how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd

ExTRemeGamEr168 · 05-28-2008, 06:22 PM

i want to hav a dual boot on my computer but every attempt tht i hav tried has failed. i hav win xp on my 250 gb hd and ubuntu ona 20 gb hd
but when ther both pluged, nothing boots, and when i only hav the ubuntu hd pluged in, it dosent boot. any ideas? and help would be appreciated

**koala** · 05-28-2008, 08:01 PM

When you install Linux on a computer that already has Windows installed, it replaces the Windows boot loader with its own version called GRUB which gives you a menu at startup with the options to boot into XP or Linux. It sounds like this is corrupt or missing.

Did you install Ubuntu with the Windows drive plugged in? Does Windows boot when the Ubuntu drive is disconnected?

shuuhen · 05-28-2008, 09:10 PM

What message(s) do you get (exact, not paraphrased)? I'm not sure, but I'd guess the installer didn't get the GRUB configuration file correct.

Did you use the Ubuntu install disc that has a LiveCD setup (basically has a graphical environment you can use from the disc)? If so, boot to that, open a terminal (Terminal in Ubuntu), then run fdisk -l (if that doesn't work try sudo fdisk -l ) and post the output back here.

ExTRemeGamEr168 · 05-29-2008, 01:40 PM

when both hd are pluged in, i geta message from bios saying "no operating system found". i hav the win hd pluged in, it boots normaly, but when i have the ubuntu hd pluged in, it dosent boot saying that it cant find the operating system. below the mesage it sais nvidia nforce3 boot agent 1998-2002

i installed ubuntu from a cd, and when i installed, i dont think i had the win hd pluged in

**wmorri** · 05-29-2008, 03:44 PM

So, it sounds like to me that you have the windows hdd set to be the master and the ubuntu to be the slave. Are you sure that you are making the ubuntu hdd the master, when it is connected all by itself? That would be something else to check on.

Cheers!

**koala** · 05-29-2008, 03:55 PM

Also, I think part of the problem is that the boot loader is stored on the Ubuntu drive, so when you have both drives connected with XP as master, it has no boot loader to work from.

I'm not very experienced with Linux, so hang on for some more replies, but I think it can be fixed by editing either boot.ini or the Linux equivalent.

EDIT: After you get this problem fixed, you might want to consider using Wubi to install Ubuntu. You don't need to create any new partitions or set up a dual boot system. The whole Ubuntu operating system is created in a Windows folder with no loss in speed or functionality, and if things go wrong you just uninstall from Add/Remove Programs.

ExTRemeGamEr168 · 05-29-2008, 10:40 PM

am not soo sure which hdd is the master and which one is the slave. the win hdd is on a sata hdd and the linux is on a IDE.

**wmorri** · 05-30-2008, 07:49 AM

The easiest way to find out which hdd is set to master and slave is to open your bootloader. To do this you will want to hit esc, or one of the "F" keys, when your computer loads. This will bring up the bootloader, a screen that shows you the order of the hdds, cd-roms, dvds, and so on. Then you just have to look to see which one is set for master. If you want to change this, you will have to go into the bois and change it there.

As for installing with WUBI. This is an option, but I don't like to use it. It doesn't really help people to learn how to set up the file system for linux. Also, it can cause problems with where the files are saved, I have found. But, if you have to use it then go ahead, at your own risk.

Cheers!

ExTRemeGamEr168 · 05-30-2008, 03:51 PM

what is another good operating system besides ubuntu? also, is there any way for me to get the apple os x operating system on my computer?

**wmorri** · 05-31-2008, 03:20 PM

Any of the Linux distros are good, it all depends on what you want. Ubuntu is based off Debian. You could also just use Debian. Fedora is based off Red Hat. Fedora is free. You can get Red Hat, but you have to pay for it. I have RHEL 8. There is also OpenSUSE, which is made by Novell. There is Slackware. Just Google Linux distros and there are pages that list all the different ones.

As for getting OS X on your system, it is possible, but not the easiest to do. The reason for that is a lot of Apples software, is configured to work specifically with their hardware setups. Even though Apple uses Intel chips.

Just out of curiosity why are you looking to change the distro that you have? I know that you are having issues running it, but I am sure that it will be figured out in the end.

Cheers!

ExTRemeGamEr168 · 06-02-2008, 09:42 AM

well the reason why i want to change my os, is simply becaise i got bored of windows xp and want to explore new things. my friend gave a copy of ubuntu app it dosent work so i came here to see if i could fix it.

apperently its possible to get the apple os x on my system. does any one know how to do this?

shuuhen · 06-02-2008, 07:27 PM

It is against the Mac OS X to install it on non-Apple hardware, so we cannot support that here.

ExTRemeGamEr168 · 06-03-2008, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shuuhen

It is against the Mac OS X to install it on non-Apple hardware, so we cannot support that here.

oh, ok. sorry for asking then =]

05-28-2008, 06:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
ExTRemeGamEr168 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 10 OS: win xp sp2 My System	how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd i want to hav a dual boot on my computer but every attempt tht i hav tried has failed. i hav win xp on my 250 gb hd and ubuntu ona 20 gb hd but when ther both pluged, nothing boots, and when i only hav the ubuntu hd pluged in, it dosent boot. any ideas? and help would be appreciated

05-28-2008, 08:01 PM	#2 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,325 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd When you install Linux on a computer that already has Windows installed, it replaces the Windows boot loader with its own version called GRUB which gives you a menu at startup with the options to boot into XP or Linux. It sounds like this is corrupt or missing. Did you install Ubuntu with the Windows drive plugged in? Does Windows boot when the Ubuntu drive is disconnected? __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here

05-28-2008, 09:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
shuuhen Manager Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 981 OS: Mac OS 9.1, Mac OS X 10.5.8, WinXP Pro, FreeBSD 6.0, Gentoo Linux My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd What message(s) do you get (exact, not paraphrased)? I'm not sure, but I'd guess the installer didn't get the GRUB configuration file correct. Did you use the Ubuntu install disc that has a LiveCD setup (basically has a graphical environment you can use from the disc)? If so, boot to that, open a terminal (Terminal in Ubuntu), then run fdisk -l (if that doesn't work try sudo fdisk -l ) and post the output back here. __________________ Has it been a few days since I replied to your thread? Don't panic! I'm a busy college student and may forget a post if I'm extra busy (or it might just take me a while to be able to do a decent reply). If you still need help and are awaiting my reply after a few days, PM me about it. When posting what errors you get, please give the full message. It makes helping you much easier.

05-29-2008, 01:40 PM	#4 (permalink)
ExTRemeGamEr168 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 10 OS: win xp sp2 My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd when both hd are pluged in, i geta message from bios saying "no operating system found". i hav the win hd pluged in, it boots normaly, but when i have the ubuntu hd pluged in, it dosent boot saying that it cant find the operating system. below the mesage it sais nvidia nforce3 boot agent 1998-2002 i installed ubuntu from a cd, and when i installed, i dont think i had the win hd pluged in

05-29-2008, 03:44 PM	#5 (permalink)
wmorri Moderator/Fedora Amb. Join Date: May 2008 Location: /pm/etc Posts: 2,814 OS: Window 7/Fedora 10 My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd So, it sounds like to me that you have the windows hdd set to be the master and the ubuntu to be the slave. Are you sure that you are making the ubuntu hdd the master, when it is connected all by itself? That would be something else to check on. Cheers! __________________ Linux Forever!

05-29-2008, 03:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,325 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd Also, I think part of the problem is that the boot loader is stored on the Ubuntu drive, so when you have both drives connected with XP as master, it has no boot loader to work from. I'm not very experienced with Linux, so hang on for some more replies, but I think it can be fixed by editing either boot.ini or the Linux equivalent. EDIT: After you get this problem fixed, you might want to consider using Wubi to install Ubuntu. You don't need to create any new partitions or set up a dual boot system. The whole Ubuntu operating system is created in a Windows folder with no loss in speed or functionality, and if things go wrong you just uninstall from Add/Remove Programs. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here Last edited by koala; 05-29-2008 at 04:02 PM.

05-29-2008, 10:40 PM	#7 (permalink)
ExTRemeGamEr168 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 10 OS: win xp sp2 My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd am not soo sure which hdd is the master and which one is the slave. the win hdd is on a sata hdd and the linux is on a IDE.

05-30-2008, 07:49 AM	#8 (permalink)
wmorri Moderator/Fedora Amb. Join Date: May 2008 Location: /pm/etc Posts: 2,814 OS: Window 7/Fedora 10 My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd The easiest way to find out which hdd is set to master and slave is to open your bootloader. To do this you will want to hit esc, or one of the "F" keys, when your computer loads. This will bring up the bootloader, a screen that shows you the order of the hdds, cd-roms, dvds, and so on. Then you just have to look to see which one is set for master. If you want to change this, you will have to go into the bois and change it there. As for installing with WUBI. This is an option, but I don't like to use it. It doesn't really help people to learn how to set up the file system for linux. Also, it can cause problems with where the files are saved, I have found. But, if you have to use it then go ahead, at your own risk. Cheers! __________________ Linux Forever!

05-30-2008, 03:51 PM	#9 (permalink)
ExTRemeGamEr168 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 10 OS: win xp sp2 My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd what is another good operating system besides ubuntu? also, is there any way for me to get the apple os x operating system on my computer?

05-31-2008, 03:20 PM	#10 (permalink)
wmorri Moderator/Fedora Amb. Join Date: May 2008 Location: /pm/etc Posts: 2,814 OS: Window 7/Fedora 10 My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd Any of the Linux distros are good, it all depends on what you want. Ubuntu is based off Debian. You could also just use Debian. Fedora is based off Red Hat. Fedora is free. You can get Red Hat, but you have to pay for it. I have RHEL 8. There is also OpenSUSE, which is made by Novell. There is Slackware. Just Google Linux distros and there are pages that list all the different ones. As for getting OS X on your system, it is possible, but not the easiest to do. The reason for that is a lot of Apples software, is configured to work specifically with their hardware setups. Even though Apple uses Intel chips. Just out of curiosity why are you looking to change the distro that you have? I know that you are having issues running it, but I am sure that it will be figured out in the end. Cheers! __________________ Linux Forever!

06-02-2008, 09:42 AM	#11 (permalink)
ExTRemeGamEr168 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 10 OS: win xp sp2 My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd well the reason why i want to change my os, is simply becaise i got bored of windows xp and want to explore new things. my friend gave a copy of ubuntu app it dosent work so i came here to see if i could fix it. apperently its possible to get the apple os x on my system. does any one know how to do this?

06-02-2008, 07:27 PM	#12 (permalink)
shuuhen Manager Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 981 OS: Mac OS 9.1, Mac OS X 10.5.8, WinXP Pro, FreeBSD 6.0, Gentoo Linux My System	Re: how too have a dual boot? ubuntu and win xp on 2 sepereate hdd It is against the Mac OS X to install it on non-Apple hardware, so we cannot support that here. __________________ Has it been a few days since I replied to your thread? Don't panic! I'm a busy college student and may forget a post if I'm extra busy (or it might just take me a while to be able to do a decent reply). If you still need help and are awaiting my reply after a few days, PM me about it. When posting what errors you get, please give the full message. It makes helping you much easier.