Grub Error 13 Invalid or unsupported executable format

[DxPanxD]

Okay so I know there are a lot of posts about the error 13, however I'm a beginner with stuff like this, and most posts I found have differences in them that may or may not make the different solutions work for me. Basically I'm just making a new thread to make sure that any advice I take is specifically for my issue.

A few days ago I booted up my computer as normal and loaded vista. It loaded fine, but then froze at the login window. I restarted my computer but this time when I tried to load vista I got the "Error 13" message. Ubuntu still loads up fine however.

I'm fairly certain that I'm using Grub - Legacy, and since most posts that I see post the contents of the menu.lst file, I will too

# menu.lst - See: grub(8), info grub, update-grub(8)
#            grub-install(8), grub-floppy(8),
#            grub-md5-crypt, /usr/share/doc/grub
#            and /usr/share/doc/grub-doc/.

## default num
# Set the default entry to the entry number NUM. Numbering starts from 0, and
# the entry number 0 is the default if the command is not used.
#
# You can specify 'saved' instead of a number. In this case, the default entry
# is the entry saved with the command 'savedefault'.
# WARNING: If you are using dmraid do not use 'savedefault' or your
# array will desync and will not let you boot your system.
default		0

## timeout sec
# Set a timeout, in SEC seconds, before automatically booting the default entry
# (normally the first entry defined).
timeout		10

## hiddenmenu
# Hides the menu by default (press ESC to see the menu)
#hiddenmenu

# Pretty colours
#color cyan/blue white/blue

## password ['--md5'] passwd
# If used in the first section of a menu file, disable all interactive editing
# control (menu entry editor and command-line)  and entries protected by the
# command 'lock'
# e.g. password topsecret
#      password --md5 $1$gLhU0/$aW78kHK1QfV3P2b2znUoe/
# password topsecret

#
# examples
#
# title		Windows 95/98/NT/2000
# root		(hd0,0)
# makeactive
# chainloader	+1
#
# title		Linux
# root		(hd0,1)
# kernel	/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda2 ro
#

#
# Put static boot stanzas before and/or after AUTOMAGIC KERNEL LIST

### BEGIN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST
## lines between the AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST markers will be modified
## by the debian update-grub script except for the default options below

## DO NOT UNCOMMENT THEM, Just edit them to your needs

## ## Start Default Options ##
## default kernel options
## default kernel options for automagic boot options
## If you want special options for specific kernels use kopt_x_y_z
## where x.y.z is kernel version. Minor versions can be omitted.
## e.g. kopt=root=/dev/hda1 ro
##      kopt_2_6_8=root=/dev/hdc1 ro
##      kopt_2_6_8_2_686=root=/dev/hdc2 ro
# kopt=root=UUID=da9847de-71ad-40d1-8f4f-d6309b3c6e00 ro

## default grub root device
## e.g. groot=(hd0,0)
# groot=da9847de-71ad-40d1-8f4f-d6309b3c6e00

## should update-grub create alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. alternative=true
##      alternative=false
# alternative=true

## should update-grub lock alternative automagic boot options
## e.g. lockalternative=true
##      lockalternative=false
# lockalternative=false

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash

## should update-grub lock old automagic boot options
## e.g. lockold=false
##      lockold=true
# lockold=false

## Xen hypervisor options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenhopt=

## Xen Linux kernel options to use with the default Xen boot option
# xenkopt=console=tty0

## altoption boot targets option
## multiple altoptions lines are allowed
## e.g. altoptions=(extra menu suffix) extra boot options
##      altoptions=(recovery) single
# altoptions=(recovery mode) single

## controls how many kernels should be put into the menu.lst
## only counts the first occurence of a kernel, not the
## alternative kernel options
## e.g. howmany=all
##      howmany=7
# howmany=all

## should update-grub create memtest86 boot option
## e.g. memtest86=true
##      memtest86=false
# memtest86=true

## should update-grub adjust the value of the default booted system
## can be true or false
# updatedefaultentry=false

## should update-grub add savedefault to the default options
## can be true or false
# savedefault=false

## ## End Default Options ##

title		Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic
uuid		da9847de-71ad-40d1-8f4f-d6309b3c6e00
kernel		/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=da9847de-71ad-40d1-8f4f-d6309b3c6e00 ro quiet splash 
initrd		/boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic
quiet

title		Ubuntu 8.10, kernel 2.6.27-7-generic (recovery mode)
uuid		da9847de-71ad-40d1-8f4f-d6309b3c6e00
kernel		/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27-7-generic root=UUID=da9847de-71ad-40d1-8f4f-d6309b3c6e00 ro  single
initrd		/boot/initrd.img-2.6.27-7-generic

title		Ubuntu 8.10, memtest86+
uuid		da9847de-71ad-40d1-8f4f-d6309b3c6e00
kernel		/boot/memtest86+.bin
quiet

### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST

# This is a divider, added to separate the menu items below from the Debian
# ones.
title		Other operating systems:
root


# This entry automatically added by the Debian installer for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda1
title		Windows Vista/Longhorn (loader)
root		(hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader	+1

[cheesecake42]

Judging from your menu.lst file, You are using a single hard drive with windows on your first partition and linux on your second partition, is this correct?

[DxPanxD]

Yes, I had Windows installed first and later added ubuntu.

[cheesecake42]

Were you able to log into Windows at all after the ubuntu install? If so what was the last OS you were logged into when it stopped working and did you make any system changes on it?

[DxPanxD]

Yeah, my comps been dual booted since sometime last year and it's always worked booted both os's properly.

The last time I was on my comp before I started getting the error I was using Vista and I didn't make any changes, I was mostly just browsing the internet and playing an online game. After that I shut it down like normal.

[cheesecake42]

your menu.lst looks fine as far as I can see. The only thing I can think of is that you have a legitimate windows issue. Perhaps the partition has become corrupt? I tend to think that this is not a grub configuration issue.

[DxPanxD]

Okay, thanks for confirming that, originally I feared the worst and that it might've been a hardware failure, but that went away once I realised ubuntu worked fine. After that windows being corrupted somehow was what I guessed to be the most likely. However when I researched the error 13 a bit i thought (and hoped) maybe it was just a grub issue.

I suppose the windows being corrupt theory is also supported by the fact that I can't mount it using any of the methods I looked up either . Ah well, looks like I have to order a recovery disk, thanks for helping me with this ^_^¥

[cheesecake42]

Glad I could help