Tripple booting with Vista, XP, Ubuntu on three separate drives

I

isg0nnarain

Active Member
Hi Guys,

I'm a complete noob to this forum and was wondering if someone would be able to help me with a tripple booting problem.

I have a SAGER NP9262 with three 300GB (298.09 GB actual) separate drives. The first drive has Windows XP SP3 (32bit) the second drive has Vista Ultimate (64bit) and the third drive has been reserved for Ubuntu.

I am beginner to linux but need to install Ubuntu for one of my online courses.

I figured since I would be installing Ubuntu on a separate drive, there would be no problem. I was wrong.

I got up to the partitioning part and choose guided. Everything was going well but I must have installed GRUB on the wrong boot loader (even though I clearly remember installing it on the windows longhorn boot loader). After installation my laptop booted up and showed a black screen with just GRUB locking all keys except alt-ctrl-del. So then to fix this problem I just inserted my Vista disk and ran fixmbr.

Now I'm back to where I started. After doing some searching I came to this forum and to EasyBCD.

So now for my question: If I want to install Ubuntu and use EasyBCD how would I do so. Could someone tell me in detail or link to a site that shows the steps? Should I install EasyBCD first? If so where should I install it, XP or Vista?

Any info will be greatly appreciated.
 
isg0nnarain said:
Hi Guys,

I'm a complete noob to this forum and was wondering if someone would be able to help me with a tripple booting problem.

I have a SAGER NP9262 with three 300GB (298.09 GB actual) separate drives. The first drive has Windows XP SP3 (32bit) the second drive has Vista Ultimate (64bit) and the third drive has been reserved for Ubuntu.

I am beginner to linux but need to install Ubuntu for one of my online courses.

I figured since I would be installing Ubuntu on a separate drive, there would be no problem. I was wrong.

I got up to the partitioning part and choose guided. Everything was going well but I must have installed GRUB on the wrong boot loader (even though I clearly remember installing it on the windows longhorn boot loader). After installation my laptop booted up and showed a black screen with just GRUB locking all keys except alt-ctrl-del. So then to fix this problem I just inserted my Vista disk and ran fixmbr.

Now I'm back to where I started. After doing some searching I came to this forum and to EasyBCD.

So now for my question: If I want to install Ubuntu and use EasyBCD how would I do so. Could someone tell me in detail or link to a site that shows the steps? Should I install EasyBCD first? If so where should I install it, XP or Vista?

Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Hi, isg0nnarain. Welcome to NST.
You seem to have a few misconceptions on what Grub is as is evidenced by the "must have installed GRUB on the wrong boot loader (even though I clearly remember installing it on the windows longhorn boot loader)" comment. :smile: First of all, Grub is a bootloader, and the Vista bootloader is a bootloader...but its not possible to install one onto the other, unless you meant replace the one with the other. :wink:

Ok, for starters, please post your Ubuntu menu.lst, located at: Filesystem/boot/grub/menu.lst. If you can not access it from Ubuntu itself, then boot from a LiveCD (if you have one) and obtain the contents of your menu.lst that way.

Also, boot into Vista, and copy over into your next post your NeoGrub (if you installed it) menu.lst, which is located at /NST/menu.lst on your Vista (or Win 7 or XP...depending on which OS you're using EasyBCD from) partition. Once doing that, we can tell you what you need to change in either menu.lst to see a Ubuntu entry in your Vista bootloader, created by EasyBCD, work. :wink:

-Coolname007

EDIT: Realized you didn't have EasyBCD yet...
In that case, then install it on Vista, not XP, since its easier. And then we can help you to boot into Ubuntu after you post your Ubuntu menu.lst, and the NeoGrub one if you decide to try out NeoGrub.
 
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Hi an thx for the quick reply but since I am a beginner to Ubuntu and linux in general I have no idea how to access the menu.lst. I inserted my Live Cd and went to system but I don't know what to do from there. I already installed EasyBCD on Vista and nothing else.
 
isg0nnarain said:
Hi an thx for the quick reply but since I am a beginner to Ubuntu and linux in general I have no idea how to access the menu.lst. I inserted my Live Cd and went to system but I don't know what to do from there. I already installed EasyBCD on Vista and nothing else.
Click to expand...

Did you boot from the LiveCD? You will need to put your CD/DVD drive first in the BIOS drive order, by pushing F2 to enter your BIOS at startup. :wink:
Once booted, choose the "Try Ubuntu with no change to my computer" option, which will get you to the desktop. And then from there, go to Places>Computer>Filesystem>Boot>Grub>menu.lst, and post the contents of that file (when you double click on it...it will ask you if you want to display the contents, or execute the file. Choose to display its contents). :smile:

Good luck.

-Coolname007
 
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Thx for the patience,

yes I had my bios set so that cd-roms are launched first and thx to you I was able to get to the boot folder where I do not see GRUB at all .

What I do see are 6 files
abi-2.6.24-16-generic
config-2.6.24-16-generic
initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic.bak
memtest86+.bin
System.map-2.6.24-16-generic
vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic

there is nothing else it this folder
 
Than grub wasn't installed. You will need to install grub. Your best bet short of diving into terminal commands is just re-installing Ubuntu letting it write to the mbr for the drive its on.
 
Last time I tried to install Ubuntu I missed up my mbr and only got a black splash screen with GRUB. I was not able to type anything or press any keys except for alt-ctrl-del. I had to repair the mbr which I did.

Not sure if you noticed but I am running this from the LiveCD Ubuntu is not installed and I do not want to if I am going to get that black splash screen again.
 
Yeah I see what you're saying. Its just a matter of click the advanced button during setup to change the order of the disks and having it point to the correct disk for the mbr to be written to. Right now I'm trying to help you get a successful Ubuntu boot going on Ubuntu's drive before we worry about setting up the multi-boot. If you're unsure about the correct options to select in setup, go into your BIOS and disable the other drives you got in the system except for the one you want Ubuntu on and than procceed with the install.
 
ah ok. I will try to choose the right drive this time and if I fail again then I will disable the drives. At the moment I'm at the Advanced Options-Boot loader

Device for boot loader installtion:
/dev/sda ATA ST9320421AS (298.1 GB)

/dev/sda1 Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader)

/dev/sda-1
/dev/sdb ATA Hitachi HTS54323 (298.1 GB)
/dev/sdb1

/dev/sdc ATA ST9320421AS (298.1 GB)
/dev/sdc1

last time i choose windows vista/longhorn (loader)

should I choose /dev/sdb ATA Hitachi HTS54323 (298.1 GB) this is where vista is installed since this is the second drive
 
You need to choose the drive Ubuntu is being installed to. It won't do you any good by overwriting the vista bootlaoder on another drive.
 
k thx for all your help so far and this is what i get when I click on menu.lst

# 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 10

## 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=7e6cd022-a099-4d94-8d44-409b71cf3aa9 ro

## Setup crashdump menu entries
## e.g. crashdump=1
# crashdump=0

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd2,4)

## 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 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic
root (hd2,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic root=UUID=7e6cd022-a099-4d94-8d44-409b71cf3aa9 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd2,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic root=UUID=7e6cd022-a099-4d94-8d44-409b71cf3aa9 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic

title Ubuntu 8.04, memtest86+
root (hd2,4)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title Other operating systems:
root


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda1
title Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader)
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
chainloader +1
 
isg0nnarain said:
## ## End Default Options ##

title Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic
root (hd2,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic root=UUID=7e6cd022-a099-4d94-8d44-409b71cf3aa9 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic
quiet

title Ubuntu 8.04, kernel 2.6.24-16-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd2,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.24-16-generic root=UUID=7e6cd022-a099-4d94-8d44-409b71cf3aa9 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.24-16-generic

title Ubuntu 8.04, memtest86+
root (hd2,4)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
Click to expand...

It looks like the parts in the above quote that are bold need to be changed to (hd2,0), which equals the third drive, first partition. :wink: That should fix it...assuming of course that Ubuntu is installed to the first partition of the third hard drive! :smile:

Next, simply add an entry for Ubuntu in EasyBCD, under the Linux tab, leaving the box titled "Grub isn't installed to the bootsector" unchecked, with the correct "drive" (partition) that Ubuntu is installed to selected in the "Drive" drop-down menu, and the Grub option selected in the "Type" drop-down menu. And you should thereafter be able to boot into Ubuntu from your Vista bootloader, using that boot entry you created in EasyBCD. :wink:

GL and let us know how it goes.

-Coolname007
 
isg0nnarain said:
k thing is do i still do this with the liveCD well not like i have a choice since the only os I can boot are xp and vista
Click to expand...

Yes, you can do this from the LiveCD...just run the following command in the Terminal (located at: Applications>Accessories>Terminal) first, to open up a file browser as root:

gksu nautilus
Click to expand...

And then navigate in that file browser to your menu.lst, and make the changes, and save it...and you should be done. :wink:

GL and let us know how it goes.

-Coolname007
 
Ok before you do these changes can you boot Ubuntu's drive by itself? If you can't do that than pretty much no ammount of reconfiguration is going to get it booting.

If so, then the partition (y) in (hdx,y) should be fine. Only the x needs to be changed as stated in cool's post.
 
kairozamorro said:
If so, then the partition (y) in (hdx,y) should be fine. Only the x needs to be changed as stated in cool's post.
Click to expand...

How could the partition number be already correct?!! :wtf: It is currently set to partition 5, which would obviously be not right, if his Ubuntu is installed to the first partition of the drive, which is where it is most likely installed...:wink: Or maybe you meant the opposite of what you actually wrote? :lol: i.e. change the y, and don't change the x! :brows:

-Coolname007
 
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kairozamorro said:
I did say x. y wouldn't be a problem if he can confirm that the boot is working on its own before doing the modifications to get a multi-boot with it set up.
Click to expand...

Yeah...:shame: That was a typo! :lol: Now I meant the exact opposite of what I wrote! :lol: I meant "change the y, and not the x"! I just realized that, right after I rebooted into Vista, and came back here to fix it! :wink:

But the above is actually what is correct, Justin. :smile: He only needs to change the y, i.e. partition number, as this is what is wacko! :lol: His x value is correct. :wink: Why? Because there is no way it would be partition 5, regardless of whether you boot it directly from the BIOS or not...it would simply not be correct, because 1) I think there is only one partition on his drive, and 2) it would be out of the MBR.

-Coolname007
 
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