Cannot boot back into Windows 7 after installing Mint 13

[bd4sh]

Hi All,

I'm fairly new to Linux, so I appologize if this seems routine, I have tried to search but to no avail.

I've installed Mint, everything seems fine with the installation however I cannot boot back into Windows 7. I can still access the partition from Mint but have no option to dual boot.

First of all I had no option of which OS to use, it just booted straight to Mint. Then I reinstalled Grub and I've been able to choose an OS now, but this hasn't helped as it only offers Mint or Mint Backup for booting.

I'm using the 64 bit version, and would appreciate some help in getting my Windows 7 back to a bootable state.

Thanks.

[srs5694]

Please download and run the Boot Info Script. This should produce a file called RESULTS.txt. Post it here, either as a download link or inside code tags. The RESULTS.txt file contains information on your configuration that's critical for giving you an accurate answer.

[bd4sh]

Please download and run the Boot Info Script. This should produce a file called RESULTS.txt. Post it here, either as a download link or inside code tags. The RESULTS.txt file contains information on your configuration that's critical for giving you an accurate answer.

Code: Select all

                  Boot Info Script 0.61      [1 April 2012]


============================= Boot Info Summary: ===============================

 => Grub2 (v1.99) is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda and looks at sector 1 of
    the same hard drive for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks
    for (,msdos1)/grub on this drive.

sda1: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext4
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:
    Operating System: 
    Boot files:        /grub/grub.cfg /grub/core.img

sda2: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       Extended Partition
    Boot sector type:  Unknown
    Boot sector info:

sda5: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ntfs
    Boot sector type:  Windows Vista/7: NTFS
    Boot sector info:  No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
    Operating System:  Windows 7
    Boot files:        /Windows/System32/winload.exe

sda6: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext4
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:
    Operating System:  Linux Mint 13 Maya
    Boot files:        /etc/fstab

sda7: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext4
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:
    Operating System: 
    Boot files:       

sda8: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:
    Mounting failed:   mount: unknown filesystem type ''

============================ Drive/Partition Info: =============================

Drive: sda _____________________________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sda: 750.2 GB, 750156374016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 91201 cylinders, total 1465149168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes

Partition  Boot  Start Sector    End Sector  # of Sectors  Id System

/dev/sda1    *          2,048       976,895       974,848  83 Linux
/dev/sda2             978,942 1,435,992,063 1,435,013,122   f W95 Extended (LBA)
/dev/sda5         106,743,808 1,426,227,199 1,319,483,392   7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sda6             978,944    40,038,399    39,059,456  83 Linux
/dev/sda7          40,040,448   106,735,615    66,695,168  83 Linux
/dev/sda8       1,426,229,248 1,435,992,063     9,762,816  82 Linux swap / Solaris


"blkid" output: ________________________________________________________________

Device           UUID                                   TYPE       LABEL

/dev/mapper/cryptswap1 95835f6e-a288-4be7-8417-44541cce13e8   swap       
/dev/sda1        5a762294-6370-4cf0-a47a-f9e55f625e6b   ext4       
/dev/sda5        A2B6AF54B6AF27AD                       ntfs       Windows
/dev/sda6        812ecda1-7736-4426-a822-e500f7d2da4a   ext4       
/dev/sda7        bf9ee8f6-7f95-4c67-af8e-c951caef4645   ext4       

========================= "ls -R /dev/mapper/" output: =========================

/dev/mapper:
control
cryptswap1

================================ Mount points: =================================

Device           Mount_Point              Type       Options

/dev/sda1        /boot                    ext4       (rw)
/dev/sda6        /                        ext4       (rw,errors=remount-ro)
/dev/sda7        /home                    ext4       (rw)


============================= sda1/grub/grub.cfg: ==============================

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

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
  set have_grubenv=true
  load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ "${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
}

function load_video {
  insmod vbe
  insmod vga
  insmod video_bochs
  insmod video_cirrus
}

terminal_input console
terminal_output console
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 ###
function gfxmode {
   set gfxpayload="$1"
   if [ "$1" = "keep" ]; then
      set vt_handoff=vt.handoff=7
   else
      set vt_handoff=
   fi
}
if [ ${recordfail} != 1 ]; then
  if [ -e ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt ]; then
    if hwmatch ${prefix}/gfxblacklist.txt 3; then
      if [ ${match} = 0 ]; then
        set linux_gfx_mode=keep
      else
        set linux_gfx_mode=text
      fi
    else
      set linux_gfx_mode=text
    fi
  else
    set linux_gfx_mode=keep
  fi
else
  set linux_gfx_mode=text
fi
export linux_gfx_mode
if [ "$linux_gfx_mode" != "text" ]; then load_video; fi
menuentry 'Linux Mint 13 MATE 64-bit, 3.2.0-23-generic (/dev/sda1)' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
   recordfail
   gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
   insmod gzio
   insmod part_msdos
   insmod ext2
   set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 5a762294-6370-4cf0-a47a-f9e55f625e6b
   linux   /vmlinuz-3.2.0-23-generic root=UUID=812ecda1-7736-4426-a822-e500f7d2da4a ro   quiet splash $vt_handoff
   initrd   /initrd.img-3.2.0-23-generic
}
menuentry 'Linux Mint 13 MATE 64-bit, 3.2.0-23-generic (/dev/sda1) -- recovery mode' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
   recordfail
   insmod gzio
   insmod part_msdos
   insmod ext2
   set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 5a762294-6370-4cf0-a47a-f9e55f625e6b
   echo   'Loading Linux 3.2.0-23-generic ...'
   linux   /vmlinuz-3.2.0-23-generic root=UUID=812ecda1-7736-4426-a822-e500f7d2da4a ro recovery nomodeset
   echo   'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
   initrd   /initrd.img-3.2.0-23-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### 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 ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f  $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
  source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=================== sda1: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================

           GiB - GB             File                                 Fragment(s)

   0.012660027 = 0.013593600    grub/core.img                                  1
   0.259587288 = 0.278729728    grub/grub.cfg                                  1
   0.071086884 = 0.076328960    initrd.img-3.2.0-23-generic                    3
   0.052477837 = 0.056347648    vmlinuz-3.2.0-23-generic                       1

=============================== sda6/etc/fstab: ================================

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
#
# Use 'blkid' to print the universally unique identifier for a
# device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name devices
# that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5).
#
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
proc            /proc           proc    nodev,noexec,nosuid 0       0
# / was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=812ecda1-7736-4426-a822-e500f7d2da4a /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# /boot was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=5a762294-6370-4cf0-a47a-f9e55f625e6b /boot           ext4    defaults        0       2
# /home was on /dev/sda7 during installation
UUID=bf9ee8f6-7f95-4c67-af8e-c951caef4645 /home           ext4    defaults        0       2
# swap was on /dev/sda8 during installation
#UUID=8a1f773f-3f00-4a7a-b1c0-f9a46336dcd4 none            swap    sw              0       0
/dev/mapper/cryptswap1 none swap sw 0 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=================== sda6: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================

           GiB - GB             File                                 Fragment(s)

   0.536907196 = 0.576499712    initrd.img                                     3
   0.518298149 = 0.556518400    vmlinuz                                        1

======================== Unknown MBRs/Boot Sectors/etc: ========================

Unknown BootLoader on sda2

00000000  bf 97 32 70 91 e0 d5 8f  b6 ad c1 0b 8c 9a 0d 34  |..2p...........4|
00000010  a1 18 1d 7f 69 e2 de 09  8f 1f dd 1f 75 0f 25 ca  |....i.......u.%.|
00000020  98 f9 fe 4e 14 d7 52 91  55 d1 ce 02 17 9d bf 8f  |...N..R.U.......|
00000030  7e c3 c3 e9 f8 2d e3 44  52 52 6f c1 61 e3 f8 c8  |~....-.DRRo.a...|
00000040  2e 36 72 78 94 72 6a 7f  b2 52 db de e9 ff b0 da  |.6rx.rj..R......|
00000050  bf 68 70 83 a0 ee e6 2d  19 12 52 e3 aa 54 37 54  |.hp....-..R..T7T|
00000060  02 1c 4b c4 c6 a5 28 7e  f6 50 65 c9 f4 cf 00 c5  |..K...(~.Pe.....|
00000070  72 1f ac 98 a5 7f 01 f7  1e 56 89 f9 12 16 97 fe  |r........V......|
00000080  16 b2 46 b7 a0 4a 2e 47  ab bb 1a 9b 9b 61 e1 0d  |..F..J.G.....a..|
00000090  b7 98 bf d8 9e 61 c0 af  73 48 66 69 1f ef 67 05  |.....a..sHfi..g.|
000000a0  46 23 31 c2 e9 5e ba 77  34 ff 0a 72 71 44 76 53  |F#1..^.w4..rqDvS|
000000b0  9f 24 79 86 4e 5a fb e7  bb fc 25 d4 33 6a ee e6  |.$y.NZ....%.3j..|
000000c0  e1 e9 d5 ae cf 6f a2 af  5d 91 61 82 f2 53 55 6e  |.....o..].a..SUn|
000000d0  5d f6 7c e6 ce a7 58 29  6f 5b f9 e6 1d e1 db c7  |].|...X)o[......|
000000e0  36 b9 4b ef 8b a9 fd ef  96 3c b2 0e f8 2f 94 ce  |6.K......<.../..|
000000f0  73 2e b7 69 e3 23 06 5a  95 3e 14 52 e2 6f 7b 8a  |s..i.#.Z.>.R.o{.|
00000100  98 20 fb 0e 0d f4 25 cc  6b 7f ee ca 2e 6d 58 75  |. ....%.k....mXu|
00000110  08 6f 37 c6 0e a4 bb 37  aa 58 6b 9f 86 fe 2a d1  |.o7....7.Xk...*.|
00000120  54 c9 2b fc ef dd 3b 3e  7d 91 51 f9 f1 af 6b ba  |T.+...;>}.Q...k.|
00000130  37 32 cd fc 9e 6a 5d f0  2c 61 95 4e 92 7f dd ae  |72...j].,a.N....|
00000140  8e da 53 11 ac f5 6d 71  15 4c ae c4 bc 6e d6 56  |..S...mq.L...n.V|
00000150  c5 f4 69 69 d3 5f df cf  61 5f 09 ef f1 be df 73  |..ii._..a_.....s|
00000160  cd 22 22 dd 93 f7 83 0d  fc 4a c1 94 7c 10 de 3c  |.""......J..|..<|
00000170  5b cf 85 ae c0 20 4f eb  7a 57 c7 40 c4 77 b1 f5  |[.... O.zW.@.w..|
00000180  92 33 2c 4b 2c ff 19 a0  b8 74 35 9a c5 9c fa 1f  |.3,K,....t5.....|
00000190  0b 1c f0 d5 c5 50 f5 bf  67 04 ee eb 80 1b bf 3d  |.....P..g......=|
000001a0  6b e6 c9 52 0f 39 e9 9e  33 e1 b6 87 2b b6 ab 2c  |k..R.9..3...+..,|
000001b0  41 28 f8 2b a8 34 9a 5f  75 4b e8 1f 6c 80 00 fe  |A(.+.4._uK..l...|
000001c0  ff ff 07 fe ff ff 02 d8  4d 06 00 b8 a5 4e 00 ee  |........M....N..|
000001d0  32 3c 05 fe ff ff 01 00  00 00 01 00 54 02 00 00  |2<..........T...|
000001e0  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
000001f0  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 55 aa  |..............U.|
00000200


=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================

xz: (stdin): Compressed data is corrupt


Thanks for your reply, hope this helps.

[bd4sh]

Bump

[srs5694]

Your configuration is very strange. According to the Boot Info Script output, the only NTFS volume on your system is /dev/sda5, which is a logical partition. The Boot Info Script has identified a winload.exe boot file on that volume, so it looks at least a bit like a Windows boot partition. The puzzling thing is that Windows boot partitions are almost never logical partitions; Windows will only install to primary partitions, and getting it to boot from a logical partition requires jumping through several hoops. (I'm not familiar with the details of those hoops, either.)

So the question is: How did it wind up like this? The Mint installer shouldn't have done it, and AFAIK the Mint installer doesn't even ship with software that could have done it. Thus, I suspect that you did something unusual to set it up like this -- maybe you used some unusual partitioning software to prepare your hard disk or you installed in an unusual way.

My first thought about a solution is to use FixParts to convert /dev/sda5 from a logical partition into a primary partition. Once this is done, you should be able to reboot into Linux and type "sudo update-grub" to create a fresh GRUB configuration file that will, with any luck, include your newly-restored Windows partition.

That said, I can't guarantee that this will work; it could be that your Windows installation has been damaged by whatever set up your odd partitions. It could also be that your original configuration was unusual in some way that's relevant to finding a solution -- for instance, if you set Windows up to boot from a logical partition or if you originally used a GUID Partition Table (GPT) but converted to MBR form. Thus, if you have any information about unusual partitioning tools you may have used, I recommend you post that information before using FixParts to convert /dev/sda5 into a primary partition, lest that action be a waste of time or even do more harm.

[kwisher]

Please follow the directions on the site below. I used the second method by installing the the boot-repair app from a live xubuntu disk. I would recommend using the first option and create a bootable repair disk.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair