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I am jumping in because saikee and jiml8 are probably asleep. As far as I know all linux distros come with command line text editor vi and most come with at least one GUI which I do not know which one ubuntu uses. But in terminal as root when you get to the file you want to open

# vi /mnt/hd??/boot/grub/menu.lst

In other words just name your text editor and put the path behind and when you hit enter it should open the text editor and give you two options to either 'open a new session' or 'open default' which will open your path if your path is correct. If everything works out on your first try do not forget to write and save before ending the session.

Hello All please ignore my last post, I have find out how to correctly enter information into menu.lst and have one last questions on this. Looking at the list below from "geometry (hdx)" I thought that (hd2,0) was the windows particition however when I entered the information into menu.lst I see the listed on reboot and when I select it I get a the words "starting up" but nothing happens.

could someone please help on advising what I have done wrong?

Code:

grub> geometry (hd0)

drive 0x80: C/H/S = 2434/255/63, The number of sectors = 39102336, /dev/sda

  Partition num: 0,  Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x7

  Partition num: 4,  Filesystem type is ext2fs, partition type 0x83

  Partition num: 5,  Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x82



grub> geometry (hd1)

drive 0x81: C/H/S = 9729/255/63, The number of sectors = 156301488, /dev/sdb

  Partition num: 0,  Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x42



grub> geometry (hd2)

drive 0x82: C/H/S = 9729/255/63, The number of sectors = 156301488, /dev/sdc

  Partition num: 0,  Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x7

  Partition num: 4,  Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x7



grub> geometry (hd3)

drive 0x83: C/H/S = 60801/255/63, The number of sectors = 976773168, /dev/sdd

  Partition num: 4,  Filesystem type unknown, partition type 0x7



grub>

Your Grub has reported the same partition layout as Ubuntu Linix. As I predicted (hd0,0) and (hd2,0) are the most likely partitions with XP or its boot loader NTLDR because these two partitions have been marked "active" and bootable by any MS MBR, which is the first sector of a boot loader from Dos to Vista.

When a MS Windows is installed its installer tends to install the boot loader into the first partition, that it recognises (or supports) in the detection queue. Thus if (hd0,0) existed when you installed XP then its boot loader would be in (hd0,0) and the XP proper in the next free unallocated space likely to be (hd2,0).

Unless you have altered the disk booting sequence therefore your XP should boot by these commands

Code:

title XP installed in (hd2,0) with boot loader in (hd0,0)

root (hd0,0)

chainloader +1

I have omitted the command "makeactive" here because (hd0,0) is already active and there is no other system compteing with the bootable flag with it.

If you still have a problem then post here the file /boot/grub/menu.lst

You can edit /boot/grub/menu.lst as an ordinary user by command

Code:

sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst

Saikee & Larry Webb Thank you for your help here I will make these changes to the Grub as suggested.

Regards
Al

sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst (typed in a terminal window) You need to have root edit privillages, so this will allow you to edit it in Ubuntu. And be sure to click the save button too before exit the file.