[Solved] I need help with Dual Boot after googling and archwiki!

mdshann · 2011-09-01 04:22:33

I am having trouble figuring out how to get my dual boot system working correctly. I have looked through the wiki and done a few google searches. Let me tell you what I have done and what my system looks like. I have 5 hard drives in this sysem, sda has Windows 7 x64 and looks like this:

parted /dev/sda print
Model: ATA WDC WD3200AAJS-0 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 320GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt

Number  Start   End    Size   File system  Name  Flags
 1      17.4kB  134MB  134MB               Mi    msftres
 2      210MB   320GB  320GB  ntfs

/dev/sdb is storage NTFS format.

/dev/sdc has my arch installation on it and looks like this:

parted /dev/sdc print
Model: ATA ST3320620AS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdc: 320GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system     Flags
 2      32.3kB  1020MB  1020MB  primary  ext3            boot
 3      1020MB  319GB   318GB   primary  ext4
 1      319GB   320GB   1020MB  primary  linux-swap(v1)

The other 2 drives are also storage with NTFS format.

I have this in menu.lst"

more /boot/grub/menu.lst
# Config file for GRUB - The GNU GRand Unified Bootloader
# /boot/grub/menu.lst

# general configuration:
timeout   5
default   0
color light-blue/black light-cyan/blue

# (0) Arch Linux
title  Arch Linux
root   (hd2,1)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdc3 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux.img

# (1) Arch Linux
title  Arch Linux Fallback
root   (hd2,1)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdc3 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img

# (2) Windows
title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
#makeactive
chainloader +1

I used the grub shell to install grub on the MBR of /dev/sda. When I boot to /dev/sda I get the word GRUB followed by a blinking cursor. It is not a prompt, it is like it is hung. If I boot the computer and select /dev/sdc from the boot menu I get the grub boot loader. If I select Windows it does not boot and goes back to the grub menu. If I select Arch Linux it says that it cannot find hd2,1. If I edit the boot line and change it to hd0,1 it will boot Arch. What have I done wrong? Thanks for the help!

Last edited by mdshann (2011-09-04 05:06:30)

skodabenz · 2011-09-01 09:29:58

mdshann wrote:

I am having trouble figuring out how to get my dual boot system working correctly. I have looked through the wiki and done a few google searches. Let me tell you what I have done and what my system looks like. I have 5 hard drives in this sysem, sda has Windows 7 x64 and looks like this:
parted /dev/sda print
Model: ATA WDC WD3200AAJS-0 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 320GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt

Number  Start   End    Size   File system  Name  Flags
 1      17.4kB  134MB  134MB               Mi    msftres
 2      210MB   320GB  320GB  ntfs

Is this a UEFI system. You are booting Windows from a GPT disk but you do not have a FAT32 UEFI SYSTEM PARTITION in the /dev/sda . With the kind of partitioning you have in /dev/sda, Windows 7 x64 will not boot even with UEFI.

/dev/sdb is storage NTFS format.

/dev/sdc has my arch installation on it and looks like this:

parted /dev/sdc print
Model: ATA ST3320620AS (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdc: 320GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system     Flags
 2      32.3kB  1020MB  1020MB  primary  ext3            boot
 3      1020MB  319GB   318GB   primary  ext4
 1      319GB   320GB   1020MB  primary  linux-swap(v1)

The other 2 drives are also storage with NTFS format.

I have this in menu.lst"

more /boot/grub/menu.lst
# Config file for GRUB - The GNU GRand Unified Bootloader
# /boot/grub/menu.lst

# general configuration:
timeout   5
default   0
color light-blue/black light-cyan/blue

# (0) Arch Linux
title  Arch Linux
root   (hd2,1)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdc3 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux.img

# (1) Arch Linux
title  Arch Linux Fallback
root   (hd2,1)
kernel /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sdc3 ro
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img

# (2) Windows
title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
#makeactive
chainloader +1

I used the grub shell to install grub on the MBR of /dev/sda. When I boot to /dev/sda I get the word GRUB followed by a blinking cursor. It is not a prompt, it is like it is hung.

Grub (grub-legacy to be exact) does not support booting from GPT disks. Your /dev/sda grub will fail to boot.

If I boot the computer and select /dev/sdc from the boot menu I get the grub boot loader. If I select Windows it does not boot and goes back to the grub menu. If I select Arch Linux it says that it cannot find hd2,1. If I edit the boot line and change it to hd0,1 it will boot Arch. What have I done wrong? Thanks for the help!

When you select /dev/sdc in BIOS boot menu, it becomes /dev/sda . With 5 drives in your system, there is no guarantee which one will be /dev/sda and which one will be /dev/sdc etc. For you system 5 drives with one of them being GPT, its better to use grub2 with its UUID search options so that irrespective of /dev/sda status the system boots.

Also if you are "actually" booting Windows in UEFI-GPT setup, then the menu.lst Windows "chainloader +1" entry will fail to boot. See https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFIB … 4_UEFI-GPT .

Last edited by skodabenz (2011-09-01 09:44:24)

thisoldman · 2011-09-01 09:31:29

Edit:Too late.

Last edited by thisoldman (2011-09-01 09:36:37)

mdshann · 2011-09-01 21:11:04

Is this a UEFI system. You are booting Windows from a GPT disk but you do not have a FAT32 UEFI SYSTEM PARTITION in the /dev/sda . With the kind of partitioning you have in /dev/sda, Windows 7 x64 will not boot even with UEFI.

This is a BIOS system. I have had the Windows 7 system setup up like this for about 6 months with no trouble whatsoever. I installed Arch about 2 weeks ago and have been trying to fix this ever since. I probably need to run the "Repair Your Computer" option from the Windows CD to fix the Windows boot loader before I can fix Arch, but I wanted to have an idea of what I was doing before I made Arch unbootable. I believe the small partition on the beginning of the drive is to make Windows boot on GPT as it has a boot folder and the bootmgr file also resides there. Although you point makes me think that maybe my Windows installed boot the boot code into the MBR on /dev/sdb and then pointed it to /dev/sda as /dev/sdb is partitioned MBR and NTFS. Maybe the BIOS just skipped over /dev/sda after seeing no boot code?

EDIT: Is there a way to look into the MBR on a hard drive to see if it contains any boot code? Is there a way to remove boot code from an MBR without damaging the partition table? This way I can be sure what drive is actually booting.

Grub (grub-legacy to be exact) does not support booting from GPT disks. Your /dev/sda grub will fail to boot.

We need to put this in the wiki page for Grub-legacy then, this would have saved me a lot of frustration had I known this earlier. I'm sure I'm not the first person to have run into this issue, nor will I be the last with the move to UEFI.

When you select /dev/sdc in BIOS boot menu, it becomes /dev/sda . With 5 drives in your system, there is no guarantee which one will be /dev/sda and which one will be /dev/sdc etc. For you system 5 drives with one of them being GPT, its better to use grub2 with its UUID search options so that irrespective of /dev/sda status the system boots.
Also if you are "actually" booting Windows in UEFI-GPT setup, then the menu.lst Windows "chainloader +1" entry will fail to boot. See https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFIB … 4_UEFI-GPT .

I will attempt to get Grub 2 installed when I get home from work tonight. To remove grub legacy do a "pacman -R grub" and that's all? Do I need to remove the grub folder in /boot before installing Grub2? I should probably start with Repair Your Computer from the Windows 7 disc and then boot to my Arch install the way I have been to remove Grub, correct? Thanks again for the help!

Last edited by mdshann (2011-09-01 21:13:21)

mdshann · 2011-09-04 05:04:26

So it took a little longer than 'when I get home from work tonight' but I got it fixed. I didn't really figure out what happened. I reloaded Windows 7 and reinstalled grub2 from a chroot environment after failing to get it to work from my installed Arch system. I had to do this because I could no longer get into Arch, and the Windows repair disc could not find Windows 7. I think I may have hosed the boot record although Acronis was able to read and back up my files. Thanks for the help! I guess for general uasge GPT may be a bit new yeat, especially when it was not needed for my setup in the least bit.

Arch Linux

#1 2011-09-01 04:22:33

[Solved] I need help with Dual Boot after googling and archwiki!

#2 2011-09-01 09:29:58

Re: [Solved] I need help with Dual Boot after googling and archwiki!

#3 2011-09-01 09:31:29

Re: [Solved] I need help with Dual Boot after googling and archwiki!

#4 2011-09-01 21:11:04

Re: [Solved] I need help with Dual Boot after googling and archwiki!

#5 2011-09-04 05:04:26

Re: [Solved] I need help with Dual Boot after googling and archwiki!

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