Linux and xp duel boot

[Neolite]

Okay i have xp pro installed, and need linux ubuntu installed to i've made the correct partitions for them, but i can't get ununtu to install, do i need to install the OS selector first? and also its saying it won't install because it cant mount the partioned part with xp pro installed on.

[K0LO]

You do not need OS selector to dual-boot WindowsXP and Ubuntu. Of course you may choose to use OS selector if that's your preference.

What partitions have you set up? If you post a picture of your disk structure (a screenshot from DD10 would be helpful) or even just a list that would allow us to help you. As it is we're somewhat in the dark about what you have.

Assuming that you currently have Windows XP installed to the first primary partition on the disk, you then should set up an ext3 primary partition of 10 GB or more for Ubuntu and a logical partition that is equal in size to your RAM for the swap file. If you want you can also set up a separate ext3 logical partition for /home (optional). During the installation you would tell the installer to use the partitions that you created with DD10.

Important! When prompted, choose to install the Linux bootloader (GRUB) to the partition that Ubuntu is installed to.

Then, using DD10, set this partition to be "Active". The advantage of doing it this way is that if you later decide to get rid of Ubuntu and go back to having only Windows, all you will have to do is delete all of the Linux partitions and set the Windows partition as active. However, if you let the installer put GRUB in the Master Boot Record (MBR), as it will do by default, then it will be a little more difficult to get rid of later.

My recommendation is to use the Alternate CD when installing Ubuntu because it will give you more control over the installation. It is text-based instead of graphical, but is simple to follow.

[Neolite]

Okay screen shot as follows.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g228/ColdFire123/screen3.png

And also what do you mean by "Alternate CD" Used linux before never installed though

[K0LO]

Good; you've got the partitions set up properly. The Alternate Install CD is available on the Ubuntu download pages. Here's an example from a US mirror site:
http://ftp.wayne.edu/linux_distributions/ubuntu/6.10/
Read down the page under "Alternate Install CD". Use this instead of the "Desktop CD" because it will let you control the partitioning and the installation of GRUB. The regular Desktop CD will just install on autopilot.

So, you're on your way.

1. Download the Alternate Install CD
2. Boot from the CD and install Ubuntu
3. Point the installer to your already-created partitions when installing
4. Be sure to install GRUB to partition #2 (Linux partition).
5. When done, go back into Windows and run Disk Director. Make partition #2 active.
6. Reboot

When you reboot you should now see the GRUB bootloader screen which will allow you to choose to run Windows or Ubuntu.

To make the PC boot directly into Windows:

1. Start Disk Director
2. Set partition #1 active

Enjoy Ubuntu. I really like the KDE version (Kubuntu); have been using it for a couple of years now. Good stuff.

[EdWh]

EdWh

Hi Mark, Excuse me for jumping in but I see you have couple years of Ubuntu.

I have a similiar problem with Ubuntu, I have it installed on 2nd partition on a NTFS partition ad it works fine, however it it is loaded and it installed (Grub) on the MBR and that works fine but now I need to clone THE DRIVE to another drive for back up and attempting to do so, Acronis told me that if I clone it will remove the (Grub) and I will have to reinstall and all I have is the original CD.
I can download the CD you mentioned but even broadband that is from what I understand, 700 mb's, that is a lot of time. Any ideas for me to reinstall the grub??? Thanks Ed.

[K0LO]

Ed:

If you clone with TrueImage you should end up with an exact duplicate of your drive. I'm not sure what the Acronis message is trying to tell you. If you have a second hard disk I would just try it and see what happens. If it makes an exact copy then you're done. Just be sure to have only one of the two drives connected when you reboot your PC.

If not then you need a Live Linux CD. If you have a Desktop CD from an older version of Ubuntu that should work. As long as it is a bootable "Live CD". You would start your PC from the LiveCD and after you get to the Linux desktop you could manually reinstall GRUB if needed. Try one of these Ubuntu Wiki articles for guidance:
Grub How-To (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GrubHowto)
Recovering Ubuntu (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RecoveringUbuntuAfterInstallingWindows)

[MudCrab]

EdWh,

From what I understand from my troubleshooting of various GRUB installations (all in ubuntu), GRUB looks for the kernel to load/boot at an exact place on the hard drive. What happens when you do an image restore is this exact place is broken. It's possible that this can happen when cloning too, especially if the drive is not exactly the same as the original.

As Mark said, if this happens, you just need to boot from a Live Linux cd and reinstall GRUB. I've done this many times without problems.

[K0LO]

MudCrab:

Actually, that's LILO that does that. GRUB understands filesystems and looks for the kernel file by name.

Ed:

Now I remember what the Acronis message is about. It warns that you might have to reinstall GRUB/LILO when they really mean just LILO. If you're using GRUB then the clone process will probably work fine and you won't have to mess with anything.

[MudCrab]

-{ Quote: "MudCrab:

Actually, that's LILO that does that. GRUB understands filesystems and looks for the kernel file by name.

Ed:

Now I remember what the Acronis message is about. It warns that you might have to reinstall GRUB/LILO when they really mean just LILO. If you're using GRUB then the clone process will probably work fine and you won't have to mess with anything." }-

Ubuntu installs with GRUB. I have never used LILO. I may not be remembering exactly "what" GRUB looks for in an exact place, but that is the problem. Since TI does not restore the image exactly as it originally was (with everything in exactly the same place) GRUB can't find what it's looking for and the boot halts. GRUB has to be reinstalled to fix it. I am assuming that that is what happened. All I know is that everytime I restored my ubuntu partition with TI, I had to reinstall GRUB to get it to boot. It may have to do something with using OSS and GRUB. Anyway, reinstalling GRUB fixed it and it was easy to do so I didn't pursue the matter further.

[Mastamind]

I have a two disk system. With my 2nd disk. I get similar issue... I put XP Pro on first partition.of disk2. and Kbuntu on the second where the unnalocated space..was. it created a ext3 and swap file... after I boot it without any bootloader besides grub. It comes up fine no problems... xp or kbuntu... Now when I put my first disk back inplace that had DD10 OS loader it shows both disks. Disk 1 part 1 Vista, Disk1 part 2 OSX86. Disk 2 part1 XP Pro.. Disk2 part2 Linux..ext3 and swap. .. but can't boot to linux gives me grub when i pick linux and when i pick the 6.10 it says that the tty can't run job... error... If I pull off the first Disk1 that has the DD10 OS loader and boot my box with one drive then grub works and can boot xp or kbuntu. Any ideas how to get this last partition to work.. with Linux kbuntu

[K0LO]

Mastamind:

That's probably because the disk partition references change when you connect two disk drives. With only the second hard drive plugged in, GRUB will identify the disk as the first and only hard disk, (hd0), and the partitions as (hd0,0) for XP, (hd0,1) for Linux root, and probably (hd0,2) for swap if that's the order that you put them in. GRUB's menu file (/boot/grub/menu.lst) is probably built with this assumption.

When you now plug in disk #1, your first hard disk becomes (hd0) and the second hard disk becomes (hd1). The partitions on the second hard disk are now identified by GRUB as (hd1,0) for the XP partition, (hd1,1) for the Linux root partition, and (hd1,2) for swap. So the menu.lst file is referring to the wrong partitions when you have both drives connected.

To fix this I would burn a Live Desktop version of Kubuntu 6.10 on a CD. Boot your PC from the CD while both hard disks are connected. When you get to the Linux desktop, mount the second hard disk (maybe it will already come up mounted so look in the /media folder) and search for the file /boot/grub/menu.lst on your second hard disk. Make a backup copy of the file. Then edit the file and change the disk references for booting Linux from (hd0,x) to (hd1,x).

Reboot the PC and try again.

Be sure to make a backup of the original menu.lst file in case you want to revert to it if things don't work out.

[Mastamind]

Ohh makes so much sense will try

[Mastamind]

Anyway to turn off grub.. would like to just boot the linux icon in os selector of that second partition.

[K0LO]

No, Linux requires a bootloader to start. But you can set Linux as the default OS to boot in GRUB and set the timeout to 1 second or even enable "hiddenmenu" so that you don't ever see the GRUB screen. Check the manual here (http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html#hiddenmenu) for a description of how to do this. If you get stuck, post your /boot/grub/menu.lst file and I'll try to help.