Dual Boot Windows XP Pro & Ubuntu Edgy Eft

[ph34rhk]

I have a 400gb IDE drive and a 500gb SATA drive. On the 400gb IDE is my installation of Windows XP Pro. I decided to put Windows Vista on the 500gb drive to play around with it. I got bored with it after a while and wanted to give Ubuntu a shot for a while, so I installed it over Windows Vista on the 500gb drive. Now when I boot it goes through the GRUB boot menu then it goes to the Vista boot loader screen then I have to select Windows XP (It's actually something like "An older installation of windows" or something like that). I had bought a new case and moved everything over to it. I did NOT change anything, and now when I try to boot it takes like two to three times longer, and I cannot get to the Vista boot loader to boot to Windows XP Pro, so I am stuck in Ubuntu. I really don't want to reformat the 400gb drive with XP Pro again, so is there anyway that I can fix the XP Pro boot? (I don't care if I have to get rid of Linux, I just want my working copy of Windows back...)

 

[linney]

See the Linux removal options mentioned in this Thread.
multi boot edit help
thread779-1219064


Have a look at this paragraph "Startup Repair".
How Windows RE Works

http://technet2.microsoft.com/Windo...90ce-4457-a23a-359ff2c9b9bf1033.mspx?mfr=true

Have a look at the Recovery Console, see if the FixBoot or FixMbr command are of any use. Also look at the BootCfg command.

How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307654&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

A Discussion About the Bootcfg Command and Its Uses

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q291/9/80.asp

When things settle down have a look at this program for managing multi boot options. I have been using it for a year or more to manage my dual booting systems without any problems.

VistaBootPRO

http://www.vistabootpro.org/intro.php

 

[firewolfrl]

OK for the first steps you have to do is disconnect the Ubuntu drive from the system
then in the BIOS make the xp drive the primary (usually automatic)


Linney's links give good info



Before I go any farther does the XP drive read as C:\ ? ...This is very important because otherwise this fix may fail


in the recovery console run both FIXMBR and FIXBOOT

then if your XP drive is not C:\ then you have to reinstall the other drive and make it first boot in the BIOS so the boot setup can refer to XP

if it doesn't boot then go through the same steps above but with the 2nd drive installed

it may work or it won't and you will have to pull the data off the drives and zero the drives. That is the best scenario

after you get the data off the drives you can zero the drives... a good piece of software is Maxtor's Powermax (it doesn't matter the drive manufacturer)

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Maxtor_Powermax_d1386.html

 

[ph34rhk]

Thanks for all the help, I've been having problems since Wednesday and anything that I tried to do on the IDE drive was incredibly slow so I ended up wiping both drives and re-installing Windows XP on the SATA.

 

[firewolfrl]

did you format or Zero???
sometimes format is just not good enough

 

[ph34rhk]

Format and installed windows on the SATA and made the IDE a secondary

 

[firewolfrl]

OK...if you have anymore issues zero the drive

I am glad you are up and running