Dual Booting Issues, please help?

[Tetsue]

So i've been using windows 7 my whole life, and recently i decided to put linux on my computer. I had another harddrive so i partitioned it and installed linux on the second harddrive. i didnt touch my windows partition but ever since i installed linux, i've been unable to boot into windows 7. I dont get any errors, theres just no option to boot into that OS and when i boot from the harddrive that its supposed to be installed on it just boots into Ubuntu.

System specs:

AMD x4 3.0 Ghz
Gigabyte GA-MA770t-ud3p motherboard
4 gigs of ram
Windows 7 (???)
Ubuntu


help is greatly appreciated

[MikeTbob]

Hello and Welcome.
Without knowing exactly where you installed GRUB, it's kinda hard to guess if that could be the problem or not. Did you install GRUB(bootloader) to the master boot record or to the 2nd hard drive? Can you remove the Linux drive or disconnect the cable to see it the Windows drive will still boot?
Can you boot up Linux and open a terminal Window and issue this command, post your results, please?

sudo fdisk -l

That's a lowercase L, not a 1.

[Tetsue]

ok so i havent tried disconnecting the harddisk yet cause that involves physical work and im too lazy for that right now but i did do the second part

Disk /dev/sda: 2000.4 GB, 2000398934016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 243201 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x01c73d19

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 243153 1953125448+ 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdb: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x000312c8

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 59272 476097536 83 Linux
/dev/sdb2 59272 60802 12285953 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 59272 60802 12285952 82 Linux swap / Solaris


and i believe its GNOME not GRUB but i dont know

[GreenSkyChris]

You used Windows 7 all of your life? Your must be very very very young, like 2 or something.

[reed9]

GRUB is the bootloader, GNOME is the desktop environment.

Please run

sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

There should be a message indicated it detected Windows and it should then add an entry for it.

[Tetsue]

Reed9, I tried the command you told me to try, but it didn't work.

Generating grub.cfg ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-26-generic-pae
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-26-generic-pae
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-25-generic-pae
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-25-generic-pae
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+.bin
done


I even restarted the system and tried booting from each hard drive via BIOS.

[reed9]

Hmm. That's unfortunate. We'll have to try it the hardway.

Can you post the contents of the files /etc/grub.d/40_custom and /boot/grub/grub.cfg

(Just open them up with a text editor and copy/paste. Please use code tags.)

[Tetsue]

For the first, the /etc/grub.d/40_custom

#!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.

Then the /boot/grub/grub.cfg

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
  set have_grubenv=true
  load_env
fi
set default="0"
if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
  set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
  save_env saved_entry
  set prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
  set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
  if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
    saved_entry="${chosen}"
    save_env saved_entry
  fi
}

function recordfail {
  set recordfail=1
  if [ -n "${have_grubenv}" ]; then if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then save_env recordfail; fi; fi
}

function load_video {
  insmod vbe
  insmod vga
}

insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
  set gfxmode=640x480
  load_video
  insmod gfxterm
fi
terminal_output gfxterm
insmod part_msdos
insmod ext2
set root='(hd1,msdos1)'
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666
set locale_dir=($root)/boot/grub/locale
set lang=en
insmod gettext
if [ "${recordfail}" = 1 ]; then
  set timeout=-1
else
  set timeout=10
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/light-gray
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.35-26-generic-pae' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	insmod part_msdos
	insmod ext2
	set root='(hd1,msdos1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-26-generic-pae root=UUID=be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666 ro   quiet splash
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-26-generic-pae
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.35-26-generic-pae (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	insmod part_msdos
	insmod ext2
	set root='(hd1,msdos1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666
	echo	'Loading Linux 2.6.35-26-generic-pae ...'
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-26-generic-pae root=UUID=be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666 ro single 
	echo	'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-26-generic-pae
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.35-25-generic-pae' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	insmod part_msdos
	insmod ext2
	set root='(hd1,msdos1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-25-generic-pae root=UUID=be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666 ro   quiet splash
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-25-generic-pae
}
menuentry 'Ubuntu, with Linux 2.6.35-25-generic-pae (recovery mode)' --class ubuntu --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os {
	recordfail
	insmod part_msdos
	insmod ext2
	set root='(hd1,msdos1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666
	echo	'Loading Linux 2.6.35-25-generic-pae ...'
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-25-generic-pae root=UUID=be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666 ro single 
	echo	'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.35-25-generic-pae
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
	insmod part_msdos
	insmod ext2
	set root='(hd1,msdos1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666
	linux16	/boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
	insmod part_msdos
	insmod ext2
	set root='(hd1,msdos1)'
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set be14afe0-7f36-4b71-b5e3-6e4ec057b666
	linux16	/boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
if [ "x${timeout}" != "x-1" ]; then
  if keystatus; then
    if keystatus --shift; then
      set timeout=-1
    else
      set timeout=0
    fi
  else
    if sleep --interruptible 3 ; then
      set timeout=0
    fi
  fi
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f  $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
  source $prefix/custom.cfg;
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###