I don't know if this is a Grub problem or a Vista issue.

I have a triple boot; Suse 10.2 Windows Vista and Windows XP

I'm using GRUB installed to the MBR.

Here is my GRUB menu

# Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Sat Apr 7 00:18:32 EDT 2007
default 2
timeout 8
gfxmenu (hd0,4)/boot/message

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE 10.2
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.18.2-34-default root=/dev/hda5 vga=0x317 resume=/dev/hda7 splash=silent showopts
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.18.2-34-default

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: windows 1###
title Windows Vista
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,0)+1

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: windows 2###
title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,1)+1

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: floppy###
title Floppy
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader (fd0)+1

###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe -- openSUSE 10.2
root (hd0,4)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.18.2-34-default root=/dev/hda5 vga=normal showopts ide=nodma apm=off acpi=off noresume nosmp noapic maxcpus=0 edd=off 3
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.18.2-34-default

When I try to Select the "Windows Vista" option I get this

rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,0)+1
Bootmgr is missing.

The funny thing is, if I choose "Windows XP" from the grub menu, I am taken to the boot.ini file located on hda2 where I can load Either Windows XP or Vista without any problems. Bootmgr is on hda2

What I want to do is to be able to boot into Windows Vista from the GRUB menu without having to choose Windows XP first.

Here is my boot.ini file

[boot loader]
timeout=1
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT

Hi

I don't think you can make Vista load from GRUB. From what I've read, Vista is _designed_ to not boot from any other bootloaders than its own or Microsoft's. It could be a GRUB issue because GRUB support for Vista isn't fully developed yet. You could wait for a newer GRUB release and see if it works, but leave things as they are right now so you won't risk making your system unbootable.

Vista
Dual boot with anything:
http://neosmart.net/blog/2006/easybcd-151-released/

Internet magazine did a feature on vista and linux in its edition 78
http://www.linux-magazine.com/issue/78

However - what you should do is remove the vista entry in grub, and relabel the XP entry as plain old "windows choices". Your trouble is due to XP and vista both being present.

In this setup, you will select the windows option from grub, which will take you to a choice of vista or XP.

Naturally, you will now curse Bill Gates, purge the evil of windows from your machine, and swear never to sully your hardware with such filth again

There is nothing wrong with this command if Linux and Vista are on the same HD0 boot drive:

title Windows Vista
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader (hd0,0)+1

So, I think the Windows Vista installation had been corrupted some how. Windows Vista has the ability to repair its self using the same installation disk you installed Vista from. However, it will only do so IF the Vista partition is the Active or boot partition. You need a partition managing software like Acronis which now offers a manager that can work with Linux or Vista partitions.

When you boot from the Acronis boot disk you can set the active partition to the Windows Vista partition. Then try to boot Windows Vista. I am thinking it will not boot so then boot from the Windows Vista CD and instead of reinstalling it, select to repair your installation. There is an automatic repair function that can be used. Once Windows Vista is repaired, you would boot your partition manager again and set the Linux partition as the active partition. At that point, the above Grub Menu.Lst command should work properly.

Windows may not work properly if the MBR was replaced with Grub in it. Normally, you would want a generic MBR and load Grub on the same partition as Linux. Then the Linux partition is set as the active partition. You need a setup that if you set the Windows Partition as the active partition, then Windows Vista would load correctly not using Grub.

Thank You,

I boot Vista like this;
title=Vista
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1
The rootnoverify (hd0,0) is the first hard drive and the first partition, grub counts from 0,1,2

@dinolinux: this is nonsense: vista is bootable via every bootmanager you like, just try it...

Thanks Simon, this is correct, you only need one option for booting "Windows Choices" with a WinXP/WinVista/Linux triple boot config.

Pleased to be of assistence
... "context", what is this "context" of which you speak?

Actually, I had completely forgotten about this and, rereading, I had no idea I was that smart. Thanks.

I triple-boot Suse 10.3/XP Pro/Vista Ultimate completely hassle-free using system commander. System Commander's entry for Suse takes me to Grub, from which I simply boot Suse. I can also boot XP from that point if I mess up and select Suse instead of XP when system commander runs. Grub has and entry for Vista, but it doesn't work and I'm not really worried about fixing it because a three-finger salute (ctrl-alt-del) will get me right back to system commander where vista works fine.

J

System Commander... only $69.95 ... way to get ripped off there.

This is doesn't make any sense to me. Your problem now is clear as the bootloader in window is for both OS vista and Xp you might not be able to boot directly to vista unless the two OS vista and XP are installed in two different partition. And if so the problem is with the partition numbers for both OS xp and vista. I had almost the same problem and I found out that the laptop comes with small partition which refer to as /dev/sda1 (hd0,0) and then the vista partition /dev/sda2 (hd0,1) and the swab and the ext3 fedora partition. As grub doesn't detect the bootmgr in vista you should tell about it's location. For instance changed ha(0,0) in grub to (hd0,1) and made it active with the option makeactive and the chainloader +1 left as it's

Oh there's a lot of choices... it is often simpler conceptually to let windows handle windows and linux handle linux. Means you don't have to worry about what Redmond is doing to your poor computer. Much.

You're right though - if you install vista over everything, then install XP, you wont get the dual entry in vistas bootloader. (XP is not dual-boot aware.)

But if you install vista alongside an existing XP, vistas bootloader will take over from XP... it's doing you a favour, right? It ends up looking like there's just the one at the start of the XP partition.

(If Vista detects linux, it sometimes wants you to reformat that partition...)

Of course, I haven't looked into this in more detail than this. It is possible there's something I've missed. But it all makes sense if you imagine a world where there is no OS but Windows of two flavours: Vista and pre-Vista.

Vista is just doing, pretty much, what grub does with all *nix multi-boots. Of course, if you chainload grub, you don't normally get another menu.

Along comes linux - grub wants to chainload a windows bootloader. In the first scenario, there are two bootloaders (one for each windows) so that is what we have come to expect. In the second, there is only the one.

This is where folk correct me