested earlier but it seems to work ok with this version but not with ver 2.0.0.59

mmmmnn. at least i can boot windows drives and linux without resorting to unplugging and resetting mbr now.
at least i can quad boot now.. 5 is it quin boot next ?

lets see how stable and reliable it is
i may try with other versions of linux as its a bare op system atm on that drive and to be honest it is such a quick system to load on pc.

osx next ... guess that will be another headache ..

 

[Coolname007]

Oops...I told you to run the wrong command. I told you to run "MbrFix /drive 0" when I really wanted you to run "MbrFix /drive 0 listpartitions". Last post fixed. So could you please post the output of "MbrFix /drive 0 listpartitions" without the quotes? I will look over the posted information now...

Cheers,

Jake

EDIT: And this time please use the "Manage Attachments" section of the new post area to upload, and post screenshots here. I can't see the screenshots you posted that clearly, and there is no way to zoom in with the way you posted them...

 

[cra_arc]

here you go i guess cause its working under ver 2.0.0.53 not 59 and im using the neogrub entry as posted abaove it read diferently than the previous post

 

[Coolname007]

Interesting...:S You appear to have Grub controlling the boot on your system as the "active" partition (the *only* partition) on Drive 0 in both screenshots (the one of the bootpart output, and the other with the MbrFix output) is a Linux Native partition. So your current boot process to boot into any of the Windows (Win 7, Vista, or XP) must be like this:

Turn on computer>Grub menu>Win 7 (or Vista-depending on which BCD file is controlling the Windows boot) entry in your Grub menu>Win 7 or Vista boot menu>Win 7, Vista, XP, Ubuntu.

And you can boot into any of the entries in your Win 7 (or Vista) boot menu by selecting them, and pushing Enter. But how that could affect why you're no longer getting that error now, I haven't got the slightest clue. :brows:

When you created the new Ubuntu entry in your Vista boot menu with EasyBCD, did you select that box called "Grub isn't installed to the MBR/bootsector"? And on another note, why are you even using the Vista bootloader to boot into Ubuntu, when you should be able to easily boot directly into Ubuntu from Grub, since its installed to the MBR.

Cheers,

Jake

EDIT: Just noticed where you said you're using Build 53 now, instead of 59, of EasyBCD...
I guess this must just be a bug in the latest build then, based on the info.

 

[cra_arc]

okie what i have i my selection screen is a choice to select

win7
windows vista
windows xp
ubuntu linux

if i select any of the windows versions it boots right in to them (so far)
if i select linux i get

a grub for dos screen which has a box, and in it it says /boot/grub/menu.lst

if i hit enter at that stage i boot into ubuntu linux ( that hasnt worked previously)
gime 5 mins i will post screen shot of bcd settings as they stand right now im on lappy doin this so need to reboot for the millionth time my main pc .. why do we do this lol....


Addendum:


here


There are a total of 4 entries listed in the bootloader.
Default: Windows 7
Timeout: 30 seconds.
Boot Drive: C:\
Entry #1
Name: Windows 7
BCD ID: {default}
Drive: D:\
Bootloader Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
Entry #2
Name: Microsoft Windows Vista
BCD ID: {current}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
Entry #3
Name: Windows xp
BCD ID: {28f11505-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \NTLDR
Entry #4
Name: Ubuntu Linux
BCD ID: {28f11511-0779-11de-b1c0-001d6030ed27}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \NST\NeoGrub.mbr



edit

yes just seen your edit...

maybe 59 had a prob that 53 doesnt have but it seem i can get into all 4 systems ok now so i guess i will leave those drives alone for a while.

looks like my next thread will be have quad boot sytem running ok but !!!!! as im about to hook in a couple of other drives and want to get osx on one of them ... dont ask why... glutten for punishment i guess..

thx for all help so far btw

i will try and use hide an seek sometime also see what that does .

this has been a steep learning curve ...so far must say this forum is really helpfull appreciate your time ..

 

[Coolname007]

okie what i have i my selection screen is a choice to select

win7
windows vista
windows xp
ubuntu linux

And do you get to that screen after you select a Windows entry in the Grub menu you see first at startup? How about posting the Ubuntu menu.lst again, and this time making sure to post the whole thing.

Cheers,

Jake

 

[cra_arc]

no thats the first selection screen i see as written

win7
windows vista
win xp
ubuntu linux

if i then select linux i got to the grub screen with one hoice which is linux hit enter and into linux

so it appears i have windows boot selection b4 grub is that correct ?

gimme 5 again to get into linux on main

Addendum:

ok here is the full thing as of now

# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
# grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
# grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
# and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default 0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout 3

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line) and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
# password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root (hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader +1
#
# title Linux
# root (hd0,1)
# kernel /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
## kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
## alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
## lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
## lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
## altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
## howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
## memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic
uuid bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic (recovery mode)
uuid bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic

title Ubuntu 8.10, memtest86+
uuid bab8d881-013c-4b95-862a-963cef253290
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

 

[Coolname007]

What was the order that you installed the OSes then? :wtf: Was Ubuntu after Vista? And when you were installing Ubuntu, did you select the "Advanced" option, and if so, do you remember the location you typed in to install Grub to? Was it "(hd0)" or a location like "/dev/sda1" without the quotes?

Addendum:

I noticed your menu.lst that you posted does not have any Windows entries, so for whatever reason Grub apparently did not detect your other OSes when you installed Ubuntu, and did not add entries automatically to your menu.lst to boot it, which is odd...

I'm trying to figure out a logical explanation to explain why you get to the Vista boot menu first with the Linux partition set to "active", and it being the only partition on drive 0 (at least according to the output from bootpart and MbrFix, which to my knowledge at least usually displays the correct info...even Disk Management in Vista shows the same thing!), but so far I have not come up with anything...:wtf:

So those screenshots you posted were recent, and you got into Vista by reaching the Vista boot menu *first" when you turned on your computer, and then selecting the Vista entry there?

 

[cra_arc]

this was the sequence ( to the best of my memory)

disconected all my drives except the raid array that i wanted my windows systems on

1 on my raid drive (sata 1+2) i installed vista64 making three partitions
on first i have vista64

2 on the middle partition i installed win7

3 then on the last partition i installed xp32

i then used bcd 1.7.2. i beleive to set it all up

i then connected one of my spare drives (sata3)
after tryin to install ubuntu with with all conected and failing to multi boot,

i disconected my raid (sata1+2) and installed ubuntu on sata3 and booted to it a few times then went back and reconected my maid raid/ windows drive. (sata1+2)

at first i couldnt get the system to recognise the drive with ununtu on it using bcd 1.7.2

so as terry suggested higher up in the thread i tried bcd2 (ver59 ) i think it was
this kept sending me grub failure messages as above in thread.

so i thought try and use other versions of bcd and basically by elimination find a setting that worked

i installed ver 2.0.0.53 tried the various settings for grub and found that i could set it to point at my drive with ubuntu on it (sata 3)

when i boot my pc i get the option of all 4 op systems in the order posted abaove
if i select any of the windows systems it boots right into them
if i select ubuntu it goes to the grub boot menu where i select it and boot to it

for info all the screen shot posted are taken at the time of the post so they are all relevent at thet time and reflect the state of the system as and when .

i gues the reason grub didnt recognise my windows systems is that the windows drive were not connected at the time of the install as i had taken them out of the boot process.
so as far as ubuntu was concerned i was installing onto a single hd system.

does this help at all?

i have reinstalled and reformatted so much in the last few weeks trying to get it all as i want it i should right the sequence down each time i guess but as far as i can work out that was the sequence that has worked for me.

thx
colin.


Addendum:


oh as far as i rememebr yes i did select advanced in the install process of ubuntu but cant remeber if it was to (hd0)i think it was tho, as i didnt partition that drive and no others were conected at that time.

 

[Coolname007]

this was the sequence ( to the best of my memory)

disconected all my drives except the raid array that i wanted my windows systems on

1 on my raid drive (sata 1+2) i installed vista64 making three partitions
on first i have vista64

2 on the middle partition i installed win7

3 then on the last partition i installed xp32

i then used bcd 1.7.2. i beleive to set it all up

i then connected one of my spare drives (sata3)
after tryin to install ubuntu with with all conected and failing to multi boot,

i disconected my raid (sata1+2) and installed ubuntu on sata3 and booted to it a few times then went back and reconected my maid raid/ windows drive. (sata1+2)

Ok, so try disconnecting your Ubuntu drive, and see what happens now. Then reconnect it, and disconnect your Windows drive, and note the results of both events. Do you get to the Grub menu at startup either time?

at first i couldnt get the system to recognise the drive with ununtu on it using bcd 1.7.2

so as terry suggested higher up in the thread i tried bcd2 (ver59 ) i think it was
this kept sending me grub failure messages as above in thread.

so i thought try and use other versions of bcd and basically by elimination find a setting that worked

i installed ver 2.0.0.53 tried the various settings for grub and found that i could set it to point at my drive with ubuntu on it (sata 3)

when i boot my pc i get the option of all 4 op systems in the order posted abaove
if i select any of the windows systems it boots right into them
if i select ubuntu it goes to the grub boot menu where i select it and boot to it

for info all the screen shot posted are taken at the time of the post so they are all relevent at thet time and reflect the state of the system as and when .

i gues the reason grub didnt recognise my windows systems is that the windows drive were not connected at the time of the install as i had taken them out of the boot process.
so as far as ubuntu was concerned i was installing onto a single hd system.

Yes, that explains why Grub did not detect your Windows OSes, and automatically add them in to the menu.lst when you installed Ubuntu, because the Windows drive was disconnected.

does this help at all?

i have reinstalled and reformatted so much in the last few weeks trying to get it all as i want it i should right the sequence down each time i guess but as far as i can work out that was the sequence that has worked for me.

thx
colin.

Ok, so which OSes have you reinstalled in the last few weeks? Was Ubuntu one of them?

Addendum:


oh as far as i rememebr yes i did select advanced in the install process of ubuntu but cant remeber if it was to (hd0)i think it was tho, as i didnt partition that drive and no others were conected at that time.

Ok, well, it would certainly help a lot if you could remember where you installed Grub to. That would certainly affect which menu you get to first at startup...

Cheers,

Jake