After Mint 12 install, XP won't boot [SOLVED]

[BADTA]

Hello, and thank you to everyone in advance!

I have just installed Linux Mint 12 Gnome (Lisa) 64 off the "Live" DVD. I installed it to dual boot with Windows XP Home. It installled fine and everything in Mint works great and updated properly. It did not offer to import anything from XP. When I rebooted it gave me the options to boot into XP, but I went back into Mint and moved some music and picture files from my Windows directory which went without a problem. I don't think any of this could have contributed to my problem, but I want to be sure as I'm fairly new to Linux. I then rebooted and chose XP to boot into. When I did so, it paused for a short moment, and brought me back to the GRUB menu. I am really at a loss as what to do now. Googling my problem only seemed to bring up old answers which didn't specifically apply. Any help on what to do next would be greatly appreciated.
Comp: Lenovo ThinkCentre
Mem: 4G RAM
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 x2 Dual Core Processor 3800+
HDD: 250G (120G Windows XP NTFS Bootable Mounted sda1 )
(4.7G SERVICEV001 Compaq diagnostics FAT32 not mounted sda2)
(125G Extended - container for logical partitions sda3)
(120G Linux ext4 Mounted sda5 [inside sda3?])
(4.3G Linux Swap sda6 [also inside sda3])

[mintybits]

Hi there. Your description is very clear. This sort of boot problem can be tricky to diagnose without more info tho. The best tool is here: http://bootinfoscript.sourceforge.net/
If you follow the instructions and can post the results here it will make it easier to see what's going on. Please post results inside code tags to make them easier to read.

[BADTA]

Hello!
I ran bootinfoscript and the text file is very large.

Code: Select all

                  Boot Info Script 0.61      [1 April 2012]


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

 => No known boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda.

sda1: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ntfs
    Boot sector type:  Grub2 (v1.99)
    Boot sector info:  Grub2 (v1.99) is installed in the boot sector of sda1
                       and looks at sector 243374552 of the same hard drive
                       for core.img. core.img is at this location and looks
                       for (,msdos5)/boot/grub on this drive. No errors found
                       in the Boot Parameter Block.
    Operating System:  Windows XP
    Boot files:        /boot.ini /NTLDR /NTDETECT.COM

sda2: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       vfat
    Boot sector type:  Windows XP: FAT32
    Boot sector info:  No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
    Operating System: 
    Boot files:        /boot.ini /ntldr /NTDETECT.COM /COMMAND.COM

sda3: __________________________________________________________________________

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

sda5: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext4
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:
    Operating System:  Linux Mint 12 Lisa
    Boot files:        /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab /boot/grub/core.img

sda6: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       swap
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info:

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

Drive: sda _____________________________________________________________________

Disk /dev/sda: 250.1 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Partition  Boot  Start Sector    End Sector  # of Sectors  Id System

/dev/sda1    *             63   234,538,728   234,538,666   7 NTFS / exFAT / HPFS
/dev/sda2         479,186,820   488,392,064     9,205,245  12 Compaq diagnostics
/dev/sda3         234,539,006   479,184,895   244,645,890   5 Extended
/dev/sda5         234,539,008   470,800,383   236,261,376  83 Linux
/dev/sda6         470,802,432   479,184,895     8,382,464  82 Linux swap / Solaris


"blkid" output: ________________________________________________________________

Device           UUID                                   TYPE       LABEL

/dev/sda1        682467FD2467CD1E                       ntfs       Nucleus
/dev/sda2        8C82-D16B                              vfat       SERVICEV001
/dev/sda5        55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e   ext4       
/dev/sda6        a7f14467-7d3b-4317-a87e-922a02b8ce25   swap       

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

Device           Mount_Point              Type       Options

/dev/sda1        /media/Nucleus           fuseblk    (rw,nosuid,nodev,allow_other,blksize=4096,default_permissions)
/dev/sda5        /                        ext4       (rw,errors=remount-ro,commit=0)


================================ sda1/boot.ini: ================================

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /usepmtimer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

================================ sda2/boot.ini: ================================

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=C:\
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(4)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
C:\ = "PC-DOS"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=========================== sda5/boot/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
}

insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
  set gfxmode=auto
  load_video
  insmod gfxterm
  insmod part_msdos
  insmod ext2
  set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e
  set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
  set lang=en_CA
  insmod gettext
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
if [ "${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
if background_color 0,0,0; then
  clear
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/06_mint_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=white/light-gray
### END /etc/grub.d/06_mint_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
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 12 64-bit, 3.0.0-19-generic (/dev/sda5)' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
   recordfail
   set gfxpayload=$linux_gfx_mode
   insmod gzio
   insmod part_msdos
   insmod ext2
   set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-19-generic root=UUID=55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e ro   quiet splash vt.handoff=7
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-3.0.0-19-generic
}
menuentry 'Linux Mint 12 64-bit, 3.0.0-19-generic (/dev/sda5) -- recovery mode' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
   recordfail
   insmod gzio
   insmod part_msdos
   insmod ext2
   set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e
   echo   'Loading Linux 3.0.0-19-generic ...'
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-19-generic root=UUID=55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e ro recovery nomodeset
   echo   'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-3.0.0-19-generic
}
submenu "Previous Linux versions" {
menuentry 'Linux Mint 12 64-bit, 3.0.0-12-generic (/dev/sda5)' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
   recordfail
   set gfxpayload=$linux_gfx_mode
   insmod gzio
   insmod part_msdos
   insmod ext2
   set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-12-generic root=UUID=55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e ro   quiet splash vt.handoff=7
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-3.0.0-12-generic
}
menuentry 'Linux Mint 12 64-bit, 3.0.0-12-generic (/dev/sda5) -- recovery mode' --class linuxmint --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
   recordfail
   insmod gzio
   insmod part_msdos
   insmod ext2
   set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e
   echo   'Loading Linux 3.0.0-12-generic ...'
   linux   /boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-12-generic root=UUID=55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e ro recovery nomodeset
   echo   'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
   initrd   /boot/initrd.img-3.0.0-12-generic
}
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_lupin ###
### END /etc/grub.d/10_lupin ###

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

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
   insmod part_msdos
   insmod ext2
   set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e
   linux16   /boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
   insmod part_msdos
   insmod ext2
   set root='(hd0,msdos5)'
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e
   linux16   /boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (on /dev/sda1)" --class windows --class os {
   insmod part_msdos
   insmod ntfs
   set root='(hd0,msdos1)'
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 682467FD2467CD1E
   drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
   chainloader +1
}
menuentry "Windows NT/2000/XP (on /dev/sda2)" --class windows --class os {
   insmod part_msdos
   insmod fat
   set root='(hd0,msdos2)'
   search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 8c82-d16b
   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 ###

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

=============================== sda5/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/sda5 during installation
UUID=55bf8da2-8b39-4fa9-b2c5-2648e671701e /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# swap was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=a7f14467-7d3b-4317-a87e-922a02b8ce25 none            swap    sw              0       0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=================== sda5: Location of files loaded by Grub: ====================

           GiB - GB             File                                 Fragment(s)

 116.050056458 = 124.607799296  boot/grub/core.img                             1
 222.074588776 = 238.450774016  boot/grub/grub.cfg                             1
 221.805664062 = 238.162018304  boot/initrd.img-3.0.0-12-generic               2
 221.810642242 = 238.167363584  boot/initrd.img-3.0.0-19-generic               2
 117.973823547 = 126.673428480  boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-12-generic                  1
 140.228004456 = 150.568673280  boot/vmlinuz-3.0.0-19-generic                  1
 221.810642242 = 238.167363584  initrd.img                                     2
 221.805664062 = 238.162018304  initrd.img.old                                 2
 140.228004456 = 150.568673280  vmlinuz                                        1
 117.973823547 = 126.673428480  vmlinuz.old                                    1

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

Unknown MBR on /dev/sda

00000000  eb 0e 03 05 02 00 b5 02  00 00 00 00 00 00 4e 50  |..............NP|
00000010  fa 33 c0 bc 00 66 8e d0  50 07 50 1f fb fc bf 00  |.3...f..P.P.....|
00000020  08 be 00 7c b9 00 02 f3  a5 50 bf 2f 08 57 cb bb  |...|.....P./.W..|
00000030  00 06 be 02 08 0f b6 0c  b8 01 02 ba 80 00 cd 13  |................|
00000040  b9 05 00 bb 00 12 be 00  06 03 f1 e8 09 01 eb 0a  |................|
00000050  b3 01 be 41 13 88 1c e9  80 00 e8 24 00 3c 01 74  |...A.......$.<.t|
00000060  ef e8 49 00 3c 01 74 e8  e8 67 05 e8 e9 05 e9 8f  |..I.<.t..g......|
00000070  01 be 05 08 0a 04 88 04  b1 01 bb 00 08 e8 cc 00  |................|
00000080  c3 be 00 06 e8 17 00 be  23 06 80 3c 00 74 0c 3c  |........#..<.t.<|
00000090  00 74 08 b0 02 e8 d9 ff  b0 01 c3 b0 00 c3 b9 00  |.t..............|
000000a0  02 4e 32 c0 8b d9 8a 10  32 c2 e2 f8 c3 b9 05 00  |.N2.....2.......|
000000b0  51 b8 00 02 f7 e1 05 00  08 8b f0 e8 e0 ff 5e 56  |Q.............^V|
000000c0  0f b6 8c 05 06 e3 04 38  c1 75 06 59 e2 e2 b0 00  |.......8.u.Y....|
000000d0  c3 59 b0 01 e8 9a ff b0  01 c3 be 07 08 0f b6 0c  |.Y..............|
000000e0  b8 01 02 bb 00 7c ba 80  00 cd 13 8b f3 e8 ae ff  |.....|..........|
000000f0  be 06 08 0f b6 0c e3 2f  38 c1 74 2b b0 04 e8 70  |......./8.t+...p|
00000100  ff be af 07 e8 94 02 be  0e 06 0f b6 0c 80 c1 01  |................|
00000110  51 b9 80 3e e8 22 00 59  e2 f6 be 41 13 80 3c 01  |Q..>.".Y...A..<.|
00000120  74 03 e8 ff 00 cd 18 be  be 09 bf be 7d b9 20 00  |t...........}. .|
00000130  f3 a5 eb 00 ea 00 7c 00  00 50 e4 61 24 10 8a e0  |......|..P.a$...|
00000140  e4 61 24 10 38 e0 74 f8  e2 f4 58 c3 32 ed b8 01  |.a$.8.t...X.2...|
00000150  03 ba 80 00 cd 13 c3 51  4e 0f b6 0c e3 08 b8 01  |.......QN.......|
00000160  02 ba 80 00 cd 13 81 eb  00 02 59 e2 ea c3 00 00  |..........Y.....|
00000170  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
00000180  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
00000190  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
000001a0  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  |................|
000001b0  00 00 00 00 00 2c 44 63  af c2 ef 0d 00 00 80 01  |.....,Dc........|
000001c0  01 00 07 fe ff ff 3f 00  00 00 aa c6 fa 0d 00 fe  |......?.........|
000001d0  ff fe 12 fe ff fe 84 cf  8f 1c fd 75 8c 00 00 fe  |...........u....|
000001e0  ff ff 05 fe ff ff fe c7  fa 0d 02 00 95 0e 00 00  |................|
000001f0  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 55 aa  |..............U.|
00000200

Unknown BootLoader on sda3

00000000  b4 df 69 4d 1a a7 17 58  7f 7f 07 49 4c 61 02 a7  |..iM...X...ILa..|
00000010  aa aa b2 d5 ed 5c 4c e5  22 d9 17 cc 62 e8 88 42  |.....\L."...b..B|
00000020  f6 e8 fa d4 82 41 3a f7  5b e3 6e 43 dc da 90 0c  |.....A:.[.nC....|
00000030  6b 03 9f 07 9c 5c f9 bf  8d c7 8d 0c 59 25 83 25  |k....\......Y%.%|
00000040  43 87 3a 7b 54 94 a4 1d  42 b2 44 40 42 08 4d 29  |C.:{T...B.D@B.M)|
00000050  56 52 e3 82 05 1e bf db  20 31 73 f1 72 bb 8a 0a  |VR...... 1s.r...|
00000060  bf f2 27 5b e4 4e 8b 62  43 3b e6 c0 d8 e6 50 ea  |..'[.N.bC;....P.|
00000070  7a 66 8c d4 f2 78 e0 6c  f4 05 0c 61 d8 df f3 9c  |zf...x.l...a....|
00000080  c7 a6 2c e8 c7 6b 3e 75  e8 ec 0f d7 a8 6e 0a 8e  |..,..k>u.....n..|
00000090  cb 28 70 dc 49 8f 41 42  35 22 74 e1 bf e9 82 99  |.(p.I.AB5"t.....|
000000a0  11 54 76 54 98 61 8b 4c  a0 54 ff 1f bd 18 f7 a7  |.TvT.a.L.T......|
000000b0  f1 db c0 59 1f 4e f3 c4  37 c3 6c f3 c1 49 bb bf  |...Y.N..7.l..I..|
000000c0  62 79 9b 0d 3b 6c ea cc  7a fe 83 e6 7b 78 84 82  |by..;l..z...{x..|
000000d0  91 cd 28 2c 65 f7 81 82  75 90 39 e0 cd aa 37 cd  |..(,e...u.9...7.|
000000e0  f1 10 ac e4 76 47 8c b3  d1 5a eb fe 87 11 a4 b8  |....vG...Z......|
000000f0  e6 db a1 a4 1c d4 e9 de  d6 10 75 61 bf 77 51 23  |..........ua.wQ#|
00000100  71 ec c2 7c d9 73 c0 00  43 63 ef 6b fd 28 2f ac  |q..|.s..Cc.k.(/.|
00000110  0f 9e 01 37 17 f2 77 70  0c f6 38 60 57 3c 37 4c  |...7..wp..8`W<7L|
00000120  1a 94 18 ac 09 67 a8 e0  9c ec ec 03 2e a8 ff 34  |.....g.........4|
00000130  c5 8b 83 8c 21 b8 8e 89  40 9e 42 20 84 89 7b 29  |....!...@.B ..{)|
00000140  4a a6 ad 6d b1 14 38 17  0e fe 12 c3 64 9d d9 cb  |J..m..8.....d...|
00000150  25 ae ba d8 e1 09 4b 78  b9 1e 97 60 9a 14 21 55  |%.....Kx...`..!U|
00000160  c5 3a 0e f7 cf 9b 71 fd  94 9a df e2 5c 61 f2 b6  |.:....q.....\a..|
00000170  3b b2 fe 23 c8 d5 16 41  69 61 1f 40 90 3b 41 19  |;..#...Aia.@.;A.|
00000180  78 7e 4a be c6 b5 25 0d  90 da a9 0d 29 3f ce 0e  |x~J...%.....)?..|
00000190  72 ea 59 8b 31 f3 0d ea  2a ad 4d 4c 6d 01 ba 3a  |r.Y.1...*.MLm..:|
000001a0  03 fe 35 c1 d2 73 21 7b  d3 f1 d5 07 f1 86 e6 82  |..5..s!{........|
000001b0  31 54 ec 7a 3b 8a ec 09  34 69 79 24 08 72 00 fe  |1T.z;...4iy$.r..|
000001c0  ff ff 83 fe ff ff 02 00  00 00 00 10 15 0e 00 fe  |................|
000001d0  ff ff 05 fe ff ff fc 11  15 0e 06 ee 7f 00 00 00  |................|
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


========= Devices which don't seem to have a corresponding hard drive: =========

sdb sdc sdd sde

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

xz: (stdin): Compressed data is corrupt


Is that what you meant by code tags?

[BADTA]

I downloaded the Rescatux CD image and burnt it. I restarted and booted from the CD. Using the software I did a file check and fixed the MBR on sda1.
There has been no difference.
Is there something else I should be doing?

[ElMugroso]

You might want to try Boot-Repair.

It's free, creates a booting CD and can re-install GRUB, and also fix the MBR, which would boot Windows right away.

I also has other capabilities that I have not really tried. But for me it is a favorite, since I have gone through quite a few similar cases.

P.S. My recommended way is to install Linux into "un-allocated space", when you want dual boot. That means to manage the h.d. partitions so you leave sufficient "un-allocated space" for Linux and with larger disks, surely that is not "all that Windows does not use". On a large hard disk have Windows in a partition sufficient for it. Then an NTFS partion large enough for NTFS data. Then other partion or partition that can be any thing and can be changed to whatever later), and UN-ALLOCATED SPACE sufficient for a Linux installation. Minimum un-allocated space is said to be for Mint is like 4 Gig, but should best be maybe 16 or so. Larger disk space should be for DATA, with the appropriate file-system type.

[MarkLaw19]

You can also try Grub4Dos boot config. It scans your operating system, whether Windows or Linux Mint 12, then installs Grub4Dos to your MBR. You can even edit your boot menu.lst there. I use Grub4Dos in Puppy linux OS you can download it from here, http://puppylinux.com/download, burn it to CD or install it to USB by using UNetbootin, boot from CD/USB, and go to menu/Setup/Grub4Dos boot config..

[BADTA]

I must admit, after using Grub4Dos & Boot-Repair, I've learned an awful lot about GRUB and the MBR.
However, after rebuilding the MBR and reinstalling GRUB a few times, it's still doing the same thing.
It seems to know where XP is and what it should do, but at that point Windows just seems to crap the bed. I've had a good 9+ hours of googling on this today, and from here on it seems most likely that something is actually wrong with XP (go figure). I bought this comp as a refurb 3 years ago, so I don't have a Windows XP install disk, therefore no way to repair it as far as I know. Does anybody have any other ideas that I can check out?
If my next post is nothing but 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' over and over... send help.

[ElMugroso]

Hi,

With Boot-Repair if chose FIX MBR, what that does is put the MBR "standard" which means there will be no GRUB. Partitions are not deleted, and therefore the booting is automatically to the operating system that is in the FIRST partion.

That will certainly boot to Windows XP when the pc is turned ON. You shouldn't see any GRUB menu if you did choose the option to FIX MBR with Boot-Repair.

So, should see no GRUB menu, and pc will try to boot windows XP and hopefully, it does that. If you see no GRUB menu, XP tries to boot, but does not boot, then there is indeed a problem confined to XP only. Like, for example, something in the start-up files of XP.

You list to have a partition called (4.7G SERVICEV001 Compaq diagnostics FAT32 not mounted sda2), which is strange to have, since your computer is a Lenovo, and not a Compaq. Besides, it is weird that that partion is FAT-32. What is the purpose of that partition? Seems to me that if it has Compaq utilities that if run during XP, could create problems to XP. If not needed, maybe that partition should be deleted.

Seems to me what your first objective is to boot Windows, to recover that system, once XP boots by itself, you can always re-install Mint. So, you just need to do a FIX-MBR, again, so that you have a "standard" MBR, forgetting of GRUB.

When you boot Boot-Repair, it is best to have no external hard disk or pen-drives connected to the pc, no printer, NOTHING. Just the minimum to boot.

Also, when one copies files or downloads stuff, while being at Linux, to an NTFS partition, that can create some problems when booting to Windows. That is because some file names that are legal in Linux, are illegal in Windows, but Linux can and will write them to an NTFS partition because the filenames are OK at Linux. It may not be the case, but you say you copied files, or moved them while at Linux. So, maybe try to figure if that could be the problem, and if so, try to revert that, if you can boot into Linux. If PC does boot into Linux, you can do that, then. Move those files to a usb pen drive, separate folder. If you can not boot to any thing (neither window nor Linux) then you boot with a live linux distro, and check the files in windows partion (the very first one in the H.disk), specially "ini" files, or "auto exec" files that tell XP what do run during start-up.

Summary: if XP tries to boot and no GRUB menu appears, when PC is turned ON, then yes, you need to fix Windows so it boots again. Linux installation may be in its own partitions, but it does not get involved. So, forget Linux and fix Windows so it boots. Install re-install Linux AFTER XP boots OK. Before re-install, prepare your partitions, best if delete the previous Linux partitions, and THAT Compaq partition that is questionable.

You can also start by rescuing your data FIRST to a USB stick or drive, to be on the safe side, and you can use, again, a Liux-Live distro to do that. That, is also done when the boot sector has been fixed to "standard" by any "fix-mbr", one good one for that being Boot-Repair.

If you need Windows, never delete the first partion, because that is where Windows is for most pc's which come with it pre-installed. And, as long as the first partition is there, it can usually be fixed to boot.

Hope all goes well.

[mintybits]

It appears that Grub has been installed to partition sda1 instead of the MBR. This has trashed the XP boot-loader.

You will need to repair XP and this will probably require an XP installation disk.

Unfotunately the Ubuntu/Mint installer permits putting Grub in any partition without warning you of the dire consequences. IMO it should only allow MBR installs. To install to MBR you have to choose sda rater than sda1 which is highly ambiguous to those new to linux.

I hope you manage to repair XP without having to reinstall it. You can use linux to backup your XP files first.

[HughT]

Hi BADTA,
you should be able to fix this by putting the Grub bootloader onto the mbr. It will then look to the instructions in your 'boot/grub/grub.cfg file, which will give you the option to select which operating system you wish to use.
From a live CD

Code: Select all

sudo mount /dev/sda5 /mnt

then

Code: Select all

sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt /dev/sda

note - there's a gap between =/mnt and /dev, and no partition number after sda
re-boot into Mint then

Code: Select all

sudo update-grub

hope this helps, regards

[BADTA]

Thanks everyone for all your help!
HughT - I did what you said and it worked, it forced XP to boot, but the OS is corrupt. At least I know that now.
Since Microsoft has forced my hand now, I'm just going to ditch XP.
Once my data is all backed up, I'm going to do a fresh install, with proper partitions.
I'm looking forward to having my computer all minty inside, but I still have alot to learn and I'll be back here often.
Thanks again everyone. I really love this community!