[FallFromINFINITY]

Ok, I've got Ubuntu 8.10 installed on my computer on the primary master harddrive.
Currently that is the selected boot device.

I just installed Windows XP onto another harddrive, the primary slave.

I want to add the Windows XP partition onto the boot list.
And if at all possible, to force the boot list to show up at startup to manually choose every time what OS to boot into.

- OR -

I can force the primary slave hdd, Windows, to boot instead of the Ubuntu.

What should I add to the boot.ini file to include Ubuntu on the boot list.

[jrbuergel]

It may be easier to just use the Linux grub boot loader which should have been installed with your Ubuntu on the master boot record of that primary drive. root (hd1,0) ,makeactive, and the last line as; chainloader +1. This is entered in your Ubuntu /boot/grub/menu.lst file by edit as root user, (sudo) with gedit.

[saikee]

All wishes are granted.

The 3rd and the last links of my signature refer.

For your first wishes refer to Section A of 3rd link.

For your last wish refer to Task E4 of last link and use the default statement to specify which OS to boot first.

[FallFromINFINITY]

Ok, I've added the Windows entry to the menu.lst file.

I can select it from startup, but it stays on the black screen with the text "Starting up..." on the top left corner. I've let it sit for more than half of an hour, yet it remains on that page. Ctrl+Alt+Del does restart the computer, so it doesn't freeze, and it doesn't error at all.


I'll have to try adding the linux to the Windows boot.ini file.

... the first 512 bytes of Linux boot loader...

Where do I find the file to take this information from?

[saikee]

You need to make your Linux "chainloadable" first. By that you need to put Grub inside the root partition. Physically you put Grub in the boot sector of the root partition. Most partition types have the first track permanent reserved for the boot loader.

Say your Linux is in partition sda3 the next time after you boot into Ubuntu at the terminal you issue this command

sudo grub-install /dev/sda3

Now you can dd the first 512 bytes into the Xp partition.

Note

"sudo grub-install /dev/sda3" put Grub in boot sector of sda3. Sda3 is chainloadable by another boot loader.

"sudo grub-install /dev/sda" put Grub in boot sector of sda and that is the MBR of disk sda.

"sudo grub-install /dev/fd0" put Grub in a floppy.

[FallFromINFINITY]

Ok, just did the grub install

sudo grub-install /dev/sda1
sudo grub-install /dev/sda
sudo dd if=/dev/sda1 of=/home/rich/boot_sda1.lnx bs=512 count=1
cp /home/rich/boot_sda1.lnx /media/winxp/
sudo gedit /media/winxp/boot.ini

entered

c:\boot_sda1.lnx="Ubuntu 8.10 INTREPID IBEX - Kernel 2.6.27-11"

to the boot.ini file under operating systems and saved it.
It showed up on the windows boot screen. Awesome. but when selected, it reset the system.

Setting the boot back to the linux hdd, I receive an error stating "/dev/by-uuid/(bunch of letters and #s here) was not found. Initiating shell instead."
It then proceeds to a command line input. I cannot access the drive from Windows, because the format is ext2, and windows can't read it.

Did I do something wrong? How do I fix it?

[saikee]

If you do a search with Google you will find there are many free drivers you can load into Windows to read/write Ext2/3 partitions. If you want to be taken by the hand click here.