HELP ME I'm stuck in Windows!!!

[Goh Lip]

Michael White wrote:
> --- On *Tue, 10/13/09, Goh Lip /<g.lip at gmx.com>/* wrote:
> 
> 
>     From: Goh Lip <g.lip at gmx.com>
>     Subject: Re: HELP ME I'm stuck in Windows!!!
>     To: ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
>     Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 6:41 AM
> 
>     Michael White wrote:
>      > OK guys, bear with me.
>      > 
>      > I have been using Ubuntu for about a week and I decided that I
>     wanted to
>      > have two partitions on my HDD so that I could have both Ubuntu
>     9.04 and
>      > Windows XP SP3.
>      > 
>      > So I downloaded GParted and modified my Ubuntu partition to half
>     it's
>      > size. Now there is 3 partitons on my 148 gig HDD. One that was the
>      > Ubuntu partition (71.72 gb), another unallocated (71.72 gb), and
>     a third
>      > (5.58 gb) not sure what the third one is for or where it came from.
>      > 
>      > Then I took a burned copy of Windows XP SP3 and installed it onto
>     the
>      > unallocated partition. It told me that I would have to deactivate
>     the
>      > Ubuntu partition and I said yes.
>      > 
>      > Now I'm stuck in Windows HELL! What I want to do is to reactivate my
>      > Ubuntu partition and make it so that when I boot up my PC it
>     ask's me
>      > which OS I want to use.
>      > 
>      > Thanks in advance for the help.
>      > 
>      > -Mike
>      >
>      >
>     Pls advise Ubuntu version, whether you have its livecd available and if
>     it is Jaunty (9.04), whether you have converted to grub2. More
>     information is better, not less; eg., if you know partition number of
>     windows and ubuntu
> 
>     Don't want to give 2 sets and subsets (if this then this..) of
>     instructions.
> 
> 
>     OK first off if you had read my post you would have seen that it is
>     indeed Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty.
> 
>     Second I would be happy to supply more information. Yes I do have a
>     live CD and I don't know what grub 2 is so no I don't think I have
>     converted it.
> 
>     Not trying to sound like an ass but it is up there.
> 
>     -Mike
> 
> 


Okay Mike, let's start, I'll try not to sound like an ass myself :)
Assumptions: grub-legacy, ubuntu partition is not mucked up by gparted.

Nils' referred page is quite challenging for somebody new. If you can 
follow that, then go with it. Otherwise, and only otherwise, see if you 
can follow this.
Boot up livecd, open  a terminal
$ sudo blkid

copy to klipper or some note. Can you make out where your ubuntu 
partition is?  Let's call it /dev/sdax

go to dolphin, go to your sdax ubuntu partition and at /boot/grub, open 
up menu.lst

Modify the entry with the right UUID number (just replace 
root=UUID=xxxxxxxxxxx with root=UUID=yyyyyyyyyyyy from the blkid output.

Also just check if the root=(hd0,y) line correspond with your sda number 
from the blkid output. Important note =  sdax is (hd0,x-1)

Then back at terminal.
sudo grub

you will get a prompt like
 >grub

Enter
grub> find /boot/grub/stage1  { without the 'grub>' }

make sure output has the ubuntu partition output (hd0,x-1)

Enter
grub> root (hd0,x-1)       { not x-1, but real number }
grub> setup (hd0)
grub> quit


Mike, not over yet, you can now reboot without livecd to Ubuntu but not 
to your windows. Now reboot to Ubuntu, (best you copy in hard copy your 
new UUID number (just in case, unlikely, but just be prepared)

When booted into Ubuntu, open terminal,
sudo update-grub
(I may be wrong,not on grub-legacy anymore, could be 'grub-update', but 
definitely one of the two, no harm if wrong choice)


Recheck if windows entry is there too. and all ubuntu entries has the 
new UUID number as well.


That's it. Good luck.



Regards,
Goh Lip