[linux] Triple boot:XP,ubuntu&FC5 grub failed

[Graham Watkins]

Anu-Linux wrote:

> hey gayal,
>
> something like this happened to me and i added the boot image and the 
> initrd images to the /etc/boot/grub/menu.lst.
>
> okay if you can boot to fedora, try mounting the root partition of 
> ubuntu. then cd to /boot/. open a nother terminal, and cd to /boot/ in 
> fedora partition (to see the two partitions easily).
>
> this is my menu.lst to boot the ubuntu. (your details are differ from 
> this)
>
> title           Ubuntu, kernel 2.6.15-26-386
> root            (hd0,5)
> kernel          /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.15-26-386 root=/dev/hda6 ro quiet 
> splash
> initrd          /boot/initrd.img-2.6.15-26-386
> savedefault
> boot
>
> copy and past the ubuntu kernel image, root, initrd details from  
> /boot in ubuntu and paste in to /boot/grub/menu.lst in fedora.
>
> ** make sure you havent delete the ubuntu partition when you install 
> fedora. ;-)
>
> if you can't mount to either fedora or ubuntu, use a live cd (knoppix) 
> and edit the grub.
>
> give it a try... worked for me. :-)
>
> good luck!
>
> On 8/30/06, * Gayal* <gayal.rupasinghe at gmail.com 
> <mailto:gayal.rupasinghe at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     I was using Win XP with FC5 and wanted to install Ubuntu as well.
>
>     So i deleted the FC5 partition (just for the fun of doing it) and
>     installed ubuntu straight from the live cd V6.10.
>     And my laptop dual booted perfectly with XP.
>     After that i installed FC5 and during the creation of boot loader
>     i added XP and Ubutu as well from there respective partitions.
>
>     But then triple boot failed.
>     This is the message i get when selected ubuntu from Fedora Core 5
>     Grub Menu
>     -----------------------------------
>
>     Booting 'ubuntu'
>     rootnoverify (hd0,6)
>     chainloadre +1
>
>     Error 13: Invalid or Unsupported executable format.
>     Press any key to continue
>
>     so how can i fix this problem and tripple boot my laptop.
>
>
> <http://www.flickr.com/photos/dasun>

After similar problems (only the error messages were different) I 
managed to resolve the problem by re-installing Ubuntu but this time 
creating a new partition /boot to hold the boot/grub files. On 
completion, the Ubuntu version of Grub overwrote my previous Mandriva 
grub installation on the MBR (which I'd never been able to get to 
recognise grub).  I think that the original problem is that Mandriva 
grub didn't know where the Ubuntu boot files were and there was no way 
of telling it because you can't have two / partitions mounted at the 
same time. But with a separate /boot partition for Ubuntu everything 
seems to work as it should.

I'll give more info if anybody wants it - always assuming I can 
understand the question :-)

There's a thread on expert at mandrivalinux.org which details my somewhat 
erratic progress and the useful advice that others were able to give me.

Cheers

Graham

-- 
 Immorality: the morality of those who are having a better time. - H. L.
Mencken  (1880 - 1956)