Windows XP Grub

[blansbergen]

as said before, nothing has happened or better: nothing has changed

[Gran_Maestro]

as said before, nothing has happened or better: nothing has changed

That's quite interesting.

According to all system messages you are duly reporting, you have just successfully installed a brand new grub bootloader onto the first disk of your computer but "nothing has changed".

Hard to believe and even harder to understand what "nothing has changed" means to you.

This is not rocket science but just a simple bootloader to configure.
And as I don't have a crystal ball can't help you any further on a distance.
Sorry.
I wish you better luck with Wouter or anybody else wanting to show up.


/P

[Gran_Maestro]

OK, haven't slept last night thinking of your problem and came up with some ideas.

Your Grub is obviously fine as re-installing it does not help.
We need to edit the menu.lst file in the /boot/grub directory.

Before carrying on however, here is my question:

You appear having a choice among 5/6 menu entries. (kernel 2.6.17-11, kernel 2.6.17-10, recovery mode, memtest and so on..)
Moving among all those entries and choosing any of them, what EXACTLY happens?
Boot process hangs?  at what stage? what does the system tell you when it hangs?

Well, really hard to believe that a simple kernel update is preventing your OLD kernel from still functioning properly so try that first, choosing among any of those kernels that work and tell me EXACTLY what the system does.

Another idea crossing my mind is that in fact your system is booting but xserver is failing rather than Linux and that explains why you are stuck in front of a login prompt as you told me on the phone.
If your bootup reaches that stage and you don't recall your ID than you need to recover that one first.
Thats not to difficult as your ID equals your home directory name.

You need first to "mount" your linux partition as profox explained (in live CD mode):
sudo mkdir /media/linux
sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/hdb7 /media/linux

Once you have done that check the contents of your home directory with

ls -l /media/linux/home

that should show you your home directory embedded in /home on your Linux partition.

Now, note that down and put in a safe place as that is what you need to type in at cursor login in case you have lost your GUI (Grafic User Interface)
As for your password, I leave that up to you.

Now we should be able to understand what your real problem is as after over 6 weeks I am still not sure what's wrong with your computer.

Your new kernel hanging?
Or just the GUI interface not working with the new kernel?
Try switching over to your older one. If it was working before it MUST stil work..
As for the missing Winkozz we will fix that later on.

The reason  I am asking you to check all this is as we are still in trouble shooting mode now and I can't fix the computer if I don't know EXACTLY what's wrong with it.

Lats but not least: you might be fed-up with all this hacking and you may want to go back to your old Winkozz install.. yeah I know, everybody complaining about viruses and all the rest but still the best solution for most people.
[flamemode on]
(of course unless you buy  an Apple Mac that "just works" )
[flamemode off]  

To recover your original Winkozz system we need to modify the menu.lst
To play "safe", let's move the old file in a safe place from within you live CD terminal:

We asssume you have already "mounted" your Linux partition.
sudo mv /media/linux/boot/grub/menu.lst /media/linux/boot/grub/oldmenu

Beware of spacing for all commands to work properly.

Now the new menu file.
I prefer nano but would suggest the gnome editor to you as it's easier:

type the following.

sudo gedit /media/linux/boot/grub/menu.lst

This will fire up gedit and prompt you for a empty screen.
Just copy and paste the following:

Code: [Selecteer]

title        Windows 95/98/NT/2000
 root        (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader    +1
savedefault
#
title        Linux
root        (hd1,6)
kernel    /vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb7 roSave all this (no need to tell the program where as it knows already) and restart your computer and see what works and what doesn't.
You should now have only two menu entries in the Grub menu, one for Winkozz and one for Linux. Let me know what works in order to further carry on.

Ciao

/P

[blansbergen]

What is happening (and what not) + what do I see.
my menu was:
Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-11-generic
Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-11-generic (recovery mode)
Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic
Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic (recovery mode)
Ubuntu, memtest 86+

After doing all you told me to do my menu is:
Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-11-generic
Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-11-generic (recovery mode)
Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic
Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic (recovery mode)
Ubuntu, memtest 86+
that's the reason why I say nothing happened and nothing changed

that however is not entirely true because something has changed:earlier when activating the command gksu gedit /media/linux/boot/grub/menu.lst I got some kind of a warning but also the list as shown (parts of it) earlier on this forum when talking with profox.

now I stil got a warning:
(gedit:14873): GnomeUI-WARNING **: While connecting to session manager:
Authentication Rejected, reason : None of the authentication protocols specified are supported and host-based authentication failed.
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$
and I also get a list only the list now is emty so something has happened somewhere.

booting the computer without a live CD I enter in a menu as shown above.
I activate kernel 2.6.17-11-generic and get a message that the computer will start up and indeed it does but only to show the logo and the bar wich will show the progress. Well: no progress at all.
Activating kernel 2.6.17-10-generic shows a start up but than the question login ben desktop

followed your suggestions up to sudo .......... oldmenu and this is what I got:

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mkdir /media/linux
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/hdb7/media/linux
Usage: mount -V                 : print version
       mount -h                 : print this help
       mount                    : list mounted filesystems
       mount -l                 : idem, including volume labels
So far the informational part. Next the mounting.
The command is `mount [-t fstype] something somewhere'.
Details found in /etc/fstab may be omitted.
       mount -a [-t|-O] ...     : mount all stuff from /etc/fstab
       mount device             : mount device at the known place
       mount directory          : mount known device here
       mount -t type dev dir    : ordinary mount command
Note that one does not really mount a device, one mounts
a filesystem (of the given type) found on the device.
One can also mount an already visible directory tree elsewhere:
       mount --bind olddir newdir
or move a subtree:
       mount --move olddir newdir
A device can be given by name, say /dev/hda1 or /dev/cdrom,
or by label, using  -L label  or by uuid, using  -U uuid .
Other options: [-nfFrsvw] [-o options] [-p passwdfd].
For many more details, say  man 8 mount .
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ ls -l /media/linux/home
ls: /media/linux/home: No such file or directory
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo move /media/linux/boot/grub/menu.lst /media/linux/boot/grub/oldmenu
sudo: move: command not found
must confess that the whole thing means nothing to me. Not surprising though because if it did I would not have this problem.

Before you start with explaining all kind of things just tell me one thing. Should I carry on with the kast comand and copy and paste the windows thing on the empty screen that indeed I got or what.

[Gran_Maestro]

You got this bit wrong again, (my bad )

Should be:

[blansbergen]

You got this bit wrong again.

Should be:

What is this: a guess what contest?

[Gran_Maestro]

You got this bit wrong again.

Should be:

What is this: a guess what contest?

No it's not, it's very frustrating indeed.

The editor is cutting parts of text as it believes it's code..

Spent half an hour typing and still nothing comes up...

/P

[Gran_Maestro]

OK read carefully al my previous instruction:

1) I made a mistake it's "mv" not "move" the command.
2) looks like you made one as well as there is a missing space in the mount command

... btw this is a pain in the butt, not working at all.

/P

[Gran_Maestro]

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/hdb7/media/linux

you need a (space) between /dev/hdb7 and /media/linux

for the mount command to work.
the option -t ext3 is facultative

/P

[profoX]

Mind telling the rest of us why you guys are talking English in a Dutch Ubuntu forum?

[Gran_Maestro]

Benny, don't give up, Linux is a harsh mistress

Summarizing:

You obviously have a problem with kernel 2.6.17-11.
Try log in to the other one 2.6.17-10 and we can try to fix the xserver that's gone.

Find your ID as I explained and login.

Once that is under control and you have a black screen with a blinking cursor try typing

[Gran_Maestro]

profox, I don't speak dutch is that a problem?

Trying to help somebody here in a language that everybody should understand, please feel free to go ahead and do it yourself.

/P

[profoX]

profox, I don't speak dutch is that a problem

I don't mind. I was just asking.

[Gran_Maestro]

profox, I don't speak dutch is that a problem

I don't mind. I was just asking.

BTW I would higly appreciate you could enter this discussion with some ideas.
I can read Dutch not write it so use which one is most convenient to you.

Thanks for your understanding and support.

/P

[blansbergen]

Also other things to do, however wrong indeed. Doing things right gives the following results:
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mkdir /media/linux
mkdir: cannot create directory `/media/linux': File exists
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/hdb7 /media/linux
mount: /dev/hdb7 already mounted or /media/linux busy
mount: according to mtab, /dev/hdb7 is already mounted on /media/linux
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ ls -l /media/linux/home
total 4
drwxr-xr-x 50 1000 1000 4096 2007-04-20 17:56 ben
What is the next step?
By the way, Monday - wednesday - friday not available until after 16.00 hours.

[Gran_Maestro]

Also other things to do, however wrong indeed. Doing things right gives the following results:
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mkdir /media/linux
mkdir: cannot create directory `/media/linux': File exists
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount -t ext3 /dev/hdb7 /media/linux
mount: /dev/hdb7 already mounted or /media/linux busy
mount: according to mtab, /dev/hdb7 is already mounted on /media/linux
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ ls -l /media/linux/home
total 4
drwxr-xr-x 50 1000 1000 4096 2007-04-20 17:56 ben
What is the next step?

What to do at this stage has all been explained previously and in detail by me and other people.

Like all things in life, there is no substitute to experience.
Just try by yourself and find out what works.

Of course some healthy judgement is needed from your side to understand what's going on and make some progress at a decent pace.

To give you an example, your postings show that the Linux partition had already been successfully mounted, which in turn shows you had already given the right commands, did not turn off the computer hence you did not start from scratch.
Not easy to foresee for somebody else suggesting a procedure..

Anyway, what you need to do once you reach this stage is to edit the menu.lst in /media/linux/boot/grub directory which I would rather move away as explained and rewrite from scratch in order to enable at least winkozz and keep you going till somebody comes to your place and finds out what else is gone wrong with your system..

Cheers

/P

PS: as it appears from the system messages, your login ID is ben

[profoX]

First of all. Let's review what exactly you have done.

After logging in with the live cd and typing these exact commands:

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mkdir /media/linux
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo mount /dev/hdb7 /media/linux
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ gedit /media/linux/boot/grub/menu.lst

you should get a text editor on your screen with a lot of text in it. Can you please copy and paste all the text on this forum? Thanks.

Maybe it is better if I help you interactively through MSN, Jabber or IRC. So if that is possible for you, just let me know a time and date and I'll be able to help you better. Otherwise, this forum will do too, but it'll just be a bit slower to communicate.

[blansbergen]

As you asked
By the way, I know nothing about MSN, jabber or IRC. However if things are desperate I could come with the computer to you as I live in Weert which is not far from Turnhout

# 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 change this entry to 'saved' 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=2798f42f-3a7e-4770-992f-a43bcef89357 ro
# kopt_2_6=root=/dev/hdb7 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=(hd1,6)

## 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

## 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

## ## End Default Options ##

title      Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-11-generic
root      (hd1,6)
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-11-generic root=/dev/hdb7 ro quiet splash
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-11-generic
quiet
savedefault
boot

title      Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-11-generic (recovery mode)
root      (hd1,6)
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-11-generic root=/dev/hdb7 ro single
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-11-generic
boot

title      Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic
root      (hd1,6)
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/hdb7 ro quiet splash
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic
quiet
savedefault
boot

title      Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic (recovery mode)
root      (hd1,6)
kernel      /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/hdb7 ro single
initrd      /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic
boot

title      Ubuntu, memtest86+
root      (hd1,6)
kernel      /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet
boot

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

[Gran_Maestro]

Welcome back to the forum.
I thought you had given up...

Ben, you are very very close now to at least a temporary solution.

In the editor, (the program that you just used), cancel the hashes (the # sign) out of this section


this one out --># title      Windows 95/98/NT/2000
this one out --># root      (hd0,0)
this one out --># makeactive
this one out --># chainloader   +1
#

Save the file overwriting the existing one (menu.lst i.e.) and restart.

That should give you back at least Winkozz which is a beginning.

/P

update: for the editor to be able to overwrite the existing menu.lst you need root privileges. This means nothing more than that you will have to use "sudo" once more in front of the gedit command suggested by profoX.
So, next time you must type:
sudo gedit /media/linux/boot/grub/menu.lst

edit the file, save it overwriting the old one and re-start.
Hope this one helps to.

[bartek]

Mind telling the rest of us why you guys are talking English in a Dutch Ubuntu forum?

Ik geloof dat Blansbergen en Gran Maestro elkaar persoonlijk kennen en dat Blansbergen Ubuntu gebruikt dank zij GM en via dit forum hun probleem proberen op te lossen.



Ik herriner me me GM nog van een topic lang geleden ... ah, gevonden:
http://forum.ubuntu-nl.org/topic/9815

[blansbergen]

Klopt Bartek, we zijn broers. Engels gebruiken op dit forum is inderdaad niet direct come il faut maar voor de meerderheid in ieder geval nog te volgen. Met onze voertaal, italiaans, zal dat wat lastiger zijn verwacht ik.

[blansbergen]

If I understood well (including a part that appeared earlier on this forum) I should copy " title and so on up to hda2 ro  - as shown below"

title        Windows 95/98/NT/2000
root        (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader    +1
# (must this sign remain or must I get rid of it)
title        Linux
root        (hd0,1)
kernel    /vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro

that than I should paste between the two following lines:

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

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

That should bring me back a start menu where I can chose between Windows or Ubuntu. Just the way things were to begin with. If that is correct, please confirm.

Than: Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17 - 11 - generic appeared all of a sudden from nowhere and was added to the menu.
Can I cancel that without any problem? That would leave me with only Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17 - 10 - generic which also is how things were to begin with.

Can anybody see some reason why Ubuntu 2.6.17.-.11) "hangs" when starting up?

[Gran_Maestro]

If I understood well (including a part that appeared earlier on this forum) I should copy " title and so on up to hda2 ro  - as shown below"

title        Windows 95/98/NT/2000
root        (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader    +1
# (must this sign remain or must I get rid of it)

OK, yes! you understood correctly.

# <-- taking this sign out when there is nothing on it's right makes no difference to the program. It's called "hash" or "comment" and it will prevent the text following to be executed by the program.

It's useful for commenting a script and that's why it's called also "comment".
It's also useful to prevent some optional commands to be executed, like in this case.
You must take the "hash" out for the instruction that follow for that line to work.

That should bring me back a start menu where I can chose between Windows or Ubuntu. Just the way things were to begin with. If that is correct, please confirm.

Yes, that is correct as well.

So far so good.
Generally speaking, you shouldn't worry to much about making a mistake at this stage. Keep in mind that this is just a configuration file.
It's designed in order to be changed.
You can always restart the live CD, enter all commands necessary to edit the file again, and try another time.

What is important here, like it or not, is that you fully understand the mechanism of editing a configuration file, using your live CD.
This will allow you to try things on your own any time in the future..

Now about your kernel files.
You seem concerned by the appearance of the 2.6.17-11 kernel into the list.
This is the result of a (automatic?) system update, nothing wrong with that however, as sometimes things don't work as expected (shit happens), when the update takes place, old kernels are always left in place so that you can easily move back (manually) to the old configuration.

If kernel 2.6.17-11 hangs, first of all, just select the older one, nobody can really tell you why something doesn't work in such a case.
Could be your h/w, could be your s/w, could be anything.
Finding the reason needs trouble shooting which could be next step once you get your system back to life.
What is real weird here is that apparently also your older kernel has stopped working as, according to what you said before, choosing 2.6.17-10 prompts you to a shell login rather than having an automatic (or graphic) login.
This could be something related to your graphic system software.
As everything else, it can be fixed but needs further information.

I explained how to retrieve your login ID (ben), you may try going on that road as well, just to see what happens. (you need your password as well, of course)
Most probably, last update didn't complete correctly and something went wrong.
We can fix that as well, but later on.
I would rather concentrate now in getting Winkozz back in your boot list and your computer to life.

Ubuntu is a very stable linux system but accidents do happen, that 's why, when Grub updates, it keeps the old kernel files.
Do not worry about that, they are totally in-influent.
Mind you that erasing a kernel from the grub list doesn't really erase the kernel.
It's only a "linker" you cancel, the real procedure to remove a kernel and it's extensions is different as there are several files involved such as modules (drivers, that is), kernel image, and a lot more of relevant stuff.

Now, just a final consideration.
As every newcomer, you are asking for step-by-step assistance.
Do not get disappointed if this doesn't work or people do not respond the way you want..
For instance, "what's next step ?" might seem a completely sensible question to you however, the answer may entirely depend on (and change accordingly) to how you reached that stage.
If this is tedious for you, can you immagine for us?

Step by step is often not possible or, let me re-frase this, it is theoretically possible, in practice it becomes incredibly slow and boring (and difficult) as the variables are so many that the best helpers can do, is to explain you how and why things should be done in a certain way.
It's than up to you, most of the times, to decipher system and error messages while doing things and correct your path.

Last but not least, mind you "there are many ways to skin a cat!"

So whilst different suggestions may appear confusing, just be patient and go ahead and try with whoever you trust knowledgeable enough to listen to.

Just some food for a thought.
 Piss and love


/P

[blansbergen]

I must confess that I find all this very but very disturbing, not to say annoying, indeed. Wanted to put the windows thing in the right place, only to find out that cut and paste will not work for some unknown and not given reason.
Never mind, so I typed it and canceled the original text. Should not matter but you never know. Tried to save it but was not allowed to do so. That is it. End of the story? No because in the meanwhile I got today a call from Wouter and tried to do some other things by telephone but did not achieve our goal and so he promissed me to come to me after work. I wil let it all be now and will wait till tomorrow.

[blansbergen]

Wouter came and solved the problem. For some reason there has been an interruption while updating Ubuntu from 6.06.1 to Ubuntu 7.04 and some handfulls of updates so several programs were not in the place they should be. So the the bootmenu was rewritten but not completed which was the reason why XP was not "seen". Ubuntu kernel could not find some drivers and  therefore could not start up.
Thanks everybody for your advice.