Hi Evan,
I was trying to install Kubuntu 7.10 using the Alternate CD. The
instructions on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage told me to
attribute the bug to the debian-installer. My apologies if this
attribution is inappropriate. I am no expert but my first guess would
not be grub but the package that invokes grub during the debian install
which is probably the partitioner (whatever its package name is).
For my first two attempts at installation, Windows booted fine
beforehand but would not boot afterwards. During the installation,
something (I think grub) issued a message along the lines that it would
boot Windows on volume 1.
Here is the last line from boot.ini from a 'clean disk' installation of
W2K that I can tell from the file properties has not been modified since
W2K was installed:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000
Professional" /fastdetect
Here is the same line from the boot.ini from the laptop I had problems
with (after correction):
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000
Professional (on Volume 1)" /fastdetect
I changed (1) to (2) throughout boot.ini to get it to work. Note the
"(on Volume 1)" which is not something Windows put there and is
consistent with the message issued by during the Alternate CD install
process.
When I say Windows would not boot I got the message:
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or
corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe.
Please re-install a copy of the above file
I used a rescue disk to boot Windows. Since I was not sure at that time
that boot.ini was the problem nor how to correct it, I changed boot.ini
so that it gave me the choice of trying to boot Windows from each of the
four primary partitions. One choice booted Windows but the others gave
me the ntoskrnl.exe message.
With this boot.ini in place I made my second attempt to install Kubuntu
from the Alternate CD believing I would be able to boot Windows by trial
and error if necessary. At the end of the installation I again could
not boot Windows and (after using the rescue disk again) I found that
boot.ini had reverted to the single (wrong) choice of Volume 1.
Only when my third attempt at installation succeeded and I could still
boot Windows and I had not seen the 'grub will boot Windows on volume 1'
message did I realise I had enough information for someone to be able to
reproduce the problem. Here is that information in all the gory details:
Originally the laptop had:
volume 1 hidden rescue partition
volume 2 Windows ME
After installation of Windows 2K, the laptop had:
volume 1 hidden rescue partition
volume 2 Windows 2K
volume 3 Extended partition
Before Kubuntu installation attempt #1 I deleted the hidden rescue
partition and during installation created two more primary partitions in
the free space:
volume 1 /home
volume 2 Windows 2K
volume 3 Extended partition
volume 4 swap
During Kubuntu installation attempt #2 I deleted and recreated (possibly
in a different order) the Linux partitions swap, /home (and / in the
extended partition).
During Kubuntu installation attempt #3 I simply reformatted the Linux
partitions. No partitions were destroyed or created.
My guess is that if the install does not rewrite the primary partition
table then it sees no reason to update boot.ini. If it does rewrite the
partition table it decides it ought to update boot.ini (even though this
should not be necessary since it didn't 'renumber' the primary
partitions). It does not tell grub which volume to use - it always
tells grub to use volume 1. This will be correct on a disk that has
only ever had a C: drive on it, which happens to be case for the vast
majority of disks.
If I can be of any further help, just let me know.
Evan Dandrea wrote:
> The installer does not write to the boot.ini file. Are you sure your
> boot.ini changed between when you started then installer and it
> finished?
>
> ** Changed in: debian-installer (Ubuntu)
> Status: New => Incomplete
>
>
--
Paul Bryan Roberts
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
+44 023 8028 2208
--
Gutsy Install Rewrites W2k boot.ini Incorrectly
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/178483
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Bugs, which is the bug contact for Ubuntu.
--
ubuntu-bugs mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
