Windows / Linux Dual Boot - Unable to Boot Linux

Hi,

I have been successfully (and happily) dual-booting Windows 7 and Linux (the Netrunner / Kubuntu / Debian distro) for some time but experienced an unusual problem the other day that I need some help to resolve.

The Linux instance is my usual OS and the EasyBCD default but occasionally I need to boot up Windows to do some tasks. On this occasion I selected the Windows entry from the EasyBCD boot menu, and Windows booted normally. Because I had not used Windows for a while there were quite a few Windows updates which I let run; these updates required a shutdown and restart which worked OK when I selected Windows from the boot menu.

After I finished running my Windows apps, I selected Restart as usual, got the Easy BCD menu and allowed the default Linux entry to auto start, but I got a black screen with the following entries:

Try (hd0,0): FAT16: No ANG0
Try (hd0,1): NTFS5: No ang0
Try (hd0,2): EXT2

Ctrl-Alt-Del restarted the BIOS boot sequence and I could then get into Windows via EasyBCD but Linux was unbootable. Hell and damnation!

An fdisk -l of the hdd looks like this:

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 63 80324 40131 de Dell Utility
/dev/sda2 * 81920 536905712 268411896 + 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda3 536905728 537882623 488448 83 Linux
/dev/sda4 537884670 976771071 219443201 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 537884672 567179263 14647296 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 567181312 574992383 3905536 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda7 574994432 976771071 200888320 83 Linux

The Linux boot partition is /dev/sda3.

Resetting the MBR using EasyBCD had no effect, and I did not try to do a Re-create / Repair. Instead, I booted off my backup copy of Netrunner on a bootable USB drive, then installed and ran Boot-Repair (boot-repair / Home / Home).

Boot-Repair worked but now I am booting under Grub2 control, and I would like to get back to using EasyBCD and the MS boot loader. When I had a look at the /boot/grub folder I noticed that a subsidiary boot folder was present (i.e. /boot/boot/grub). Now, in the operating boot folder (/boot/grub) there is a grub.cfg file that is not in the subsidiary boot folder (/boot/boot/grub). I'm just guessing, but it seems that Boot-Repair my have recreated /boot/grub and left the subsidiary folder as a backup and perhaps something (maybe the Windows 7 update) clobbered the grub.cfg file or tampered with the MBR in some way. Any ideas of what may have happened?

Any help getting back under EasyBCD control would be appreciated.

Thanks,

locksalordy
 
Thanks Guru,

I did as you suggested but got the same error. I downloaded and installed EasyBCD 2.2.0.180, deleted all entries, recreated the entries as per the attached, re-wrote the MBR and restarted. After recovering my Grub2 boot loader, I have now reset Easy BCD to boot Windows only. Unless you can suggest any other fixes, I guess I'll just learn to live with Grub2.

Thanks again,

locksalordy

PS: According to the EasyBCD settings, the bootloader path /NST on C:/ should contain the AutoNeoGrub0.mbr entry, but a directory display shows zero items.
 

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Don't "write MBR" after adding your entries. That's just resetting everything to square 1.
Write MBR is only necessary if you've destroyed the MBR IPL for Vista/7, typically by overwriting it with a Linux or XP version.
You only need to rectify that once. Once Vista/7 is back in control of the boot, add BCD entries to your heart's content (Add New Entry > Add Entry button) and never touch the MBR again.
 
Thanks, Terry.

My misunderstanding. However, I have now deleted both the Windows/7 and Grub2 entries and reinstated them and saved but with the same result. Grub2 still controls the boot and EasyBCD boot results in Windows/7 if I select the Windows entry and black screen with:

Try (hd0,0): FAT16: No ANG0
Try (hd0,1): NTFS5: No ang0
Try (hd0,2): EXT2

if I select the Linux entry. So it seems the BCD is still stuffed.

locksalordy
 
If Grub2 is in control of the MBR, then you will need to "Install Vista/7 boot loader" > "Write MBR" to put Vista/7 back in control.
Once you've done that, then add your BCD entries for the other system(s) you wish to multi-boot, using the latest Beta.
 
Hi Terry,

I did exactly as you suggested and the result was exactly the same (black screen on selecting the Linux entry on the EasyBCD menu). Since my BCD boot seems to be snafu'd I think it might be wise to leave the boot to Grub2. At least it works and is happy to coexist with Windows.

Thanks,

locksalordy
 
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