GRUB not booting Vista

[T3Roar]

Hey guys,

I've installed the latest Kubuntu including Grub alongside my installation of Windows Vista.

At the moment, I have 4 partitions as follows;

sda1; /
sda2; Vista
sda3; Personal files partition
sda4; /home

I have edited my menu.lst file so that it has Windows included in the startup list, with (hd0,1) as the location for Root.

title		Windows Vista
root		(hd0,1)
makeactive
chainloader	+1

The Vista partition is in NTFS and is NOT HIDDEN. So far, the only solutions I've seen online to this problem is unhiding the NTFS partition, but I have already done that.

Furthermore, I have tried using gParted to tick 'boot' on the Vista partition and untick it, neither have an effect.

I really really need to boot to Vista as it's my main OS as well as others in my house. What should I do?

Thanks in advance

[Snowhog]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

The definitive dual-booting guide: Linux, Vista and XP step-by-step

[Qqmike]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

Ha! You failed to tell us what happens when you try to boot Vista.
Without knowing that, this might work:

Get into Kubuntu.
Edit menu.lst as root to read:

title Windows Vista
rootnoverify (hd0,1)
makeactive
chainloader +1

(note that it does not read root (hd0,1))
After editing menu.lst, File > Save and File > Quit.

Then,

Open Konsole
type
sudo grub
and at the GRUB prompt (grub>) type these commands, each followed by Enter:
grub> root (hd0,0)
grub> setup (hd0)
grub> quit
$ exit
Close out Kubuntu and reboot to test it.
Note: The root-setup-quit will re-install GRUB cleanly to the MBR of the drive, using the GRUB files in the Kubuntu root partition (hd0,0).

*** ISSUE:

Are you sure Vista is on the second partition (hd0,1) and not on the first partition (hd0,0)? If so, how did Vista get there! It usually takes the first and second partitions (one for a special Recovery partition and one for its main files).

The apcmag link shows you exactly, step-by-step, how to get Vista to play with Linux and I'm pretty sure that Vista always goes first.
However ... try what I said first and see if Vista will go.
Then check the issues:
-- Vista should go first?
-- Vista should have a recovery partition?

[Qqmike]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

If you have problems with this,

get into Kubuntu
Open Konsole
sudo fdisk -lu
and copy & post the result here.
Sure sounds to me like you may have mixed up the partitions or worse that you installed Kubuntu over Vista. Also, tell us what error messages you get when you get error messages

[T3Roar]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.

- When I boot Vista, I get 'starting up...' and it hangs there. Unlike Kubuntu which says the same thing but boots after 2 seconds.

- The awkward setup of partitions is due to the fact I had a Vista and XP dual-boot setup before (with XP installed first). I realised that I'll probably not revert to XP so I thought I'd just delete that partition when installing Kubuntu. I deleted the partition and put two partitions in its place; / and /home.

This means that my Kubuntu installation is at (hd0,0) which I am sure of, because that's how it is in menu.lst. I've tried (hd0,2) for Vista and it gave me an error, as opposed to (hd0,1) just hanging.

- sudo fdisk -lu:

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x4e674e66

  Device Boot   Start     End   Blocks  Id System
/dev/sda1       63  20000924  10000431  83 Linux
/dev/sda2  *  102398310  204796619  51199155  7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3    204796620  976768064  385985722+  f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda4    20000925  102398309  41198692+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda5    204796683  976768064  385985691  7 HPFS/NTFS

So you guys know, sda2 is the 50gb Vista partition, sda3 is the primary partition which represents sda5 (a logical partition) which is around 380gb for my personal files. sda4 is /home.

My Vista installation didn't come with a recovery partition. I don't remember having the choice at installation but if I did, I would have deselected it.

I tried root-setup-quit, with no luck. Should I do the same again for (hd0,1) ?

Any idea what else I could try? Perhaps a way to force boot Vista and use EasyBCD or something?

[Qqmike]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

"I tried root-setup-quit, with no luck. Should I do the same again for (hd0,1) ?"

OK, root-setup-quit did, though, reinstall GRUB from Kubuntu to the MBR of that drive, so that is done, but GRUB can't "pass-off" the booting to Vista for some reason.

Don't try (hd0,1) -- that won't do anything (you'll get an error at the grub> prompt since (hd0,1) is Vista and has no GRUB files).

I wish I knew Vista better (ah! no I don't ).
If it were me, I would read that apcmag link extremely carefully, line by line, and check in particular for Vista's repair capabilities -- Vista * does * have some neat boot repair facility. It MAY be able to repair this. Something is not right in Vista's boot sector (the first sector of the partition (hd0,1)), and maybe Vista can restore it (whatever it is).

And you did change
root (hd0,1)
to
rootnoverify (hd0,1)
right?
(That's important for Vista; not needed for XP, though -- if you use root, then GRUB will try to mount Vista, which rootnoverify prevents happening.)




******************** Edit:
Just to see if you can get Vista booted, you might also try Super Grub Disk
Super Grub Disk, new site: http://www.supergrubdisk.org/
(it will direct you to a new link, but at this minute, the download site seems to be down for maintenance.)

[T3Roar]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

Yeah, I changed it to rootnoverify, although I have had it as 'root' this whole time so that might help if I try other things.

I have read that guide many times to see if I have anything different, but no, there is not indication to any difference in my install.

What are Vista's boot repair capabilities and how do I access them? I can't use Vista!

[Qqmike]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

"What are Vista's boot repair capabilities and how do I access them? "

It's explained at that site -- you will have to use the Vista CD (I suppose).
See my edit above re Super Grub Disk.

[Qqmike]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

I just checked the “Definitive” dual booting site, and they did exactly as we have done here about root-setup-quit and about Vista being on (hd0,1) – exactly as we have done it (except they used root, not rootnoverify, but that's not relevant).
Double check that you didn't make some mistake.
http://apcmag.com/how_to_dualboot_vi...led.htm?page=6

[T3Roar]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

"What are Vista's boot repair capabilities and how do I access them? "

It's explained at that site -- you will have to use the Vista CD (I suppose).
See my edit above re Super Grub Disk.

Thanks, I've been on here for quite a while trying to burn SuperGrubDisk, it seems like the perfect solution to this problem...

Damn, either Linux is seriously difficult to use (compared to windows) or I things just aren't working for me as they should... Every guide or instruction I see online seems not to apply to me :S

E.g. I keep getting that 'KLauncher could not be reached via DBus' error but the fix people are talking about (changing %U to %u in the Kate file association setting) isn't working for me... Tar doesn't work as it should for me either...

Anyway I'm just going to try to work out how to burn SGD and then let you know how I get on... Thanks for your support man

[Qqmike]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

Since you seem to be willing to get at this somehow, I'll drop a couple ideas in case I'm not around here and you want some input.

One option is to try to use the Vista bootloader:

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dualboot_vi...led.htm?page=5

That option uses NeoGrub to boot Kubuntu. There's some details, but it appears to be possible.
(This option is the first option from the link I gave above:

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dualboot_vi...led.htm?page=6

Instead of the backup menu.lst, you could use the Kubuntu live CD to get the menu.lst entries you need--or get that now since you can boot into Kubuntu)


Another option I thought of is this:
(1) Reinstall the Vista bootloader (I suppose using Easy BCD) without regard to Kubuntu, and thus “fixing” the Vista bootloader to boot Vista but not Kubuntu;
(2) Then Install GRUB from Kubuntu to the MBR of the drive, thus overwriting the Vista bootloader you just installed. You would do this using the root—setup--quit commands we have been discussing here (see above posts). Add the Vista entry to the Kubuntu GRUB boot menu, boot/grub/menu.lst—all just exactly as we have been trying to do here.


As I said, I don't have Vista and so have not actually done these things, but I can see from the Definitive guide that it looks entirely possible * using the Easy BCD * program (GUI frontend to the Vista boot loader/boot manager).

[T3Roar]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

Hey Qqmike, I was just coming on here to tell you my new problem...

Your last post is what I WISH I could do and would have done quite a while ago.

The thing is, I cannot boot to Vista at all.

I have used another computer to burn Super Grub Disk to a CD and booted it.

I used it to try booting Vista in all sorts of methods, none of which worked. That one actually didn't use the GRUB install I already had, but its own. It worries me that the same thing was happening.

I tried 'activating' the partition using SGD which worked but didn't fix my problem.

I am now also 100% sure that Vista is on (hd0,1) as the partition list in SGD told me so.

I think that the Vista bootloader is broken or something. I realise that I am using GRUB now, but I'm sure it links to something within the Vista installation which must be the root of the problem (since the only time I have problems is when GRUB/SGD hand over to Vista)

Is there something on the Vista partition (which I have full access to in Kubuntu) I could check out or fix?

I can't run Easy BCD because I can't run Vista... I need to fix this from Kubuntu (other options are SGD or gParted or the Kubuntu LiveCD)

EDIT: By the way, while reading an installation guide to Kubuntu, I realised there was an option to install GRUB to the partition only, and I did not use that option. I therefore probably have GRUB installed on the MBR if that wasn't already clear

[Qqmike]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

I was not aware that Easy BCD had to be run from within Vista (i.e, no "live" CD option).

So, how to fix the Vista bootloader?
I just quickly googled on
fixing Vista bootloader

and got some stuff that looks promising:
http://www.google.com/search?q=fixin...ient=firefox-a

But that's all I know--sorry.
I'm sure this must be possible as the Vista folks need to have a fix when the bootloader is broken and one can not boot into Vista!

Try some googling or the leads from mine.
I may be distracted here, but will try to think about this and to check in, and perhaps someone else may have some specific Vista experience (hmmm.... ).

[T3Roar]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

Yeah, I thought that would be the case. I just hoped perhaps you or someone here could tell it to me quickly and I would fix it and be done with this retched problem :P

I'll have a look around and see what I can do...

[Qqmike]

Re: GRUB not booting Vista

No experience with Vista on my end here
And looking at the M$ program, it doesn't look like I'll ever have Vista.
Looks like Windows 7 (? or some such) is on the planning-release horizon, and that doesn't look good either. => I'm keeping my XP with SP3 (but not using it--I use Kubuntu). However, having said all that, I also have never directly worked with the XP NTLDR bootloader (and boot.ini & etcetera); always use GRUB to boot it.