can somwone please help me, i brought a pc off ebay not realising its has ubuntu installed and no windows, i wanted windows xp instead but read some stuff on some forums to try and help me with this process, i have a xp cd and stuck it in but it didnt even notice it was in the drive, i changed the boot orders etc but still nothing, so i fiddled with gparted cause some1 said it should work etc etc but now i get and grub error 22 thing pop upp and im stuck there please help, oh i dont have a live cd i chucked it away cause it didnt reckonise it at start up like the xp cd, im going mad here trying to get xp.

many thanks

Hi spazbite33,

I got lost, do you want ubuntu and windows in dual boot or you just want windows?.

If you just want windows then format your drive with your windows installation cd and you will get rid of the grub error.

If you want both in dual boot, you should know in wich partition you have windows in order to include the pointer to boot to it, it is an easy step modifying the menu.lst file from the /boot/grub/ directory.

So, what do you want?

Please avoid the long run-on sentences. Some punctuation will make it much easier to understand.

First, will the computer boot from the Windows CD? If you cannot do this (maybe nees some BIOS setting changed), then you will need some other method.

Second, what did someone tell you to do with GParted? (I'll GUESS that they told you to remove the Linux partitions.)


<<Moving this to General---not a Linux question>>

hi no its just ubuntu, but i want windows anyway, thats why im in this mess, the cd wont even work on start up thts why i dont have xp installed yet, and yeh they told me to delete the partition, change the bios so it boots from cd 1st, but it still doesnt even reckonise it, if you could help me with the bios cause thts not my area, anything else just ask and thanks for the help guys

All BIOSes are different.....generally you press "delete" or one of the F keys during the initial boot-up. Normally, a message appears to tell you which one. Once you are in the BIOS setup, simply look through the menus for something like "boot order".

If it is set to boot from CD (or DVD), then try some other bootable disks. Also, try the XP disk in another computer to make sure it boots OK.

If you tell us the make and model of the laptop, someone might have more ideas.

firstly its a PC not laptop and tbh i dont really know the spec inside, except for its got 2 hard drives making 120gb, 1mb ram, amd athlon 1800+ processor, and nvidia graphics, yeh its DEL to enter it, and iv played about with it all in the bios but not sure if its all done right,
and yeh the cd works fine i just installed xp on this pc, its every disk, it doesnt read any disk at all, only when im actually logged on, its all so confusing tbh, was thinking about taking it to a shop to see if they can do sumit but i really dont have the money cause of xmas

Im geussin no 1 wants to help then

One suggestion for getting better help: Try to write in clear English, with proper punctuation, capitals, etc. For example, what is this saying?:
It doesn't read any disk, but you installed Windows....? Please relate this to my earlier question: "Will it boot from a CD?"

Assuming that you booted from a CD to install Windows, then try your other CDs in a different computer to see if they will boot.

sorry about my english, its just im writing fast and dont really think, i got 2 pc's this 1 and the other thats not working, the cd's work on this 1, but not on the broken 1, it doesnt reckonise them at all, it just acts like theirs no cd in the drives, iv tried it with my xp cd and my ubuntu cd,but does not reckonise them, thats why im stuck, iv tried changing stuff in the bios e.g. change boot order, im not really good about knowing parts but would it work maybe if i got a new motherboard or sumit??? really grateful for the replies guys, and sorry bout my post if you dont understand

OK--Computer #2:

First, what is on the computer and what will it do? For example, does it start up and run? If so, then put in a CD and tell us exactly what happens--e.g. does the drive spin? Do any lights flash?
If nothing happens, then there is probably something wrong with the CD drive. You could try installing one from another computer, or you may be able to find a used one that is cheap.** You can also try cleaning the drive. (Just blowing out the dust with compressed air might do it.)

Assuming that there is some kind of response when putting a CD in, the next question is whether it will BOOT from the CD. Put the CD in, and then re-start (re-boot) the computer. Go into the BIOS setup and verify that it is set to boot from CD, then see what happens.


**A CD-ROM (or DVD-ROM) is under $20 at Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...TabStoreType=1

You can probably find a used one even cheaper.

i deleted a partition by accident cause some1 told me 2, and now i get grub 22 error message so it just stuck a like the start up bit, iv even tried it with a external drive but still no luck, i dont get any options to boot from disk it just acts like its not even there, and iv been in bios at changed it to start from cd-rom, im realy confused how none of this is working as iv dont stuff like this before on another comp, thanks for help guys.

here are some pics i dunno if they help but maybe u could help me with them, to see if i got things right

Attached Thumbnails

   

can somwone please help me, i brought a pc off ebay not realising its has ubuntu installed and no windows, i wanted windows xp instead but read some stuff on some forums to try and help me with this process, i have a xp cd and stuck it in but it didnt even notice it was in the drive, i changed the boot orders etc but still nothing, so i fiddled with gparted cause some1 said it should work etc etc but now i get and grub error 22 thing pop upp and im stuck there please help, oh i dont have a live cd i chucked it away cause it didnt reckonise it at start up like the xp cd, im going mad here trying to get xp.hi no its just ubuntu, but i want windows anyway, thats why im in this mess, the cd wont even work on start up thts why i dont have xp installed yet, and yeh they told me to delete the partition, change the bios so it boots from cd 1st, but it still doesnt even reckonise it, if you could help me with the bios cause thts not my area, anything else just ask and thanks for the help guysfirstly its a PC not laptop and tbh i dont really know the spec inside, except for its got 2 hard drives making 120gb, 1mb ram, amd athlon 1800+ processor, and nvidia graphics, yeh its DEL to enter it, and iv played about with it all in the bios but not sure if its all done right,
and yeh the cd works fine i just installed xp on this pc, its every disk, it doesnt read any disk at all, only when im actually logged on, its all so confusing tbh, was thinking about taking it to a shop to see if they can do sumit but i really dont have the money cause of xmassorry about my english, its just im writing fast and dont really think, i got 2 pc's this 1 and the other thats not working, the cd's work on this 1, but not on the broken 1, it doesnt reckonise them at all, it just acts like theirs no cd in the drives, iv tried it with my xp cd and my ubuntu cd,but does not reckonise them, thats why im stuck, iv tried changing stuff in the bios e.g. change boot order, im not really good about knowing parts but would it work maybe if i got a new motherboard or sumit??? really grateful for the replies guys, and sorry bout my post if you dont understandi deleted a partition by accident cause some1 told me 2, and now i get grub 22 error message so it just stuck a like the start up bit, iv even tried it with a external drive but still no luck, i dont get any options to boot from disk it just acts like its not even there, and iv been in bios at changed it to start from cd-rom, im realy confused how none of this is working as iv dont stuff like this before on another comp, thanks for help guys.

err alittle help with tho's links plz

But you did not answer my questions!!

I want to know if you can boot from CD---if not, I want to know if anything at all happens when you try to boot from CD. These questions have nothing to do with partitions, grub, or external drives.

What exactly happens if you put a bootable CD in the drive and re-start the computer?