Can't boot Xp with GRUB2

[Lostfarmer]

I am more and more thinking it is a third party XP program, like the old Norton Get Data Back, that will try to restore the OS.

When booted into linux can you mount the XP partition and look for ntoskrnl.exe and /or try from grub command prompt 'chainloader (hd1)/Windows/System32/ntoskrnl' >tab . You posted in #7 you could not find it.

[isom]

When running Ubuntu I can mount the Windows XP drive AND see ntoskrnl.exe.

or try from grub command prompt 'chainloader (hd1)/Windows/System32/ntoskrnl

I cannot see ntoskrnl from here.

I don't have any programs like the one you suggested installed. For now all I have installed within Windows is ExpressPCB and LTSpice.

[isom]

I cannot see ntoskrnl from here.

I was wrong here. Somehow I missed it, but if I do chainloader (hd1)/Windows/System32/nto<tab>, it completes the line with ntoskrnl. When I try to boot that it gives an unknown filesystem error. I tried chainloader (hd1,msdos1)/Windows/System32/ntoskrnl and it says invalid signature.

[Lostfarmer]

I tried chainloader (hd1,msdos1)/Windows/System32/ntoskrnl and it says invalid signature.

I can expect that, when it chainloades it is wanting a boot code of 1 sector with the signature of 55AA.

If you want to try, make a small XP boot partition on the linux hdd. Make and format it with XP, copy ntldr,boot.ini and ntdetect.com. You would have to change boot.ini for the correct hdd and add this partition to linux boot menu. or bottom part of post 19.

I do not understand at all about ntoskrnl.exe, I MOVED the file from windows/system32 on to my booted linux partition. I am now posting from that XP ???

ntoskrnl.exe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ntoskrnl.exe (and ntkrnlpa.exe on systems with Physical Address Extension support) is the kernel image for the family of Microsoft Windows NT operating systems. It provides the Kernel and Executive layers of the Windows NT kernel space, and is responsible for various system services such as hardware virtualization, process and memory management, etc., thus making it a fundamental part of the system

so how can I run with out it ??

might read Windows NT startup process - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia are you useing the hibernat function ? If yes , turn it off and try.

[isom]

I decided to install Win. 7 over XP and everything works perfectly now. I'm not even going to worry anymore about what the issue was. Thanks Lostfarmer for all your help on this issue.