Guh, wtf

[Dotkito]

Alright, so I got a new XP Disk at Wal-mart the other day. I downgraded Windows Vista because it sucks huge balls and when I try to pop in in my Linux PC, it just loads linux.

I have Ubuntu 8.10 upgraded from 8.04

So I tried it inside Linux, it couldn't read the disk for some reason.

How do I get my machine to boot the XP Disk?

I am using a Compaq SR5210NX

[rokytnji]

Enable boot cdrom first in bios would be my first guess.

[rokytnji]

You realize of course, that you will wipe out your Ubuntu install unless you partition a section of your hardrive for XP.

[oz]

GRUB is probably interfering with your machine reading the installation disk.

To clear the MBR (master boot record) only, leaving partition tables alone:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1

You'll need to replace /dev/sda with your actual device name such as /dev/hda.

If needed, you can use the fdisk -l command to determine your device name:

fdisk -l

[Dotkito]

You realize of course, that you will wipe out your Ubuntu install unless you partition a section of your hardrive for XP.

yes, I will re-install it and dual boot it. I am stuck with just "Ubuntu". no other OS.

GRUB is probably interfering with your machine reading the installation disk.

To clear the MBR (master boot record) only, leaving partition tables alone:

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1

You'll need to replace /dev/sda with your actual device name such as /dev/hda.

If needed, you can use the fdisk -l command to determine your device name:

fdisk -l

Would I do that when it starts up or when I am in Ubuntu?

[Dotkito]

Did I do it right? This is what popped up in Terminal

1+0 records in
1+0 records out
446 bytes (446 B) copied, 3.3629e-05 s, 13.3 MB/s

The disk thing did not work.

User@User-PC:~$ fdisk -l
Cannot open /dev/sda

[rokytnji]

yes, I will re-install it and dual boot it.

Then just go into bios and enable cdrom as the first booting drive, and the xp install should proceed. You can repartition the hardrive after you have installed Windows and reinstall Ubuntu later.

[Dotkito]

Okay, thanks, I will try that.

[rokytnji]

When you decide to reinstall Ubuntu, just use your Live cd. You can use the gparted partion editor to shrink your hardrive. Just make sure you defrag Windows and don't take up Windows file space. 20 to 30 gig should be enough , though you haven't stated the size of your hardrive in your thread. So I am just guessing. What are your specs?

[oz]

Did I do it right? This is what popped up in Terminal

1+0 records in
1+0 records out
446 bytes (446 B) copied, 3.3629e-05 s, 13.3 MB/s

Yes, it looks like you did it correctly. If it was GRUB interfering with the booting of the Windows installation CD, you should be able to boot with it after receiving the code you posted above, if you have your BIOS set as needed for booting from a CD.