Grub error with Installation of Ubuntu

[scottym]

I am trying to install ubuntu on an IBM thinkpad G40 with winxp installed. The harddrive is 19 gig and memory is 640 ram. When I installed ubuntu it gave the following error: Grub loading stage 1.5 error, then it gave Grub loading please wait error 18 and the machine froze up. When I try to boo winxp I now get a msg "wuthenticaion of system services failed" so I can't boot winxp or ubutu form the harddrive. In addition when loading ubuntu from
the cd it says the RAID has failed to load. I installed originally letting ubuntu select the partition options vice manual partition. At this point what can I do. Am I forced to wipe the drive clean and start over from the beginning. I hate to do that because I foolisly did not back up before the installation trusting what i had read about what a painless upgrade this was going to be. Thanks in advance for any help.
Scotty

[devils casper]

Hi !!

fix Windows first......
boot up through Xp installation CD and select Repair....
on prompt type....
c:\> FIXMBR

for Ubuntu, delete a partition. use windows Disk Management tool in Administrative Tools --> Computer Management

during Ubuntu installation, Select "Unpartitioned/Free Space"


.... casper ....

[scottym]

Unfortunately IBM does not include any CD's with their laptops. To recover the original programs you are supposed to press the blue access IBM button while booting. THis erases all your other files in the recovery process, however , that feature no longer works with the problems i have at the moment.

[devils casper]

try windows bootable floppy... boot up through floppy and type this command...

A:\> fdisk /mbr

you can download windows 98 bootable floppy from www.bootdisk.com



.... casper ....

[scottym]

OK thank you I will give boot disk a try.

[scottym]

Good News!!! I now seem to have both XP and Ubuntu running. I got rid of the partitions Ubuntu created, decreased the size of the xp partition to less than half of the harddrive space and reinstalled Ubuntu.Thanks to all for the responses and help.
Scotty

[devils casper]

Hi !

you are welcome Scotty......



.... casper ....

[jeide]

I read the above thread after attempting to install Ubuntu 7.04 on my Thinkpad G40, with similar disastrous results. I have been able to boot XP again, using a boot floppy from bootdisk.com, but nothing I have tried will enable XP to boot on its own. I tried fdisk /mbr and also tried fixmbr from the XP repair options. I also tried repairing the MBR from a copy of Partition Commander I own. Can anyone tell me why GRUB is such a disaster on a Thinkpad G40? Thanks --jeide

[daanbrg]

Well, I also own a IBM, it's a NetVista 6341-75G. I think it's just the brand of the computer, because I had to redo the installation of Ubuntu 7.04 dozens of times before that annoying Grub error got away... I don't know why, but quite strange, right?

[stoked]

You should try to run fdisk /mbr and then fdisk /fixboot from the floppy. If you have the cd handy boot from the cd and select repair an existing windows using the recovery console and you can type fixmbr and then fixboot. That should do the trick.