[SOLVED] "BOOTMGR missing".Dualboot. Trying to get into Vista (linux works)

Ubunoob001 · 03-02-2010, 05:59 PM

Hey guys! Linux newbie here...

Situation: so I just installed Slackware 13.0_64 in the place of Ubuntu 9.10 alongside Vista. I am able to get into Slackware just fine.

Problem: however, when I choose vista from the "Slackware" screen boot chooser, i get the message "BOOTMGR missing, please ctrl+alt+delete to restart". In another forum someone suggested posting....
/etc/lilo.conf and fdisk -l

Code:

# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
# Append any additional kernel parameters:
append=" vt.default_utf8=0"
boot = /dev/sda

# Boot BMP Image.
# Bitmap in BMP format: 640x480x8
  bitmap = /boot/slack.bmp
# Menu colors (foreground, background, shadow, highlighted
# foreground, highlighted background, highlighted shadow):
  bmp-colors = 255,0,255,0,255,0
# Location of the option table: location x, location y, number of
# columns, lines per column (max 15), "spill" (this is how many
# entries must be in the first column before the next begins to
# be used.  We don't specify it here, as there's just one column.
  bmp-table = 60,6,1,16
# Timer location x, timer location y, foreground color,
# background color, shadow color.
  bmp-timer = 65,27,0,255

# Standard menu.
# Or, you can comment out the bitmap menu above and 
# use a boot message with the standard menu:
#message = /boot/boot_message.txt

# Wait until the timeout to boot (if commented out, boot the
# first entry immediately):
prompt
# Timeout before the first entry boots.
# This is given in tenths of a second, so 600 for every minute:
timeout = 1200
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
  reset
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
vga = 773
# Normal VGA console
# vga = normal
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
# vga=791
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
# vga=790
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
# vga=773
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
# vga=788
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
# vga=787
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
# vga=771
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
# vga=785
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
# vga=784
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
# vga=769
# End LILO global section
# Windows bootable partition config begins
other = /dev/sda2
  label = Windows
  table = /dev/sda
# Windows bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
  root = /dev/sda5
  label = Linux 


  read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

and the results of fdisk -l

Code:

Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xe3641cf3

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1               1           5       40131   de  Dell Utility
/dev/sda2               6        1918    15360000    7  HPFS/NTFS
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda3   *        1918       14303    99481610    7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4           14304       19457    41399505    5  Extended
/dev/sda5           14304       19240    39656421   83  Linux
/dev/sda6           19241       19457     1743021   82  Linux swap

please keep in mind this will be my first 'text edit' of a config file, however with some reading I should be able to if you guys let me know what I need to change...Thanks in advance

williamt31 · 03-03-2010, 12:51 AM

I am far from experienced but I did have the same thing happen to me when I installed Fedora 12.

Either the boot menu is pointing to the wrong partition
(Which I would check with first, as long as you don't change where linux root is you can get back into Linux to make more changes)
# Windows boot able partition config begins
other = /dev/sda2 <==

or the other possibility is that the Windows partition needs to be boot able.
(You can have two partitions boot able, that's what I have.

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 192 1536000 27 Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 192 9976 78589944 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 * 18688 19458 6184960 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 9977 18687 69971107+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 * 9977 10002 204800 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 10002 18687 69766143+ 8e Linux LVM

In this file => /boot/grub/menu.lst
This is what I changed.

title Windows 7
rootnoverify (hd0,2) <== I had to change this a couple times till Windows booted.
makeactive
chainloader +1

Again I have Fedora 12 so I'm not sure if you use grub or special scripts to make changes but case does sound similar.

Ubunoob001 · 03-03-2010, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by williamt31

...Either the boot menu is pointing to the wrong partition
(Which I would check with first, as long as you don't change where linux root is you can get back into Linux to make more changes)
# Windows boot able partition config begins
other = /dev/sda2 <==

or the other possibility is that the Windows partition needs to be boot able.
(You can have two partitions boot able, that's what I have.

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 192 1536000 27 Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 192 9976 78589944 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 * 18688 19458 6184960 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 9977 18687 69971107+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 * 9977 10002 204800 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 10002 18687 69766143+ 8e Linux LVM

In this file => /boot/grub/menu.lst
This is what I changed.
title Windows 7
rootnoverify (hd0,2) <== I had to change this a couple times till Windows booted.
makeactive
chainloader +1...

Williamt: so yeah your definately more expierenced than I am. I did try, using Gparted to make sure boot flags are on the proper partitions. (it was suggested that I switch flag from /sda3 to /sda2. Didn't work.

How would I make sure boot menu is pointing in "correct direction" as you put it?

ajlewis2 · 03-03-2010, 12:39 PM

I don't use Slackware, but I have had this happen to me a couple of times. It was a result of using the repartitioner on the installer. In some cases depending on hardware, which kernel in the installer, and the use of parted to repartition, a weird thing happens.

The BIOS has the geometry of your hard drive. When Windows boots, it looks for the bootmgr according to what it has for the geometry. Now what if the BIOS now had something different for the geometry. Windows would not find bootmgr.

And that is what happens in some cases. I do not know in which kernels this is true, but at some point the kernel was finding its interpretation of what the geometry of the disk is. That works fine while it is running Linux. Enter parted to do repartitioning. It is using what the kernel gave it for geometry. The repartitioning is done and the mbr rewritten. And then it also manages to change what is recorded in the BIOS for geometry. And now Windows does not find bootmgr.

The fix for me was to use the Windows install disk and run the repair thing to do fixboot and fixmbr. I'm pretty sure that fixmbr by itself does not fix the problem and I don't know if just fixboot does it. I was able to fix that way on one machine. On the other it was a new machine; so I just reinstalled Windows.

Then you need to fix the mbr to use Linux. You will need to boot into Linux for that. I'm not sure how you do this with Slack. If you have the install disk, you can probably boot from that by entering the boot parameter 'root=/dev/sda5' If you have a floppy drive, you can make a boot floppy.

Of course, if you already had these partitions made, then this is not your problem. It may not be anyway, but it does look like what happened to me.

lupusarcanus · 03-03-2010, 12:55 PM

/dev/sda2 has to have the bootable flag set...

Ubunoob001 · 03-03-2010, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leopard

/dev/sda2 has to have the bootable flag set...

hey leopard, /sda2 flagging didn't help(without changing LILO settings), so i simply reinstalled LILO using 'expert config' menu. Selected the appropriate partitions and it works(still flagging /sda3)!

I really appreciate the help!