installing 3 OS
 

My system is in a messed up state right now.:mad: I had Windoze Xp and Ubuntu running and evrything was going fine.The cfdisk in ubuntu used to give :
======================================
cfdisk 2.12r

Disk Drive: /dev/sda
Size: 80025280000 bytes, 80.0 GB
Heads: 255 Sectors per Track: 63 Cylinders: 9729

Name Flags Part Type FS Type [Label] Size (MB)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sda1 Boot Primary NTFS [] 31453.48

sda5 Logical NTFS [] 20974.47

sda6 Logical NTFS [] 10487.24

sda7 Logical NTFS [] 10487.24

sda8 Logical Linux swap / Solaris 312.57

sda3 Primary Linux ext3 6308.79
================================================== =

Then I tried installing Red Hat in sda7 and accidently replaced swap space of ubuntu by RH so, now Im not able to see Ubuntu in the startup option and on the top of that RH is not accepting the password assigned to it during installation.:cry:
Now could anybody please help me out to bring the old configuration bck plus RH:scratch:

:newbie:

What version of Redhat?

Ubuntu's Swap is sda8, which can be shared with Redhat. I think that maybe Redhat overwrote Ubuntu's Grub bootloader, and therefore you can't boot Ubuntu. Bootup Redhat, and open /boot/grub/menu.lst.

Copy the lines in that file, and change the title to Ubuntu. Then mount /dev/sda3 (I assume this is Ubuntu's root), and find out the actual names of /boot/vmlinuz and /boot/initrd (they should have some number after vmlinuz and initrd). Put these file names in the appropriate place, and change the root drive. Your entry should look something like:
Try rebooting, and hopefully you can get into Ubuntu.

Otherwise, it might be something else .....

--Ian

Red Hat will seize on any swap partition and use it so you must have overruled Red Hat Anaconda installer by instructing it to use sda8.

You should use Ubuntu's terminal mode (or any Live CD) cfdisk program to alter the partition type of sda7 from 7 to 83. Red Hat installer may not want to touch a NTFS partition but if it is native Linux Type 83 then it will conduct the installation there without any objection.

Well, I tried to alter the partition tables through Win Xp installation CD and dnt know what how but now Im not able to boot into Windoze.:o
now Im just able to log into Red Hat.
I can still see the bytes occupied. The system contains important data of other members of my family and Im so confused as to how to recover it:confused:

The XP installation CD cannot alter partition ID from NTFS to native Linux. You must use Linux, either from a boot-up Ubuntu or any Linux Live CD.

The XP installation CD can restore Windows MBR. Check the Task B2 of the last link in my signature.

You can mess around the partition table without damaging the partition's interior. If you want to keep the partition interior do not do any formatting or writing if system doesn't boot correctly.

My advice is to salavge you Winodws first before rescuing the Linux. However your Ubuntu will boots OK if you alter sda8 back to partition Type 0x82 (or just 82). This you can actually do with Grub as follow (if you still has the booting screen from Grub)

(1) When you see a Grub screen press "c" to drop into a Grub prompt

(2) Check the disk geometry by command
Grub counts from 0 so your partition (hd0,0),(hd0,4) and (hd0,5) for sda1, sda4 and sda6 should be Type 0x7. As no damage was indicated on Ubuntu so partition (hd0,2) or sda3 should remain 0x83. Your target is to make sure partition (hd0,7) or sda8 is the swap partition and is type 0x82. If your information was accurate in Post #1 then it should be type 0x83 now.

(3) ALter partition sda8 back to swap by command
(4) After a reboot Unbuntu should be back to normal and your Windows should be intact as well if you haven't done any damage to it.

Good luck to your recovery.