Confusing Grub Nightmare Win 7 Ubuntu 9.10

AmbientO · 11-05-2009, 08:14 PM

Hi.

I have installed Ubuntu 9.10 after installing Windows 7.

I have OSX installed on sda1 with an efi bootloader. It doesn't work and I have to boot OSX from a usb drive. I nstalled Grub ( /boot) to this partition. It identifies windows and osx but can load neither of them.

On sdb I have both Windows 7 and ubuntu 9.10 ( / )installed. Windows has it's bootloader and the main windows partition. I tried putting grub on this partition and then switching it in bios to boot from this drive first. No matter what I do, with grub on sdb, it just boots the windows bootloader.

Here are the results of sudo fdisk -l :

Quote:

Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 60802 488386583+ ee GPT
/dev/sda3 * 1 1 0 0 Empty
Partition 3 does not end on cylinder boundary.

Disk /dev/sdb: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 121601 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x1b2ab550

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 13 102400 7 HPFS/NTFS
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sdb2 13 73412 589578240 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb3 73413 108853 284679832+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb4 108854 121601 102398310 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 108854 109766 7333609+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sdb6 109767 121601 95064606 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdc: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x225a2221

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdc1 1 15298 122881153+ 5 Extended
/dev/sdc2 15299 60801 365502847+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdc5 1 15298 122881122 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sdd: 300.1 GB, 300069052416 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 36481 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x13901390

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdd2 3188 36481 267434055 5 Extended
/dev/sdd5 3188 36481 267434023+ 83 Linux

Here is a screenshot of the partitions:

1 Is an EFI Bootloader that never worked. I still must boot OSX with a usb drive.

2 Is the OSX Snow Leopard Drive

3 Is GRUB

4 Is the Windows 7 Bootloader

5 Is The Widnows 7 partition

6 Just an NTFS Storage Drive

7 Swap

8 Ubuntu 9.10 Main Partition

9 Ubuntu 9.10 Home

10 Just an NTFS Parition

11 Old ext4 Jaunty backup home (not really being used)

I don't care about the OSX install not working in grub. I don't mind using a usb drive to boot into it because I only use it for Final Cut. I would like to be able to boot into windows.

Also, if I point the bios to sdb, it tries to boot windows but says the bootloader is messed up and to put in the windows 7 disk to do a repair.

Before I had nearly the same setup with Xp64 where 7 is, Ubuntu 9.04 where 9.10 is and OSX. I just had the bootloader on sdb and it worked fine. If I put the bootloader on sdb the Windows bootloader tries to boot.

Please help! I am not sure what to do.

Thanks ahead of time...

**wmorri** · 11-05-2009, 09:09 PM

Hi,

Welcome to TSF!!

First let me clear some stuff up for you. You can't have OSX running on non-mac hardware without and emulation software or the commonly called Hackentosh. As such I am not able to help you with that, and that isn't up for debate!

I am willing to help you with the other issue of getting windows and linux to boot. I am looking for a couple of things to help me. While the picture is very nice it is a little confusing I would like to know what drives have what OS on them and on what partition. Also, if you could show me what your menu.lst file looks like. To get to this you need to go to /boot/grub/menu.lst.

Lastly I would like to know what OS you installed first, Windows or Linux so that I can figure out which boot manager thinks that it has precidence?

Cheers!

11-05-2009, 09:09 PM	#2 (permalink)
wmorri Moderator/Fedora Amb. Join Date: May 2008 Location: /pm/etc Posts: 2,805 OS: Window 7/Fedora 10 My System	Re: Confusing Grub Nightmare Win 7 Ubuntu 9.10 Hi, Welcome to TSF!! First let me clear some stuff up for you. You can't have OSX running on non-mac hardware without and emulation software or the commonly called Hackentosh. As such I am not able to help you with that, and that isn't up for debate! I am willing to help you with the other issue of getting windows and linux to boot. I am looking for a couple of things to help me. While the picture is very nice it is a little confusing I would like to know what drives have what OS on them and on what partition. Also, if you could show me what your menu.lst file looks like. To get to this you need to go to /boot/grub/menu.lst. Lastly I would like to know what OS you installed first, Windows or Linux so that I can figure out which boot manager thinks that it has precidence? Cheers! __________________ Linux Forever! Last edited by wmorri; 11-05-2009 at 09:10 PM.