Ubuntu Netbook + WinXP Dual boot

kirtimaan_bkn · 06-02-2010, 09:07 PM

I installed Ubuntu Netbook remix 10.4 release in my netbook which had WinXP sp3 pre-installed. I installed ubuntu in second partition enabling the dual boot. Everything is fine and I can use both OS without any problem.

However, a minor issue is there. When I power on my netbook, I get grub menu for os selection. I select Ubuntu and netbook will reboot and I will get menu again. If I select Ubuntu again, system won't reboot this time and will get desktop. Next time after shutting down netbook, if I power on and select Ubuntu again, netbook won't reboot and will work fine.

Similarly, if I select WinXP, netbook will reboot for first time and selecting WinXP again will show window's improper shutdown screen and option to start in normal/safe mode. Selecting normal will work fine and I can login to XP too.

So actually issue is that if I select any OS from grub menu which isn't same as my last session, netbook will reboot once and I need to select that OS again.

I haven't encountered such issue earlier ever. If it require any change in default grub config ?

tkmsr · 06-03-2010, 01:40 AM

Hi can you post your problem on www.ubuntuforums.org

XavierP · 06-03-2010, 06:21 AM

Can you post up your grub.conf (or menu.lst) and if you can grab the dmesg output from the time it reboots that could be useful too.

@tkmsr - not sure if you noticed, but LQ is a help forum. We would only recommend going off site if someone should be using paid support (as with Red Hat) or if they need to contact the dev team.

kirtimaan_bkn · 06-03-2010, 10:43 AM

@XavierP, following is content of my grub config file:

grub.cfg

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 $prefix/grubenv ]; then
  load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
  set saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
  save_env saved_entry
  set prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
  set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
  if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then
    saved_entry=${chosen}
    save_env saved_entry
  fi
}

function recordfail {
  set recordfail=1
  if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then if [ -z ${boot_once} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
  set gfxmode=640x480
  insmod gfxterm
  insmod vbe
  if terminal_output gfxterm ; then true ; else
    # For backward compatibility with versions of terminal.mod that don't
    # understand terminal_output
    terminal gfxterm
  fi
fi
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48
set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
set lang=en
insmod gettext
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/light-gray
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-22-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
    recordfail
    insmod ext2
    set root='(hd0,5)'
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48
    linux    /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic root=UUID=18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48 ro   quiet splash
    initrd    /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-22-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-22-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
    recordfail
    insmod ext2
    set root='(hd0,5)'
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48
    echo    'Loading Linux 2.6.32-22-generic ...'
    linux    /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-22-generic root=UUID=18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48 ro single 
    echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
    initrd    /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-22-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
    recordfail
    insmod ext2
    set root='(hd0,5)'
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48
    linux    /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic root=UUID=18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48 ro   quiet splash
    initrd    /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-21-generic
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.32-21-generic (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
    recordfail
    insmod ext2
    set root='(hd0,5)'
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48
    echo    'Loading Linux 2.6.32-21-generic ...'
    linux    /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-generic root=UUID=18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48 ro single 
    echo    'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
    initrd    /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-21-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
    insmod ext2
    set root='(hd0,5)'
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48
    linux16    /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
    insmod ext2
    set root='(hd0,5)'
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 18e8d0f1-d71e-4558-92be-6b3666faaa48
    linux16    /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Windows Vista (loader) (on /dev/sda1)" {
    insmod ntfs
    set root='(hd0,1)'
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 5cb4e7f7b4e7d216
    chainloader +1
}
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (on /dev/sda2)" {
    insmod ntfs
    set root='(hd0,2)'
    search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 2640e96340e939e7
    drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
    chainloader +1
}
### 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 ###

@tkmsr, thanks for your reply. But I prefer to post on LQ. Because here I can get suggestions/replies from wide userbase as opposed to a distro specific forum. Of course, if it would have been any issue with their kernel or something specific to Ubuntu, I might have considered posting in their forum. But I think my current issue is more related to GRUB boot loader.

kirtimaan_bkn · 06-04-2010, 08:54 PM

I think, moderators can move this thread to linux software forum. As this is grub specific.

haisanthosh · 08-03-2010, 01:43 AM

Hi, I am new to this forum and it is my first post. I came here googling to find a solution to my rather mysterious problem.

In my opinion, it is not grub specific. I am too confronted with this queer problem. I have a samsung n150 netbook with win xp home in it. a couple of days before i prepared a bootable pendrive with lupu 5.01 using Universal USB Installer. I face the same problem -- When i boot into Lucid Puppy for the first time using the pendrive, the system reboots just before it says loading drivers.. after the first reboot the system works fine. You can shut down the system and start over again any number of times provided, you are booting into lupu every time.

Now, if i decide to boot into xp, i remove the pendrive and switch on the netbook. The same thing happens. the book reboots just before the progress bar below the winxp logo shows. after that reboot, the system boots fine and you can have any number of reboots provided that you are booting into XP all the time.

Why i think this is not grub specific is because, there is no grub in my hdd as it contains only one os. and i have never tried to load linux in it. I prepared the lupu live pendrive in another system.

I sifted through the BIOS, but couldnt find a suspicious setting.

kirtimaan_bkn · 08-04-2010, 10:57 AM

@haisanthosh, I am still looking for a solution for this problem.

You don't need to have Grub on HDD. I think whats happening is that once we boot in Linux, it writes something on the boot partition or somewhere in HDD. When we try to boot into Win XP, it finds some 'improper' thing and remove that or replace that with 'legitmate' stuff for windows. Next time, when Linux boots, it finds again window stuff on that area and therefore it remove/replace that and reboot. If both OS find what they are seeking, they boot smoothly.

And this seems to be case with netbooks or Samsung netbook. Because I used to run dual os on my pc for almost 2 year without any problem. Now that got only linux

However, this is totally my guess and I am not sure if this is the real case. I also suspects on HDD partitions which Samsung provided with netbook. And with their restore partition method (which replace factory loaded OS with first installed copy [and I am also looking a way to get original OS instead of first backup]), I am a bit hesitate to experiment at this time.

haisanthosh · 08-05-2010, 04:32 AM

Hi kirtimaan_bkn,

But i still think this is a bios issue specific to netbooks. I am not sure, though. Why i think like this is because, the same pendrive boots without any issue in another system (desktop). I am thinking of contacting Samsung support.

kirtimaan_bkn · 08-05-2010, 08:22 PM

Well, you can try contacting samsung. It doesn't seems to an issue with all netbooks. Recently I got chance to check dell netbook and that had dual boot.

Please post Samsung response here.

Meanwhile, any LQ member who has any clue about this boot mystery, please share

jekader · 08-21-2010, 05:03 AM

Hi, I'm aso experiencing this problem on my Samsung R508 laptop with Debian sid + WinXP + Grub2. I think it's some BIOS/ACPI bug, which doesn't bother me much since I don't boot to windows that often. But still it may damage filesystems, so finding a solution would be nice. Will try to contact samsung about it.