Vista/ubuntu dual boot problem

A

AnotherNewbie

Member
I'm new to linux, and have nearly got there, but I've probably done something obvious....
using a brand new Dell xps m1330, with Vista home premium.

I followed your instructions (+swap partition), but one thing I wasn't sure of was the partition number.
on the 'preparing partitions' screen
/dev/sda1 fat16 /media/sda1 123MB
sda2 ntfs /media/sda2 10737MB
sda3 ntfs /media/sda3 128257MB
sda6 ext3 / 105999MB
sda7 swap 2245MB
sda5 fat32 /media/sda5 2683MB

on the later screen it says
The following partitions are going to be formatted
partition #6 as ext3
partition #7 swap

I went for (hd0,6)

it all seemed to install fine
Then with EasyBCD installed the ext3 partition showed as partition4, and the swap as partition5

I now have vista running fine from the dualboot screen, but trying linux just gives me 'Cannot load from harddisk
Insert system disk and press any Key'

I'm presuming that I've numbered a partition wrong? Thanks

Addendum:

Sorry, just after posting i've seen this entry Vista/Ubuntu Dual Boot problem - The NeoSmart Forums
may be the same problem, but i'm too new to Linux to understand it fully
 
Last edited:
glad I saw your post. I am not new to linux, but I am new to the triple boot and EasyBCD. I believe i am getting the same error as you:

Bootpart 2.6
Loading new partition
Bootsector from ..
Cannot load from hardisk
insert system disk & press any key

I have XP on first partition, Vista on second and then Ubuntu ext3 and swap on partition 3 and 4. followed all the instructions in the wiki. root was installed on sdb 3rd partition so i installed grub on (hd1,2). setup EasyBCD for 3rd partition linux and i get the error above. :angry:

Still can boot into xp and vista through vista bootloader but the ubuntu on bootloader is no go.

TIA

-
aj
 
Alright guys you have to remember that hard drive partition numbering starts at 0 (Zero) not 1. So for you AnotherNewbie you should have your label at hd(0,5) not hd(0,6).

For you ghostrida you dont give any info but use what i just stated above and you should be able to adjust accordingly.
 
Thank you, it working now :smile:
Thats some service, I posted last thing at night (I'm in the UK) and the next morning I've got a reply!

I was fooled by ubuntu setup telling me it was partition6.
This possibly falls between the newbie advice and the dual boot advice.....
Thanks again.
 
Makaveli

I will try to provide as much information. i am running a on a new mac pro, i have 3 hard drives on the system. (1) is my main OS X system drive (320gbZ), taking up the entire drive. (2) is an HFS+ formatted drive for storage of media (250gb). (3) is my Windows drive with 3 partitions split equally of the 250gb, so 75/75/75. XP is on the first partition, Vista on the second.

When I loaded up the ubuntu CD i followed the instructions exactly as outlined. I partitioned the main root / with ext3 and the remaining as swap. At the last screen ubuntu stated
The following partitions are going to be formatted
partition #3 as ext3
partition #4 swap

the summary showed the drive as "sdb" so starting at 0 drive sdb is (1) and partition is third or (2), hence the grub advanced menu I have (hd1,2).

When i boot after adding linus in EasyBCD i get the error i posted. I know that grub got installed on the drive because i can see it if I boot up the live cd and query the drive. I also tried the Neogrub installation which got me as far as grub, but ubuntu still wont boot even after following the instructions of editing menu.lst for Neogrub. The other problem with neogrub is that it keeps searching fot the /NST/ folder which it eventually finds but it doesnt seem like it should be doing this because it spits out a bunch of errors along the way.

I began this process with a full head of hair. maybe i'll just throw ubuntu o n a seperate drive alltogether. :shame:

-
aj
 
ghostrida, how is your current dual-boot procedure set up?

Are you using BootCamp to switch between Windows and OS X?
 
AnotherNewbie said:
Thank you, it working now :smile:
Thats some service, I posted last thing at night (I'm in the UK) and the next morning I've got a reply!

I was fooled by ubuntu setup telling me it was partition6.
This possibly falls between the newbie advice and the dual boot advice.....
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Glad you got it working now. Yes we try to offer propmpt service to questions that are asked. :smile:

Ghostrida, Mahmoud is right. If you use boot camp your issue will be more difficult as boot camp doesnt like the BCD from what we have found.
 
I formatted the drive using Disk Utility and made 3 FAT partitions with MBR. Then went ahead and installed as if it wasn't a Mac at all, just rebooted held down the option key to boot from cd, installed xp and vista and the drivers that came with leopard and thats it. To boot Windows I still have to hold down option to bring up the startup disk screen.
 
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