GRUB issue booting XP

douglassac · n00b Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

Hello-

I am using grub 0.97-r3. When I try to boot my XP install from GRUB, I get a message saying
"The following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe Please install another copy of this file"

I've read a lot of posts about this error, so please pay attention to this part, it will save a lot of keystrokes - If I uninstall GRUB, XP boots just like it ought to, and works as expected. The file is NOT corrupted, nor is any other file that I can see.
Also, this setup has worked for about 2 months, and then just stopped.

Here's my setup:
MSI 975x Platinum PowerUp Edition (Intel 975 express chipset)
/dev/sda1 - Windows install (marked as bootable)
/dev/sdb1 - /boot
/dev/sdb2 - /
/dev/sda3 - swap
(other data drives)
There are no PATA IDE drives in the system. PATA IDE controller is disabled.

I'm not using RAID. The ICH7 controller supports IDE, RAID, and AHCI modes. I'm using IDE. AHCI does not correct the problem.

I installed grub with the following commands:
root (hd1,0)
setup (hd0)

My grub.conf looks like this:
default 0
timeout 20

title=Gentoo Linux (2.6.21-suspend2-r6)
kernel /kernel-genkernel-x86-2.6.21-suspend2-r6 root=/dev/sdb2 real_root=/dev/sdb2 init=/linuxrc splash=silent vesafb:1280x1024 vga=0x31B vmalloc=768m CONSOLE=/dev/tty1
initrd /initramfs-genkernel-x86-2.6.21-suspend2-r6

title=Linux 2.6.21-gentoo-r3
kernel /kernel-genkernel-x86-2.6.21-gentoo-r3 root=/dev/sdb2 real_root=/dev/sdb2 init=/linuxrc splash=silent vesafb:1280x1024 vga=0x31B vmalloc=768m CONSOLE=/dev/tty1
initrd /initramfs-genkernel-x86-2.6.21-gentoo-r3

title=Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
makeactive
chainloader +1

I've also tried:
chainloader (hd0,0)+1

Further, from the XP "Recovery" console, I have tried fixboot, chkdsk /r (filesystem undamaged), and bootcfg /rebuild.
fixmbr puts me back in business every time. Just for grins, I went through the recovery of ntdectect, ntldr, and ntoskrnl, none of which helped at all.

It appears to me that grub is not marking the partition as active or bootable anymore. Also possible is that the drive becomes mis-ordered on a grub boot and can't be found.
Please help. Running very low on things to try.

Thanks
-Chris

blubbi · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 3:45 pm Post subject:

My setup is vice versa

MM Trigger · n00b Joined: 18 Oct 2006 Posts: 54 Location: Florida

I remember at one time I had a similar problem, where GRUB wouldn't boot OSs properly. It ended up being that the 1st partition on the drive was larger than 137GB. Resizing it to something slightly smaller and reinstalling GRUB from the LiveCD fixed the problem.

douglassac · n00b Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

Thanks for the replies.

Blubbi-
If I can't find another solution, your method is what I was going to move to. I didn't want to get into all the spots where I have to change sda to sdb in various conf files, but maybe it can't be avoided.

MM Trigger-
I use 2 80GB drives for OS's for just this reason (call me old school), but thanks for the idea.

Something wacky is happening. I only use Windows for video games, so it hasn't been a critically important issue, but there has to be some way to fix it.

blubbi · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:31 pm Post subject:

You dont have to change anything....just your grub.conf.

and adjust my example to fitt your setup.

Thats all.

douglassac · n00b Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

well, now, that's not exactly right. There's /etc/fstab for one (not a big deal), and some appications I have installed use dev names in their setup as well (again, not a crisis, just inconvenient. A sed script would take care of most of it, really). It may be worthwhile to try this out just to see if I can just boot XP this way. I'll give it a shot when I get home tonight. I guess since the problem came from nowhere, I'm really hoping for a non case opening solution. Maybe that does not exist for this problem.

blubbi · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:51 pm Post subject:

You dont't really know what I am talking about...

The mapping has nothing to do with your physical drive names.

Just use my example, not my configuration. You can keep your physical setup. Just use my grub.conf end modifiy it to fit your physical layout.

But do what you want to do.

regards blubbi

douglassac · n00b Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

You are right, I guess I don't really understand what you are saying. Could you clarify?

grub is installed in the MBA of /dev/sda, which is my Windows drive.

You have some mapping paramenters so that Windows does not have to be installed on the first drive. I should not need those because Windows IS installed on the first drive in my box. My mapping would look like this:
map (hd0) (hd0)

Do I have the wrong concept here? Like I mentioned above, I thought that the map statement worked around a Windows issue (e.g., if you uninstall grub, your machine won't boot any OS without moving the drive to port0).

Otherwise, your Windows section of grub.conf is already the same as mine. I originally thought you were suggesting that I change the hardware layout so that using the map options would make sense. Maybe that option does more than I am aware of.

Thanks for your time.
-Chris

blubbi · Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:49 am Post subject:

Oh man... I am so sory! Actually it was me who was not understanding your problem. After I read the post today, I realized that your Windows was on the first disk....

If you leave the XP bootloader in the MBR and write grub in the MBR of the second drive then tell your bios to boot from the second drive, maybe grub is than able to boot XP from the first drive. Just a guess.

sry man for being rough the posts above.

regards
blubbi

douglassac · n00b Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

No problem.

I'm actually leaning toward a BIOS problem at this time. I had to upgrade the BIOS on this machine for a particular USB keyboard that I have. Maybe I haven't actually run Windows since doing that.
Your idea sounds good, and I haven't tried that yet. Will try it out later today, and post results.

Thanks
-Chris

davascript · l33t Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 618 Location: Pennsylvania

You should install grub to the mbr of the linux disk, also The Windows drive has to be second or this setup wont work, and you also have to map each drive against each other in the windows config to trick the windows bootloader. Is your /boot marked bootable?

Here is an example of what I mean

gerard27 · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:34 am Post subject:

Hi douglassac,
I noticed something in your grub config that IMHO is wrong.

davascript · l33t Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 618 Location: Pennsylvania

Here is the guide that everyone uses to dual boot using two disks, one per OS.
Using GRUB to Dual-Boot Windows on a Second Hard Drive

gerard27 · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 12:09 pm Post subject:

I am beginning to wonder where this post will end.
Douglassac has XP on the first disk (sda1)!!
Here is my grub.conf

douglassac · n00b Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

gerard27 · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:07 pm Post subject:

Hi Douglassac,
Well it is now up to the real guru's.
I really have no idea what could cause this.
Gerard.

nixnut · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 3:15 pm Post subject:

blubbi · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 5:33 pm Post subject:

davascript · l33t Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 618 Location: Pennsylvania

Guys did you read the guide i posted the link for? When using 2000 or XP it changes their own system partition to be the active partition any time they boot. This is why you have to use the windows drive as a slave drive and then map the drives against each other. and you are probably going to have to run a fixboot and a fixmbr on the windows drive from the windows recovery console. I have done many dual boots and triple boots like this and never have i had any luck getting them to work with the windows drive at hd0.

blubbi · Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 9:21 am Post subject:

But I!

Bevore I knew about remapping drives. I installed W2K on the first HD so I was able to boot it without any hasel.
But I admit, this was years ago. If I remember correct. I installed grub in the mbr of hd1 and told my BIOS to use this as the primary boot device. I did this quite a long time ago, cause I couldn't get Win2K installed on the second drive without problems (wrong device names C: was D: and other wired stuff). So I decided to use the more flexible Linux to cope with an installation on the second drive, and installed WinXP on the first device.

Later I figured out, if I disconnect the prim. harddisk (primary master) and install 2K on the second drive (Primary Slave) than everything worked fine and I could reconnected the prim. master.

regrads
blubbi

douglassac · n00b Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

Lack of progress report-

I have now-
-Run fixmbr for windows only booting.
-switched the boot device order in the BIOS.
-rebooted off of the Gentoo CD, reinstalled GRUB
-Linux boots fine. Same Windows issue
-Run fixmbr for windows only booting.
-switched the actual drives.
-rebooted off the Gentoo CD, reinstalled grub (both this time and the last, I added the mapping parameters in. Without them, the screen turns to color ASCII blocks when I choose Windows)
-same problem.
-Put everything back the way it was.
-Recompiled GRUB without CFLAGS (read this at the GRUB web site). Did not help. ntoskrnl.exe is missing or corrupt.

I'm beginnning to feel a little like a troll here, and I don't want to argue with anyone. I have RTFM moments like everyone else; this just isn't one of them.

davascript-

Again, I don't like to argue with those trying to help, and I'm really not an ass, but your statement here:

davascript · l33t Joined: 07 Apr 2004 Posts: 618 Location: Pennsylvania

douglassac · n00b Joined: 05 Jul 2007 Posts: 10

I didn't know about the --no-floppy option. That will speed up future installs, as that part sometimes takes awhile.

No ERD - No floppy drive to put it on. But there is another thing I did not know, an unmounted checkdisk is possible on Windows.

Generally, I've looked over all the standard stuff, and ran some md5's of various boot files against another XP machine at my house, which all came up OK. Without a SP2 boot disc, there wasn't a way to recover the files properly from the CAB's (all boot files have been replaced since SP1).

Here's what DID work-

--SOLVED FOR NOW--

I reverted the BIOS to 7.1. Over at the MSI forum there is a lot of discussion about a conflict between the ICH7 SATA controller and the JMicron SATA controller on this board with newer BIOS revisions. I have not experienced the issues those folks are talking about, but I have had some CD funkiness on warm reboot (I have a SATA DVD drive). At any rate, here is my whole setup. Maybe someone with similar hardware can verify that they do or don't have the same issue.

MSI 975X Platinum Power Up Edition mobo (model 7246
Intel 975 Express chipset, ICH7 SATA controller in AHCI mode (IDE mode has same results)
JMicron JMB361 SATA controller
2 Seagate 7200.10 80 GB SATA drives attached to ICH7 ports 0 and 2 in 3Gb/s mode (boot drives)
2 Seagate 7200.10 500 GB SATA drives attached to ICH7 ports 1 and 3 in 3Gb/s mode (data drives)

Intel QX6700 QuadCore 2.66 GHz
2x1 GB Corsair XMS Dominator RAM
EVGA nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX

I tested BIOS versions 7.1, 7.4, and 7.5. Did not try 7.2, there is no 7.3

Thank you all for your help! I will now start working on triple booting Vista also.
-Chris