unaccessability of Windows

[cato40]

After I installed a program from Synaptic; it said that there were some updates to be installed, but when i reboted to
ensure that the package had been installed, I noticed that I could not access my Windws XP in my dual-boot.
I a;so had Ubuntu inside the Win. XP (Wubi) .Now i can only use Mint Daryna.
Is there any solution?
cato40

[locutus]

Check and see what's in your /boot/grub/menu.lst file. If there's a menu.lst.old (or something similar) look at that, too. It's in the menu.lst that the entries should be in, and where to put them again if they're not there.

[cato40]

Hi:
Thanks, I shall try that, now in a terminal; I should type exactly what you recommended ?
cato40

[cato40]

I have accessed my menu list: It lists the following:
See: grub98),info grub, update-grub(8)
grub-install(8) , grub-floppy(8),
grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/ .
There are another 2-2 and a half pages listed.
cato40

[locutus]

You are looking for lines that do not start with a # , and begin with "title", followed by more lines starting without # . The titles should tell you everything. If you still have problems, copy/paste here what those lines say.

open the file by typing "sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst"

[cato40]

title Linux Mint, kernel 2.6.22-15-generic
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-15-generic root=/dev/sda2 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-15-generic
boot

title Linux Mint, kernel 2.6.22-15-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-15-generic root=/dev/sda2 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-15-generic
boot

title Linux Mint, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=/dev/sda2 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic
boot

title Linux Mint, kernel 2.6.22-14-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=/dev/sda2 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.22-14-generic
boot

title Linux Mint, kernel memtest86+
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
This is on page 3
cato40
boot

[locutus]

Start editing grub using the same command you just did. At the top (or bottom, or middle, wherever you want the Windows menu item to be) and add these lines:

title Windows XP
root (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
boot

Save the file (you opened it as root so you won't have any trouble saving it. Reboot, select the
Windows XP menu item and press Enter. Should be fine.

As a side note, you began this thread by saying you installed some files and rebooted to make sure they were there. That's a Windows mentality. In Linux, with very few exceptions, you never have to reboot. The exceptions are installing a new kernel, installing new video drivers, and not much else. You can literally go months without rebooting with no adverse effects on performance.

Back to grub, keep the first 2 Mint entries, delete the rest (my opinion, anyway).

Anyway, let me know if everything works.

[cato40]

Hi Locutus:
Sorry to be a niusance, but Firstly I tried entering the command into the grub file, but it would not accept it ,said that I did not have access.
So i tried through a terminal, but would not recognize the command.
cato40

[locutus]

Not having access usually means you're trying to save file that belongs to root, but you're doing it as a user. Try again, in a terminal: "sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst". Make the changes and save.

If you can't save it, then in a terminal, "cd /boot/grub" <enter>, then "sudo chown <your name> menu.lst" <enter> and enter your password. The file will now be owned by you, not root, so you should be able to save it.

EDIT: another way to be able to save the file is to changes the permissions without changing the ownership. To do this in a terminal type "cd /boot/grub" + <enter> then "sudo chmod 777 menu.lst" + your password. Now it's still owned by root but anyone can make changes to it. I have no idea which way is "safer".

[cato40]

Hi Locutus:
You are a genius. I managed to do as you said,and Voila i can access WinXP. Not that I need it very much, only
a few things like Picasa works for me ,better in Win then Mint.Mint lets me do just about everything.
even my printing, which a friend who also uses Mint 5 .He configured our Brother DCP-115C multifunction printer etc.
He only uses WinXP for his flight simulator.MSSim9, i think.
Thanks once again.
cato40

[cato40]

As you said:
sometimes we have to lower ourselves. He introduced my to the wonderful world of Linux/Open Source.
cato40

[cato40]

I hato to be a thorn ,but this old pc decided to not let me access WinXP. Itried the same remedy that worked before;
but no such luck. Is there another way of accessing Win XP,besides Re-installing XP ? .
Someone said to me that If the XP was a pirated copy, that MS Windows could have possibly blocked my access to XP.
I do not know how true that is .
cato 40

[locutus]

Run gparted -- listed in Mint's menus as "Partition Editor, or start in a terminal "sudo gparted" -- to see if WinXP's partition is still there (I'm assuming it will be there still). It will be the first partition listed. Then check your /boot/grub/menu.lst again to make sure the commands are correct. The commands that are needed are listed in the first section of the menu.lst file; all the examples start with a # or ## sign.

I haven't been following MS's battles lately on their fight against pirated copies so I don't know if they can "turn it off" or not. Last I heard they just put up nag screens but that may have changed. One way to see if the problem is MS or not would be to install Virtualbox in Mint and install Windows XP in it. That won't help your gaming needs but it would tell you if you are indeed being blocked by MS, all without having to touch your "real" XP installation.

Can you post here any error messages or error numbers you are getting? I would need to know if this is a grub problem or not.

You might also try Cedega for gaming. http://www.cedega.com/ They have a database of games they support. I think it's just $5/month and apparently their support is excellent, though I've never tried it myself. Then you might not need Windows any more at all!

I would try the Virtualbox thing first. If that works ok, you can always re-install MS's bootloader and see if you can get XP to work. That requires your Windows installation disk. Post back here if you need instructions on how to do it. The only problem with that is you won't have access to Mint until you install grub all over again. And again, if you choose to go this route, post back here again for instructions on (re)installing grub.

Good luck! Let us know how far you get

[cato40]

Thanks, shall keep you posted, soon.
cato40

[cato40]

I accessed GParted which gave me the following info :
/dev/sda1 mount point /media/sda1 Win XP
flags boot
cato40

[cato40]

Hi:
By the way, The only reason that I need WinXP, is because Picasa seems to work better in Win. then Linux.
most of the time if I scan a letter to e-mail to whoever, there is no guarantee that it will arrive at its destination
in one piece.I have Xsane image Scanner, but because I am using a Brother Multifunction DCP-115C with the Brother's 210 Driver, could be why the Xsane does not work as I would like it to.Maybe the Xsane image scanner might need some "tweaking "
I'm just a newbie.
Hope this helps,
cato40