activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

[regi]

Hello all!

Probably a very noobish question here: I had a dual boot setup running with Windows XP and Kubuntu but after a while a had to reinstall windows now I don't get the option anymore to chose between XP and Kubuntu but Kubuntu is still installed on my hd...
So any idea how to get it running again?

Thx!

Regi

[Dennis99]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

Try the info at the last post here.

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=7174.0

[regi]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

Thx alot!! now one more quick question which do I have to chose overwriting the windows bootloader or preserving it??

thx again

[javierrivera]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

You should overwrite the windows bootloader unless you are using some third party tool.

Javier.

[Dennis99]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

Overwrite : when Windows reinstalls it recreates the Master Boot Record, not even considering another OS exists!

Javier beat me to it.

[regi]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

well I tried this and i can chose again between the different OS... but I can't start Kubuntu, when I select it I get the following error...

"root (hd 0,6)
Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x82 Kernel /boot/vmlmiz -2.6.15-27-amd64-generic
root = /dev/hdc7 ro quiet splash
Error 17: cannot mount selected partition"

Any thoughts on this one? Sorry to keep you al busy!

[javierrivera]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

Are you sure that /dev/hdc7 is your root partition?

If you are not sure, please give us the output of:

$ sudo fdisk -l

Javier.

[regi]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

this is how it looks like...

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/hdc1 * 1 3824 30716248+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hdc2 3825 14592 86493960 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/hdc5 3825 6636 22587358+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/hdc6 6637 7158 4192933+ 83 Linux
/dev/hdc7 7159 7289 1052226 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/hdc8 7290 7648 2883636 83 Linux
/dev/hdc9 7649 14592 55777648+ 7 HPFS/NTFS

[javierrivera]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

Wooaaa, 9 partitions... not bad .

BTW, your root partition can't be hdc7 as it is a swap partition. It's probably hdc6 or hdc8.

Let's do it in order. First, we need to boot Kubuntu.

1.- Swicth on you computer
2.- In the Grub screen select kubuntu and press the 'e' key.
3.- In the new menu navigate to the line that starts with kernel... and press e again
4.- Change hdc7 for hdc6 or hdc8.
5.- Press boot

If it works go to page... err next section. If it doesn't try the other partition.

When you manage to boot, open konqueror and navigate to /boot/grub/. Right click on menu.lst, select "Edit as root", give your password.

Now change that hdc7 for the correct one (either hedc6 or hdc8, you should have found this is the previous step), and save. Now rebooting should work properly.

Good luck.

Javier.

[regi]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

can't get it to work changed to hdc6 and afterwards 8 in this line:

Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x82 Kernel /boot/vmlmiz -2.6.15-27-amd64-generic root = /dev/hdc7 ro quiet splash

but still getting the same error

[javierrivera]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

No, not in the message error.

Let see if I can explain it better...

In grub, move the cursor to highlight kubuntu, don't press enter, press e.

Afterwards the screen will change and you should be allowed to edit the line.

Javier.

[regi]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

well it seems that the text that i copied was wrong :-X I have done it like you said... and changed it in the following line:

kernel /boot/vmlinuz -2.6.15-27-amd64-generic root=/dev/hdc6 ro quiet splash

So i followed youre discription but still getting the error

[javierrivera]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

. Sorry, my fault not yours...

You have to change the first line that you see when you edit the boot option.

Something that probably will look like:

root (hd0,6).

Not sure about if it will be hd0 or hd2... anyway when you put /dev/hdc6 this should read root(hdx,5), and when you put /dev/hdc8, it need to be root(hdx,7). I mean the second number should be one less than the hdcnumber.

As I use a separated /boot partition in the computer that I usually do this GRUB configuration dance I miss that step. It's a RAID machine and every kernel update brokes GRUB .

But it should be giving that same error message...

Hope that it works this time.

Javier.

[regi]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

well I was really happy when I finally could login!!! but than a message box "couldn't start up kstartupconfig" and the fun was over , then systems goes back to the login menu...
this looks like a little more than just not having installed grub right :s

edit: this is the error that i get before i go to the login menu

fsck.ext3: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/hdc9

but hdc9 is a windows partition isn't??

[javierrivera]

Re: activate Kubuntu again after windows install?

Great!!!, the syste is up. You don't really need that GUI thing, don't you? .

Now the problem is probably that other linux partition. The one that is not the root one. It's probably your /home.

We need to tell the system where is it. First, we need a working enviroment. Press CTRL+ALT+F1 in the login screen.

We should be back to a nice, well behaving, loving console. Now, loggin.

Write:

$ sudo su
# startx

This should give you a GUI as the root user.

Navigate to the file /etc/fstab. We need to fix it. Please post it here. Now we need to tell the system where is the other partition (I mean if it booted with hdc6 then we should modify the /home entry to be /hdc8, or the other way around).

Note that this /home is just a safe bet. I can't be really sure if this is the problem without looking at the fstab file. But it's very likely that this is the problem.

Javier.