Windows login screen hangs.
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PassionFord Post Troll
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From: Cornwall... Aarrhh me hearties!
Windows login screen hangs.
I have just installed Ubuntu (linux) on my second HD. When going back to Windows to get password setting etc, it comes up with the blue "welcome" screen with the usernames on. I click on mine (or any other for that matter), and you hear the startup sound, it says "loading your settings", then just does nothing.
The screen isn't frozen, because I can still move the mouse cursor. On trying it again today, I pressed Alt-tab a couple of times and ctrl-alt-del a couple of times and my wallpaper image came up, but no task bar or buttons.
Can't boot from a Windows cdrom either at the moment, as the Grub (linux boot loader), won't let me even though the BIOS is configured to boot from cd rom. If I choose windows from GRUB, then F8 to go into safe mode it boots me into Ubuntu.
I can still access windows folders and files from Ubuntu, so if I need to change anything I should be able to.
Any suggestions? Cheers.
Top Cab !!
Joined: Aug 2006
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From: .
When I personally install nix onto a secondary hard disk I disconnect the first, install Linux and then build grub manually as I have previously has issues doing such... I am assuming that you actually mean two hard disks and not two partitions on the same drive.
Its also worth remembering that Windows does not like sharing a system with another OS and as such demands that it is installed first on the first booting drive.
You should also remember that NTFS support for Linux is limited to reading the drive and writing to NTFS is not yet contained in the default kernel as it damages the filesystem over time and is still being worked upon.
For stability its better to get Windows to write to the Linux disk format using the Ext patch available at http://www.fs-driver.org/
Post your grub configuration and let me have a look at it
What Ubuntu you running Dapper or Edgy ... you running Beryl ?... thats the best eye candy ever whoops Vista's graphics easily
Its also worth remembering that Windows does not like sharing a system with another OS and as such demands that it is installed first on the first booting drive.
You should also remember that NTFS support for Linux is limited to reading the drive and writing to NTFS is not yet contained in the default kernel as it damages the filesystem over time and is still being worked upon.
For stability its better to get Windows to write to the Linux disk format using the Ext patch available at http://www.fs-driver.org/
Post your grub configuration and let me have a look at it
What Ubuntu you running Dapper or Edgy ... you running Beryl ?... thats the best eye candy ever whoops Vista's graphics easily
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PassionFord Post Troll
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From: Cornwall... Aarrhh me hearties!
Dan, tried that... didn't work either. But then I didn't change the dip switches on the back of the drive so maybe thats why?
Menace.... Yes, it's installed on my slave drive on which are several partitions, Ubuntu is installed on the first small 5gb partition.
Grub configuration.. I'm guessing you mean the menu.lst file? Here is the bottom part without all the "#" lines.
no option to boot from cd rom on GRUB. I have looked at how to add this, but my cd(dvd) drive does not appear on the device.map file. It does recognise it because I can put audio CD's in. However, I don't know whats it's "name" is, ie hda, hdb etc.
One suggestion I have seen is adding this to the menu.lst
...but my slave drive is hdb (I think).
I'm running Dapper at the moment. Not got Beryl yet.
Menace.... Yes, it's installed on my slave drive on which are several partitions, Ubuntu is installed on the first small 5gb partition.
Grub configuration.. I'm guessing you mean the menu.lst file? Here is the bottom part without all the "#" lines.
title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/hdb1 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic
quiet
savedefault
boot
title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/hdb1 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic
boot
title Ubuntu, memtest86+
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet
boot
### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title Other operating systems:
root
# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/hda1
title Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/hdb1 ro quiet splash
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic
quiet
savedefault
boot
title Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.17-10-generic (recovery mode)
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.17-10-generic root=/dev/hdb1 ro single
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.17-10-generic
boot
title Ubuntu, memtest86+
root (hd1,0)
kernel /boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet
boot
### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title Other operating systems:
root
# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/hda1
title Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1
One suggestion I have seen is adding this to the menu.lst
title cdrom
root (hd1) # if your cdrom is hdb, which it probably is
chainloader +1
root (hd1) # if your cdrom is hdb, which it probably is
chainloader +1
I'm running Dapper at the moment. Not got Beryl yet.
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PassionFord Post Troll
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From: Cornwall... Aarrhh me hearties!
well, this is the first time in years I've used any sort of Linux. Used to use SunSparc stations in a CAD job I had about 10 yrs ago, but not much in the way of command line stuff.
But I do have years of DOS experience if that helps.
edit: I did have to do a lot of messin around in the terminal with different commands to get my USB adsl modem working. The main problem was getting my head around the filesystem on Ubuntu.
But I do have years of DOS experience if that helps.
edit: I did have to do a lot of messin around in the terminal with different commands to get my USB adsl modem working. The main problem was getting my head around the filesystem on Ubuntu.
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Top Cab !!
Joined: Aug 2006
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From: .
Just out of discussion this is what I would do myself... I would fix the scewed up Windows (Master Boot Record) MBR to get into Windows by booting your Windows rescue CD and then type 'fdisk /mbr' to restore it.
Then I would disconnect the First disk drive's cable. Install Ubuntu to the second disk then reconnect your drive. Then set the BIOS to boot the Linux drive first. When Linux is working fine, I would then tell the bootloader (grub) about the first disk.
You can do this using a graphical tool, or you can yourself add a Windows entry to menu.1st
Much of this is optional extras, but it makes Windows continue to call your main drive C: rather than D: so poorly written software won't break.
I will however sort your grub installation out tonight so that you do not need to reinstall Linux and Fix your Windows MBR but that will be possibly tommorow depending upon what Im doing tonight
but im going out to see the family now.. sorry... happy new year 
Then I would disconnect the First disk drive's cable. Install Ubuntu to the second disk then reconnect your drive. Then set the BIOS to boot the Linux drive first. When Linux is working fine, I would then tell the bootloader (grub) about the first disk.
You can do this using a graphical tool, or you can yourself add a Windows entry to menu.1st
title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd1,0) #Windows is secondary drive, Linux is primary
makeactive
chainloader +1
map (hd0) (hd1) # Tell the first hard drive to pretend to be the second
map (hd1) (hd0) # Tell the second hard drive to pretend to be the first
rootnoverify (hd1,0) #Windows is secondary drive, Linux is primary
makeactive
chainloader +1
map (hd0) (hd1) # Tell the first hard drive to pretend to be the second
map (hd1) (hd0) # Tell the second hard drive to pretend to be the first
Much of this is optional extras, but it makes Windows continue to call your main drive C: rather than D: so poorly written software won't break.
I will however sort your grub installation out tonight so that you do not need to reinstall Linux and Fix your Windows MBR but that will be possibly tommorow depending upon what Im doing tonight
but im going out to see the family now.. sorry... happy new year
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PassionFord Post Troll
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From: Cornwall... Aarrhh me hearties!
Originally Posted by UnseenMenace
I will however sort your grub installation out tonight so that you do not need to reinstall Linux and Fix your Windows MBR but that will be possibly tommorow depending upon what Im doing tonight but im going out to see the family now.. sorry... happy new year
but im going out to see the family now.. sorry... happy new year I lost my Windows CD, but I do have a err backup one, but as said can't boot from that at the mo.
If I disconnect the first drive, do I have to change the switches at the back of the drive so it thinks it's the master drive?
Also.. just found this... would this help?
First... it's MUCH easier if XP is on the primary drive, and boots completely from there. If you want the bootloader to be on a different disk than XP, it's more complicated, and I won't get into that here... covering all the possibilities would be a full article, and this is already very long as it is. I will assume that you have XP on the primary drive, and Linux on the second drive. (this is generally how most people set it up anyway, because Linux doesn't give a rat's arse where it runs from, and NT/XP can act a little wonky about drive lettering sometimes.)
During your Linux install, choose not to install a bootloader on the primary drive... that will erase NTLDR, which you don't want. Tell the system, instead, to install the bootloader in /dev/hdb (or hdc if the two drives are on separate channels.) hda should be Windows; Linux will be hdb or hdc, and your CDROM will be hdb or hdd, generally. If you're on SATA, the drives will most likely be sda and sdb, and the CD will usually be hda or hdc. You want to install GRUB on the boot sector of the Linux drive, not the Windows drive. If you get this wrong, you will render Windows difficult to boot.
Now you have to get that boot sector off the drive and into a file. This is probably easiest if you just boot up a Linux LiveCD of some kind. If you're installing from Ubuntu's LiveCD, I imagine that would work fine. To transfer the data to the XP partition, you'll also want a floppy disk.... you can't write to NTFS from Linux, and XP can't easily read any of the linux filesystems. So format a DOS floppy in XP.
Boot onto the LiveCD and mount your floppy:
mkdir /mnt/floppy (this is just in case)
mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
Now, extract the bootsector:
dd if=/dev/hdb of=/mnt/floppy/bootsect.lnx bs=512 count=1 (substitute your Linux drive for /dev/hdb... possibilities discussed above.)
That will write the first 512 bytes from the bootsector onto the floppy as a file called 'bootsect.lnx'.
Unmount the floppy:
umount /mnt/floppy
Wait for the drive light to go out before removing the disk, and then reboot back into XP. Copy the bootsect.lnx file to your C:\ drive.
Edit the (hidden) C:\boot.ini file, and add this line at the end:
C:\bootsect.lnx="Ubuntu"
Save the file and reboot. When XP starts, you will get a prompt of what OS to start, rather than the old instaboot. If you choose Ubuntu off the menu, NTLDR will run GRUB, which *should* then boot your Linux kernel.
The nice thing about GRUB is that if you change kernels, it will just figure it out. With LILO, you had to redo this entire process every time you changed kernels, because it hardcoded the kernel's location on disk. If you updated kernels, you had to update this file. Big PITA. With GRUB, you should only have to do it once, as long as you don't move your disks around.
One last comment, before you do anything: if you put the XP disk first, and the Linux disk second.... the original Ubuntu installer may just figure out how to get GRUB working as your primary bootloader. Possibly worth a try. It sounds like you may have tried that already, but I thought I'd mention it just in case.
During your Linux install, choose not to install a bootloader on the primary drive... that will erase NTLDR, which you don't want. Tell the system, instead, to install the bootloader in /dev/hdb (or hdc if the two drives are on separate channels.) hda should be Windows; Linux will be hdb or hdc, and your CDROM will be hdb or hdd, generally. If you're on SATA, the drives will most likely be sda and sdb, and the CD will usually be hda or hdc. You want to install GRUB on the boot sector of the Linux drive, not the Windows drive. If you get this wrong, you will render Windows difficult to boot.
Now you have to get that boot sector off the drive and into a file. This is probably easiest if you just boot up a Linux LiveCD of some kind. If you're installing from Ubuntu's LiveCD, I imagine that would work fine. To transfer the data to the XP partition, you'll also want a floppy disk.... you can't write to NTFS from Linux, and XP can't easily read any of the linux filesystems. So format a DOS floppy in XP.
Boot onto the LiveCD and mount your floppy:
mkdir /mnt/floppy (this is just in case)
mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
Now, extract the bootsector:
dd if=/dev/hdb of=/mnt/floppy/bootsect.lnx bs=512 count=1 (substitute your Linux drive for /dev/hdb... possibilities discussed above.)
That will write the first 512 bytes from the bootsector onto the floppy as a file called 'bootsect.lnx'.
Unmount the floppy:
umount /mnt/floppy
Wait for the drive light to go out before removing the disk, and then reboot back into XP. Copy the bootsect.lnx file to your C:\ drive.
Edit the (hidden) C:\boot.ini file, and add this line at the end:
C:\bootsect.lnx="Ubuntu"
Save the file and reboot. When XP starts, you will get a prompt of what OS to start, rather than the old instaboot. If you choose Ubuntu off the menu, NTLDR will run GRUB, which *should* then boot your Linux kernel.
The nice thing about GRUB is that if you change kernels, it will just figure it out. With LILO, you had to redo this entire process every time you changed kernels, because it hardcoded the kernel's location on disk. If you updated kernels, you had to update this file. Big PITA. With GRUB, you should only have to do it once, as long as you don't move your disks around.
One last comment, before you do anything: if you put the XP disk first, and the Linux disk second.... the original Ubuntu installer may just figure out how to get GRUB working as your primary bootloader. Possibly worth a try. It sounds like you may have tried that already, but I thought I'd mention it just in case.
edit. would installing Wine be any use? Is there a program I can run within that to repair anything thats gone wrong in Windows?
cheers.
edit 2: would this help. ?
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en
can I save it through ubuntu, or our other (win98) PC? then reinstall windows and everything else should still be on it?
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PassionFord Post Troll
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From: Cornwall... Aarrhh me hearties!
ok.. I added this to menu.lst
title cdrom
root (hd2,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1
and added this to device.map
(hd2) /dev/hdc
.. I got the option on the grub menu, but when selected it says "device does not exist".
title cdrom
root (hd2,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1
and added this to device.map
(hd2) /dev/hdc
.. I got the option on the grub menu, but when selected it says "device does not exist".
Wahay!! I've lost my Virginity!!
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I don't know why anyone would wnat to use grub...
I've spent the last 4 years or so using lilo. swapped to grub becuase Debian/ ubuntu is pushing it more and more and i hate it, straight after install it won;t boot. Yet with lilo it works every time.
Sorry i cna't be help, Just wanted to moan about grub!
EDIT...
actually I can be of help.... a little.
The optical drive doesn't need to be mounted at boot time surely!? that will get taken care of once udev is run and fstab on runlevel 3 or 5.
If you want to boot off of cd... you should be able to just stick it in as normal, as normally that operation is carried out by the BIOS not the boot loader. Granted having the option their means that if you are too slow putting the disk in or what ever you can still boot off of a CD.
I've spent the last 4 years or so using lilo. swapped to grub becuase Debian/ ubuntu is pushing it more and more and i hate it, straight after install it won;t boot. Yet with lilo it works every time.
Sorry i cna't be help, Just wanted to moan about grub!
EDIT...
actually I can be of help.... a little.
The optical drive doesn't need to be mounted at boot time surely!? that will get taken care of once udev is run and fstab on runlevel 3 or 5.
If you want to boot off of cd... you should be able to just stick it in as normal, as normally that operation is carried out by the BIOS not the boot loader. Granted having the option their means that if you are too slow putting the disk in or what ever you can still boot off of a CD.
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PassionFord Post Troll
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From: Cornwall... Aarrhh me hearties!
completely ballsed things up now. 
thought I'd just reinstall Windows. Did fixmbr to get rid of Grub, now Windows is getting stuck on the installer at 36 mins to go, installing devices.. Not frozen completely, as the messages keep popping up, and the little green squares in the corner are still animated.
Wish curiosity had never never got the better of me.
thought I'd just reinstall Windows. Did fixmbr to get rid of Grub, now Windows is getting stuck on the installer at 36 mins to go, installing devices.. Not frozen completely, as the messages keep popping up, and the little green squares in the corner are still animated.
Wish curiosity had never never got the better of me.
Top Cab !!
Joined: Aug 2006
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From: .
Heres what I think is wrong..you have to trick Windows into thinking the drive is booting from it's own MBR and only its own MBR... try this:
title Windows
root (hd0,0)
map (hd0) (hd1)
map (hd1) (hd0)
makeactive
chainloader +1
I think that this will work... Hope So (remember back up your files before editing)
title Windows
root (hd0,0)
map (hd0) (hd1)
map (hd1) (hd0)
makeactive
chainloader +1
I think that this will work... Hope So (remember back up your files before editing)
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