Help! I've really messed this up
 

Hi,
I have installed ubuntu linux on my computer to dual boot with xp and followed all the instructions in the screencast on the ubuntu website and i'm able to connect to wireless internet and everything through Ubuntu. The problem is, now i can't get my XP to load! when i select XP on the GRUB menu it just says starting up and doesn't do anything else. I know i'll probably end up having to format my pc but i'm not to bothered about that as everything is stored on my second hard disk but i would be grateful if someone knew how i could fix it without a format and running all xp setup again.

Thanks.

Ben B

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Hit F8 just after POST and try safe mode.

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Have a look here....
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/483/x...covery_console

Bear in mind you'll overwrite grub - but it should fix your XP install.

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Assuming your are reading/posting this from Ubuntu, type the following in a terminal window and post the results:

sudo fdisk -l

This will show whether there is still an NTFS partition on your main disk!

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Well that's buggered it! My computer refused to get past the bios screen! Have now formatted it and this time i have set up a 20GIG partition on my 30GIG hard drive for xp which will leave me 10GIG to re-install linux onto. I am currently on my 2nd PC posting this.

Thanks for trying anyway.

Ben B

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

another happy linux consumer ;)

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Another disgruntled linux post from you ;)

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Another thread goin' downhill fast.

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Let's not take this in the same direction as the last thread went please.

Problems dual-booting Linux and Windows XP are plentiful, well documented, usually easy to solve, and are usually split fairly evenly between being caused by Windows and caused by Linux.

9 times out of 10 it's a small mistake made in the install process that causes the problem, and it's an equally small change needed to fix it.

Once you've got the two re-installed (install XP first, then Ubuntu) you should find things start to run more smoothly. If you're still having problems you will probably find that the guys & gals at the Ubuntu Forums can get you sorted and up and running in no time at all - they're a friendly bunch, who don't usually get involved in OS flaming wars (from either side of the fence), and who are more interested in helping people decide if Ubuntu is right for them rather than getting evangelistic about it.

If you do post over there look for a member called Catsworth, tell him I said "Hi" ;)

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Anybody installing any OS for the first time/s can potentially encounter problems(try XP with no ethernet drivers,no knowlage and only one pc),especially if dualbooting multiple os`s....for many it`s probably the first dealings they`ve ever had with partitioning & multiple os`s so theres nothing wrong at all with making a complete mess of it(as long as you`ve backed up that important content of course.....ahem).:)

This place should help with many initial questions though:)
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/index.php
And dont forget....
http://ubuntuforums.org/

The thing about Ubuntu is that if you give it the bit of time & patience it does indeed deserve then it can make for extremely happy consumers.:)

What........even in the "Linux Desktop readiness Thread"??;)

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

I did say usually :D

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

more like a big mistake, i had shrunk my partition so much that it had deleted system files. never mind i can now boot windows and linux from the boot menu easily but now i have to reinstall all those windows updates :mad:

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Ah, I see. Yep, that'll do it.

Next time you create a dual-boot install it's best to start from scratch. Use something like the GPartEd LiveCD to set up the partitions and then do the install.

Still, lesson learned :)

Glad you're up and running again, shame about all those Windows updates though :(

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

it's no problem really even though it has just downloaded 80 update, this may take a while lol

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Glad you got it sorted mate :)

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Good job they've fixed the WGA 'glitch'... ;)

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

I think you might want a speedtest thread if theres problems with that too;)

If your on 4/20Mb though you can download,burn & install Ubuntu in no time at all.Once you get used of that partitioning/installation routine you`ll find you can dl,burn and install Ubuntu in under 30Min`s(on the 20Mb).

Thats slow compared to some i know of mind you:)

I`m sure i read about WGA validating linux as genuine Windows recently.....

Yup..
http://linux.slashdot.org/linux/07/06/18/0037223.shtml

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

i'm on 2mb and after i downloaded it i was probably shaped but i don't care cause i downloaded it between 12 and 1AM so the 4hrs has now passed yay!

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

I think i was still using the 1Mb stb when i stumbled across Ubuntu last July.......well & truly worth the wait it turned out to be:)

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Indeed. A lot of Dual-Boot problems (not just with Linux mind you!) Are actually caused by Microsoft's complete and utter taking over of the boot sector, if you Install Windows on a machine already running Linux for instance - does it ask you if you want to install a boot menu? No! For Linux, booting windows can sometimes be a bit of guesswork, expecting the boot files to be in a certain place, and when they're not, chaos can ensue! But as has been said in previous posts, these are usually easy to fix given a bit of experience and perhaps some Google search know-how :)

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

After all this messing about just because i wanted to try something different i despise linux now. The user interface is shocking, it's almost as bad as having a mac! Good job I have now got acronis disk director suite so that i could re-organise the partitions and i thought that i would have to fix the boot sector but as soon as i deleted the other partitions i was running xp on its own again without the boot menu.

Linux = :td:

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Interesting. I dual booted XP and ubuntu fine. Just took my time and followed the instructions and used some common sense. :p:
Eventually I binned XP because I didn't need it anymore.

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

i got ubuntu and xp dual booting fine on the second attempt but then did the opposite to you and binned ubuntu

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

Choice is what it's all about. :)
But hate? thats a strong word. I prefer Ubuntu to XP but don't hate XP.
I still run XP on an old box, it's useful sometimes, like when you want to catch internet worms for fun and learning. :D

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

linux is good when there is no support for any of your hardware like printers and webcams etc. :rolleyes: and if you have a decent antivirus you don't get viruses. i hardly ever get viruses because i use a combination of McAfee Total Protection an Spybot S&D

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

If you prefer XP and think you're safe then I'm not going to burst your bubble.

Re: Help! I've really messed this up
 

ben
When you've recovered from your trauma...

There's hundreds of different Linux distros to try out at distrowatch.org
Just download the iso's and burn to CD (you can use CD-RW).
Then run the LiveCD. No need to install it. If it's no good, then erase the CD and try another one.
Some of those LiveCD's have a toram option. This lets you load the OS into your RAM and run it from there - at full speed.
Two examples of this are PCLinuxOS and Zenwalk.
:cool: