Hello,
I am very new to linux so please be patient with me. Feel free to ask me for more information if you need it.

Today, I installed Linux for my first time. I used Ubuntu and installed it on an External HD connected via firewire. My Internal HD has XP Pro installed with months worth of files I can not afford to lose. Using a disc called SystemRescueCD, I ran Gparted and formatted the External HD to a ext3 format. Then I installed Ubuntu and rebooted. When the machine rebooted, I got a Grub Error 21. I cannot get Ubuntu or XP to boot but I can live boot from the Ubuntu install disc. From there, I can see my Internal drive and all of it's files, but the External HD is not listed. If I boot from the XP install disc, it says the file system on the single drive it picks up ins unknown, leading me to believe this is the ext3 formatted drive.

I found this thread

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=338856

which seems to describe the same Grub problem, but I don't understand how to fix it. Do I reinstall Grub somehow?

As you can see, I don't know what to do next. The only thing I want now is to be able to boot XP like before with all my files and previous settings intact. If I have to get rid of the Linux install, it's ok with me as long as the XP drive survives.

Thank you for your time, help and effort.

Does your laptop have the capability to boot from the external firewire drive??

You can fix the laptop booting with the internal drive into Xp by using the WindowsXP installation media and booting into the recovery console and using fixmbr and maybe fixboot;

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/d....mspx?mfr=true

I ended up just copying my XP installation over the Ubuntu drive as fixboot wouldn't work. Anyways, problem solved! I will try linux again when I make sure all my hardware works, because my Dlink desktop adapter was not compatible.