Help I messed up big time

[Dusnoetos]

OK this is what happened.

I attempted to install Ubuntu on my main system - dual booted with xp

Well with the windows install i had 3 drives... I installed a 4th just for ubuntu.

the intall for Ubuntu went normal (?) but the GRUB loader is were it got messed up.
When i try to start xp from Grub I get this message:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\hal.dill.
please re-install a copy of above file.

I can not get any thing to recognizance the C drive any more. Not even through Ubuntu
I attempted to run a recovery console from the windows boot disk but XP no longer recognizes the file system on the disk???

Now I am not afraid of reinstalling Windows....but I would like to recover some files first. But with nothing recognising the drive any more how???

Heck I am so confused and mad I am not even sure how or what my question is.....

 

[Dusnoetos]

After a complete Oh "crap" moment I said a little prayer of help, forced my self to sit back and think about all i know about boot sectors. (witch is minimal....)

To start with... My XP pro install disk was custom made by my college's surprisingly capable tech department... when my original XP PRO disk was damaged. They made me what I think is called a Slipstream disk (win-lite?) with my Product key ....ANY-FOR-WHO this disk lacks the recovery console. SO, I was able to use one of my XP home disk's (full and complete) to run the recovery console...
All I will say is: I now love the "Fixboot" command.

It would appear that GRUB has been removed...along with the ability to load Ubuntu through the BIOS boot menu...

I would still like to install Ubuntu on my main rig....but with out the GRUB boot loader and only accesed via the BIOS boot menu.

(10 points for the first person to figure out my convoluted post)

 

[curtis1552]

It's easier than you think.

The newer versions of Ubuntu have 'streamlined' the install and don't always let you pick where to install the GRUB bootloader.

First you need to go into your BIOS and select the ubuntu drive as the boot drive, then boot the liveCD.

The reason you need to do this is because changing the order in the BIOS will change the order that GRUB reads the partitions.

Next you need to start the LiveCD

First, if it has Gparted open that it should be located System>Administration>Partition Editor
Browse around the drives until you know where your ubuntu installation is located and make a note of the harddrive and partition (e.g. hdc1)

If not then we'll try something else.
Open the drive you have ubuntu installed on from Places>XXXXThisDriveXXX
This will automatically mount it, so you can see it when using the mount command.
Open a terminal and type
mount
this will display all mounted partitions look for the one you just accessed, it should be something like
/dev/sdb2 on /media/disk type ext3 (rw,realtime)
sdb2 is the harddrive (sdb) and the partition (2) and in this case is referring to the second harddrive and the second partition.
make sure the mount point (/media/disk) matches the location on the drive you just opened that has ubuntu installed on it.


NEXT STEP:
Open a terminal
type grub
(this will give you a grub configuration utility)

NOTE: GRUB does not recognise drive in the manner of the rest of the OSs in ubuntu the hardrive/partition will be sda1 but in GRUB it is hd0,0 if it's something like sdb2 GRUB would be hd1,1 (if you have a question post and we'll help more)
type root(hdx,y)
where x is the harddrive you have Ubuntu installed (based on the info you got from mount/gparted) and y is the partition that /boot is located

then type
setup(hdx)
(Again where x is the harddrive you want to install GRUB)
then
quit

(Wow, i could have fixed it twice in the time it took me to write this)
kudos to:
http://www.sorgonet.com/linux/grubrestore/
so i didn't have to screw around with my install.