Brand New to UE2.3 (Intro, First Impressions, and Questions)

[Driver]

4. Type "find /boot/grub/stage1". You'll get a response like "(hd0)" or in my case "(hd0,3)".

Still getting file not found.

Also, remember reading to do fdisk -l. Maybe the results will help you help me?

root@ubuntu:~# fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x6125db67

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 12432 99856661 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 12433 13737 10482412+ 5 Extended
/dev/sda3 13738 14593 6875820 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda5 13613 13737 1003968 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 12433 13612 9478287 83 Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order

Disk /dev/sdb: 8053 MB, 8053063680 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 979 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0179069c

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 1 980 7864288+ b W95 FAT32
Partition 1 has different physical/logical endings:
phys=(978, 254, 63) logical=(979, 15, 60)
root@ubuntu:~#

And... NOT an SCSI drive.

[Driver]

I just powered up the old desktop that I only ever use when .

Should I try downloading the Ultimate Edition 2.3 image to it and either use that program to make a live USB out of it ) or try burning it to my blank DVD? IDK if that's enough free space to do so with XP home and Nero or whatever the DVD drive came with.

I'm willing t.

I also found what looks to be that "emergency linux disc" that I burned to cd a year or three ago because it worked with NTFS. I used it once to fix the MBR on that desktop after removing Mandrake/Mandriva by deleting its partitions and expanding the NTFS XP one back to fill the drive - which also caused a non-boot situation.

I'm seeing Mandrake/Mandriva as a common denominator. Maybe this laptop really DOES just need an MBR transplant.

Unfortunately I couldn't find the paper that I wrote out directions to use said CD on.

It''s called TRK_1.1 is Trinity Rescue Kit.

[Cell]

So.....so far we have a shady optical drive,a pc that works,and one cd disk.If it was me I would risk a burn of the grub super disk,and use it to fix your laptop.It should work just fine.Many members here use it(including me) and have nothing but good things to say about it.

http://www.supergrubdisk.org/

Its a tool that no one should be without...at least those who like to dabble in duel booting,and such.


So is this doable?

[Driver]

*** I see a new reply I will read and respond as soon as I resubmit this, don't want to get confusing and wander in my post like I did the other night trying to keep working on that kind of thing***

It just occured to me that if it could fix the partition table and MBR, wouldn't it have done it when I decided to reinstall again from the one I put on the USB stick?

I used that Unetbot program and put everything that looked like it might fix that stuff onto my other stick supergrub or whatever, some boot manager, something else. there was a rescue cd but it said it wouldn't fit on 128meg stick so I googled the site and went and looked at the contents and manually downloaded the couple things that said MBR something. Boy do I hate software that just lets you pretend to use it until you buy it. Even Ford would let you take the car for a test drive before you bought it, they wouldn't tell you that you could only sit in it and play with the buttons. So less than stellar help there.

Next since I had browser going I googled something I think fix MBR or youg et the picture. Npthing that I tried wanted to fix the MBR.

I KNOW that I used that trinity Rescue disk to fix THIS computer a few years ago when I removed the linux partitions without realizing that that would leave me with a whacked MBR somewhere where the computer couldn't find it and stuff. I just can't find the directions I wrote down and the 1.1 forum is locked due to its old. So that didn't work either.


Anyway, that's where I am at at the present time. The above is what I have tried on my own.

I will continue to think what else I can think of and try and I will try to write down what I try so I can post it here. In the mean time if you folks can think of anything else that might have work, I will try that too.

[Driver]

reply is after the one that I was working on when you posted - want to keep everything straight.

So.....so far we have a shady optical drive,a pc that works,and one cd disk.If it was me I would risk a burn of the grub super disk,and use it to fix your laptop.It should work just fine.Many members here use it(including me) and have nothing but good things to say about it.

http://www.supergrubdisk.org/

Its a tool that no one should be without...at least those who like to dabble in duel booting,and such.


So is this doable?

Yeah that was an option on that unetboot program so I already tried it. It booted real quick which was nice. It gave me a short list of choices and I pretty much tried them all it'd load stuff from the usb stick (it's got a little blinky light) each choice and then just sit there with a black screen and the hard drive activity light would never even come on. I don't know why, I can use the drive from the live UE2.3. Is there some kind of password I have to type in or something for that super grub disk?

It got my hopes up most of all because it read like it would do me solid - AND because, well, my thing is a GRUB error (17) and that is a super GRUB disk so I thought it would know.

It's really small (made for a floppy?) so I can download again and try again but I'm positive I tried every choic

[Driver]

edited

[Cell]

Well....if I understand you right.You have a mandy disk(mandrake) right?I would think if you poped it in and installed it it would rewrite grub,and add vista to it.That way you can start fresh.Just don't overwrite the vista partition.

but...the super grub disk has more options to fix the grub than the unetbootin app(I didn't realize unetbootin did that).

[Driver]

Well....if I understand you right.You have a mandy disk(mandrake) right?I would think if you poped it in and installed it it would rewrite grub,and add vista to it.That way you can start fresh.Just don't overwrite the vista partition.

but...the super grub disk has more options to fix the grub than the unetbootin app(I didn't realize unetbootin did that).

No I meant that I used unetbootin to download supergrub and make it to my little 128meg usb stick. The other stuff was in regards to when I tried using the resulting supergrub usb stick.

I have Mandrake 8.1 powerpack but it's not set up for NTFS. I've got 10.1 (I think, or only a .1 or two from it) but I took them out of the cases I had them in when I made a bunch of "Old Time Radio" stuff for Mom and needed cases. So they've since gotten scratched up pretty bad. Entirely my fault. I had a Mandriva Spring 2008 or 2009 but I can't find it anywhere.

I may decide to try and figure out which of the downloadable versions I'd need and grab it. For now I'm redownloading Ultimate Edition 2.3. If nothing else, I'm going to re put it on the big usb stick with unetbootin - I never could get that other program that I had that had a slider for setting size of persistent storage to work so I'll just keep using unetbootin.

I may burn it to my dvd. Can't decide.

The fact that I've tried three or four times now to get it to install the Broadcom driver and it's hung each time makes me think - even HOPE - that somehow my usb version got corrupted. If that is the case, is it possible that that is keeping it from completely and correctly installing?

? If it's a corrupt copy and I can make a good one, maybe that'll work for installing and I can just turn on the laptop and it'll hit me with a nice Which OS Would You Like Tonight, Mr. Driver? message.

[Driver]

Ok... So while I was downloading on this old desktop I figured I'd go back to the live USB on the laptop so I could do some reading from my windows partition.

I turned the laptop on and happened to be looking at the hard drive activity light - it did the quick faint blinking that it does when there is access but only a little. Then Ultimate Edition loaded. But it couldn't find my hard drive!

I tried the install option again just to check and instead of showing me a 100ish gig ntfs partition, a 6ish gig ntfs partition, and the ext4 and swap ones that I made, it's showing me one 120 gig block like there's no partitions at ALL on the drive.

The super grub trying every option in hopes that one would boot plan I had seems to have really messed the whole drive up or something

[Cell]

O.k....I'm slow tonight bear with me

So your live usb flash does boot up into the live environment?.It just crashes when you try to use the wifi driver(in the live environment).

Or are you trying to use a persistent live usb?....in which case should never have goofed up grub.


remember I'm slow tonight....be kind.Lol


Edit:I just seen your post while I was typing mine.Reboot into the bios,and make sure the bios sees your drive.I had this happen to me also before....lucky me.It turned out the drive went south.