Linux+Win Vista Dual Boot

[dww0729]

I just got back from a deployment so my desktop has been sitting for about 7months. I updated Linux no problem to 9.04. Then i started with Windows what a mess. I wasn't even running SP1 on Vista. But when i got on Windows update was in shambles it couldn't even search for updates. i then tried it manually with no luck. I then went for windows customer service for the first time ever. I wanted to avoid having to use the installation disk and i was hoping that it was an easy fix that i might have missed from being away for so long. Well long story short (would be alot of negativity lol). They had me upgrade windows with installation disk at which point i told them the problem was fixed when it wasn't (i found the solution today a no brainier to kicking myself for it).

But when they had me upgrade Windows I lost the option to select my OS at the boot screen. I was wondering how to get that option back. I know there is an option in windows control panel but i cant remember it for the life of me. Any help would be great. I cant even access Linux right now i hit F5 at start-up to prompt me for which OS i wanted but it only gave me Windows OS Linux is still on my computer i think because my hard drive is still partitioned.
thanks in advance for any help received.

Also i am still pretty new to linux so if it involves Linux commands you will probably have to explain it to me as if i was computer illiterate. Thanks..

[yancek]

When you upgraded windows, they may have overwritten the master boot record. I don't know what was included in your updates? Were you booting with Grub before or with the wndows bootloader? If you were using Grub and want to do so again, that should be pretty simple to modify. You just need the correct entry in the /boot/grub/menu.lst file for windows. If you have any Linux CD, open a terminal/ konsole window and type the following to get partition information:

sudo fdisk -l

(sudo only needed on Ubuntu, that's a lower case Letter L)
Post this information here and someone should be able to help.

[dww0729]

To be honest with you it has been 7 months so i do not remeber much of were i left off on my computer. i just intsalled Linux like a month before i left.
A far as the updates go well first there was the orginal upgrade way back when Vista came lol (since the registry files seem to have been corrupt that was the probably the easiest way to repair them). then i manually installed all the way to SP 2 since i here that it seems to run a little better.

i do not think i am using Grub. i installed Linux Ubuntu from a disc that i created from within windows. so i believe i am using windows boot manger. which when i saw that in your reply i remebered were the boot manger was lol. i just looked at it and it doesnt isnt even showing that i have Linux in there.
My hard drive is partioned but i can not access the other half and i know that is is partioned for a fact cuz i have a 120gig 10k hard drive and it is showing only 88gigs total. so i am lost. the only thing i can think of is just compltely starting from scratch on everything which is a pain