Grub boot loader with two hard drives, trying to boot kubuntu.

The Sun · 02-01-2010, 07:08 PM

OK, so I have a dual booting system that works well. It is a dual boot of Windows XP and Windows 7. Now I had to use easyBCD to set up the boot loaders. It boots onto the windows 7 boot loader that has the option to boot into the XP system using the Neogrub boot loader in easyBCD. That is because the XP option just does not work. I wanted to set up Kubuntu on the system also. So insted of mesing with my partions I removed my hard drive and atached a difrent one. kubuntu installed fine and it was able to boot. But when i set the kubuntu drive as slave and put the first drive back in I expected to be able to add the option for kubuntu to my neogrub boot loader. But heres the problem, kubuntu 9.10 uses grub 2. So evry time I boot my computer and try to boot kubuntu it says that the file or directory is invalid.

Here is the menu.lst(/nst/menu.lst windows drive) file from neogrub.

Code:

# NeoSmart NeoGrub Bootloader Configuration File
#
# This is the NeoGrub configuration file, and should be located at C:\NST\menu.lst
# Please see the EasyBCD Documentation for information on how to create/modify entries:
# http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD

title Kubuntu
root (hd1,0)
kernel	boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=cdceca21-9e6b-4ef3-8193-466212d6189e ro quiet splash	
initrd	boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic

title Windows XP
root (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

This is the kubuntu grub.cfg(/boot/grub/grub.cfg kubuntu drive) file.

Code:

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by /usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s /boot/grub/grubenv ]; then
  have_grubenv=true
  load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
  saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
  save_env saved_entry
  prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
fi
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,1)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set cdceca21-9e6b-4ef3-8193-466212d6189e
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
  set gfxmode=640x480
  insmod gfxterm
  insmod vbe
  if terminal_output gfxterm ; then true ; else
    # For backward compatibility with versions of terminal.mod that don't
    # understand terminal_output
    terminal gfxterm
  fi
fi
if [ ${recordfail} = 1 ]; then
  set timeout=-1
else
  set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/white
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-14-generic" {
        recordfail=1
        if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi
	set quiet=1
	insmod ext2
	set root=(hd0,1)
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set cdceca21-9e6b-4ef3-8193-466212d6189e
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=cdceca21-9e6b-4ef3-8193-466212d6189e ro   quiet splash
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-14-generic (recovery mode)" {
        recordfail=1
        if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi
	insmod ext2
	set root=(hd0,1)
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set cdceca21-9e6b-4ef3-8193-466212d6189e
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=cdceca21-9e6b-4ef3-8193-466212d6189e ro single 
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
	linux16	/boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
	linux16	/boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
if [ ${timeout} != -1 ]; then
  if keystatus; then
    if keystatus --shift; then
      set timeout=-1
    else
      set timeout=0
    fi
  else
    if sleep --interruptible 3 ; then
      set timeout=0
    fi
  fi
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

kbp · 02-01-2010, 07:32 PM

This is not really a fix to your specific problem, but have you thought about virtualisation ? ... running one as a host OS and the others as guests has the advantage that they can all be running simultaneously if your machine has the capacity. Your multiboot configuration just seems a little fragile... my 2c

cheers

jefro · 02-01-2010, 09:22 PM

The simple way I agree is to VM. Second would be to use native loaders like Grub. Grub still can be used but you would have to put it to load after your loader. Might also still be able to use lilo.

worm5252 · 02-01-2010, 09:32 PM

VM is great but since Vm is not the solution to the problem here are my thoughts.

You have 2 hard drives with 2 boot loaders. You have stated the default bootloader is Neogrub, but it fails to load kbuntu. Have you tried chainloading into grub2 from neogrub?

Change you kbuntu menu option in neogrub from

Code:

title Kubuntu
root (hd1,0)
kernel	boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=cdceca21-9e6b-4ef3-8193-466212d6189e ro quiet splash	
initrd	boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic

title Windows XP
root (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

to

Code:

title Kubuntu
root (hd1,0)
kernel	/boot/grub/core.img


title Windows XP
root (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

The Sun · 02-02-2010, 03:23 PM

OK, I tried your fix with the chainloader. It does not work. I still get the bad file or directory message.

thorkelljarl · 02-02-2010, 03:50 PM

Boot with GRUB2...

Instead of using the neoGRUB bootloader supplied by EasyBCD, try to use Grub2 from Kubuntu and to chainload Win 7 and XP. I don't believe you need to use GRUB. Enter both of the chainloading systems on the GRUB2 bootloader's menu.

The question is whether you would have to restore both of the Windows bootloaders to something like their original state.
You can repair your Win 7 MBR with the Win 7 DVD or the Win 7 Recovery Disk.

http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBC...r+from+the+DVD

The Sun · 02-03-2010, 06:16 PM

I have a rather odd hard drive setup. I have the two drives like i said, but they are in an old-ish dell computer. This dell does not have any way of connecting a sata hard drive. So I am planning on upgrading my computer some time, but i cant afford to right now. So I wanted to get a sata hard drive so that it would be fast when I can upgrade. With the hard drive I bought a ata to sata adapter for 15$. The point is that I am unable to configure the hard drives into a place that the ata drive(kubuntu) is master. So it can't be have the boot loader. And I can't use VMs' because my computer does not have the RAM to run them.

thorkelljarl · 02-03-2010, 06:30 PM

GRUB2

If you could get GRUB2 to chainload the others, it would not matter which HDD is Master or Slave and where the BIOS looks first. The important thing is that the boot flag be on the Kubuntu partition where Grub2 is located.

No Windows partition will boot without a boot flag. The BIOS will proceed through the given order of HDDs until it finds a bootable partition and will find GRUB2.

You can set the boot flag with the Gparted partitioner on Kubuntu using Kubuntu as a live-cd.

The Sun · 02-05-2010, 06:24 PM

thorkelljarl · 02-06-2010, 08:59 AM

Not quite...

Bumping a thread is not the best way to get a qualified response. You would be better served by giving more information and explaining how far you have come and what you learned.

This is an instance of boot table for linux and two Windows installations with one Windows on a Slave HDD.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...y-suse-288355/

Is this informative?

http://danleff.net/myarticles/fedora...rddrives5.html

malekmustaq · 02-06-2010, 10:12 AM

The Sun,

It's quite cloudy.

From your words I assume you can run the two ata hard drives as master and slave. You can manually switch the hard drive containing Win 7 & XP into a slave and the Kubuntu drive into a master: open your box and set them, it is located behind the hard drive, then swap the cables into appropriate ports on the board. Kubuntu drive being master your Grub2 can chainload the others Xp and 7.

Hope this helps.

Goodluck.