Cannot run Win XP or ubuntu after installing Windows 8

emmagood

New Member
Messages
18
Hello,

I had Win XP and Ubuntu (through Wubi) installed in my 500 GB SATA hard disk. I installed Windows 8 in another 80 GB ATA hard disk. When I rebooted, I was unable to log into Win XP or Ubuntu; just Windows 8. How can I get back Windows XP and Ubuntu installations?

Thanks,
Emma Good.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Viao
    CPU
    i3
    Memory
    2 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    on board
Emma, this sometimes works. When you start-up, you have to watch the opening information, and hopefully, you'll see a menu that gives you a choice of which system to boot into. It will tell you that Win 8 is your default choice. You can then change the default or choose another OS.

But since you're using two hard drives, it's possible that Win 8 doesn't know the other drive exists.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
The first thing you can try to restore the boot options for XP/Ubuntu is the following:

1. In Windows 8 Open Control Panel
2. Select System
3. Select Advanced System Settings (on the left)
4. Select Advanced
5. Select Startup and Recovery Settings
6. In the drop down list under Default Operating Systems, if it exists, select Earlier version of Windows.
7. Reboot

If that doesn't work you'll probably have to modify the boot manager directly. Try this first.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
Hi Calico,

I checked that. There is no other windows / Ubuntu options available. Also during starting of the computer when I get the motherboard logo screen in the very beginning, the options for entering bios have also dissapeared.

Pls. help.

Emma Good.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Viao
    CPU
    i3
    Memory
    2 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    on board
In Windows 8:

1. Open a a command prompt with Administrative privileges
2. Type bcdedit <Enter>
3. Post the results here
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
1. Can you post a snapshot of Disk Management - just type "disk management" Windows 8 will suggest to open it.

2. Download and install Visual BCD Editor - Windows 7|Vista.

Run Visual BCD Editor. Right click in left pane and select "Create missing Windows loaders".
This will create a boot menu entry for Windows XP.

Now you have to copy the files ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini
to the active partition on your first disk as set in BIOS (either "C:\" or to "System reserved" partition)

Your Wubi loader is activated over Windows XP boot menu (second entry in boot.ini in Windows XP)

So you will have at startup a boot menu with two choices - "Windows 8" and "Windows XP"
If you select Windows XP then you will get another boot menu - Windows XP and Wubi.

I will post later how to add Wubi to Windows 8 boot menu - so you will have a tripple boot at startup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    XP, Win7, Win8_Eval
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Notebook
    CPU
    Intel
How to add Wubi loader to Windows 8 boot menu

How to add Wubi loader to Windows 8 boot menu. (Ubuntu+Wubi already installed on disk)

Run Visual BCD Editor. Right click in left pane - select "New BootSector(Linux) loader".
This will create a loader with default values for device and path.

Now locate drive where Ubuntu is installed - by default in \ubuntu directory.
Say you located \ubuntu on drive D:

Change default values for device and path in created boot sector loader to: VBCDE_Wubi.png
ApplicationDevice - D:
ApplicationPath - \ubuntu\winboot\wubildr.mbr
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    XP, Win7, Win8_Eval
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Notebook
    CPU
    Intel
1.
Now you have to copy the files ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini
to the active partition on your first disk as set in BIOS (either "C:\" or to "System reserved" partition)

Can you pls. elaborate this step. I had downloaded Visual BCD editor and selected "Create missing Windows loader". Presently Windows 8 is in C:/ drive and Windows XP seems to have 'shifted to' D:/ drive.

Thanks,
Emma Good
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Viao
    CPU
    i3
    Memory
    2 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    on board

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8250 x86 + 7 SP1 x86 + Ubuntu 12.04 LTS x86
    CPU
    P4 3.4 GHz HT
    Motherboard
    MSI-7211
    Memory
    OCZ 2 GB DDR @ 400 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS AGP HD 3850 Turbo Ice-Q
    Sound Card
    MOTU Traveler firewire interface
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer x223w
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Black 1 TB Sata II, WD 400 GB Sata I, WD 120 GB Sata I
    PSU
    300W generic
    Case
    Cybertron
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keyboard 200, Dell RT7D20
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    2 MByte/sec Down, 250 KByte/sec Up
Tripple boots are a little tricky.

First of all one must know which partition is marked as active.
I assume d: was and is the active partition as Windows 8 was installed later and there is no need to copy ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini as they are already there. boot.ini is also correct as Windows 8 partition was added later.

So regarding XP boot just try if it succeds after adding the boot entry using VBCDE.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    XP, Win7, Win8_Eval
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Notebook
    CPU
    Intel
If, as you say, your XP installation is now D: - this is usual - the following should add the option to access the XP bootloader and hence Ubuntu.

Open a command prompt and type each entry below

bcdedit -set {ntldr} device partition=D:
bcdedit -set {ntldr} path \ntldr
bcdedit -displayorder {ntldr} -addlast
bcdedit -set {ntldr} description "Windows XP/Ubuntu"

As far as the BIOS is concerned, it should still be accessible by selecting either F2 or Delete during startup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
Hi ,

I used Easy BCD 2.0. When I rebooted I got a Windows 8 options screen asking whether to boot in XP or win 8. When I chose XP as an option, the system restarted and then only XP was loaded. Is this the correct way dual boot works in Windows 8.

Thanks,
Emma Good
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Viao
    CPU
    i3
    Memory
    2 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    on board
That's correct
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
If, as you say, your XP installation is now D: - this is usual - the following should add the option to access the XP bootloader and hence Ubuntu.

Open a command prompt and type each entry below

bcdedit -set {ntldr} device partition=D:
bcdedit -set {ntldr} path \ntldr
bcdedit -displayorder {ntldr} -addlast
bcdedit -set {ntldr} description "Windows XP/Ubuntu"

As far as the BIOS is concerned, it should still be accessible by selecting either F2 or Delete during startup.


Hi Calico

I had used easybcd 2.0. So as of now I am able to get win XP and Win 8. To get ubuntu what should I do. (maybe log into windows 8 and type out thelast two lines on command prompt? ---> bcdedit -displayorder {ntldr} -addlast bcdedit -set {ntldr} description "Windows XP/Ubuntu") ?

Thanks,

Emma Good
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Viao
    CPU
    i3
    Memory
    2 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    on board

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8250 x86 + 7 SP1 x86 + Ubuntu 12.04 LTS x86
    CPU
    P4 3.4 GHz HT
    Motherboard
    MSI-7211
    Memory
    OCZ 2 GB DDR @ 400 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS AGP HD 3850 Turbo Ice-Q
    Sound Card
    MOTU Traveler firewire interface
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer x223w
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Black 1 TB Sata II, WD 400 GB Sata I, WD 120 GB Sata I
    PSU
    300W generic
    Case
    Cybertron
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keyboard 200, Dell RT7D20
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    2 MByte/sec Down, 250 KByte/sec Up
Hi GMan,

just tried what EasyBCD2.2 generates for loading Ubuntu/Wubi.

Could you please explain why should Ubuntu/Wubi be booted over neogrub to whatever follows when there is already a Wubildr to handle the booting ?

Is this the recomended way of booting Ubuntu/Wubi on EightForums ?

Not only a new loader entry in BCD is created, also a new \NST directory on SystemReserved and ANG0 also on active partition ! Are these files really needed ?

Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    XP, Win7, Win8_Eval
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Notebook
    CPU
    Intel
Boyans, that is all completely foreign to me. I used Redhat a very long time ago and now have just installed Ubuntu on another machine (without dual boot scenario) about 1.5 months ago, but haven't used it too much yet. I am only relearning the basics of *nix, currently, when I need to do something that I can't.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8250 x86 + 7 SP1 x86 + Ubuntu 12.04 LTS x86
    CPU
    P4 3.4 GHz HT
    Motherboard
    MSI-7211
    Memory
    OCZ 2 GB DDR @ 400 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS AGP HD 3850 Turbo Ice-Q
    Sound Card
    MOTU Traveler firewire interface
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer x223w
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Black 1 TB Sata II, WD 400 GB Sata I, WD 120 GB Sata I
    PSU
    300W generic
    Case
    Cybertron
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keyboard 200, Dell RT7D20
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    2 MByte/sec Down, 250 KByte/sec Up
Just to add one more - when rebooting to this "EasyBCD/Wubi/Linux" boot menu option you get on screen:
grub>

But maybe this is only on my computer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    XP, Win7, Win8_Eval
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Notebook
    CPU
    Intel
To get ubuntu what should I do?

Use EasyBCD.

Hi,

I used Easy BCD to get my Wubi/ubuntu installation. When I rebooted and selected Ubuntu from the menu, a black coloured screen came up with GRUB prompt; no Ubuntu user interface. How do I proceed pls.

Thanks,
Emma.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Window 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Viao
    CPU
    i3
    Memory
    2 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    on board
To get ubuntu what should I do?

Use EasyBCD.

Hi,

I used Easy BCD to get my Wubi/ubuntu installation. When I rebooted and selected Ubuntu from the menu, a black coloured screen came up with GRUB prompt; no Ubuntu user interface. How do I proceed pls.

Thanks,
Emma.

Ubuntu uses GRUB 2 by default, I believe. Other than that, see my previous post. I would try deleting your current entry for Ubuntu in EasyBCD, save, then add GRUB 2, save.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8250 x86 + 7 SP1 x86 + Ubuntu 12.04 LTS x86
    CPU
    P4 3.4 GHz HT
    Motherboard
    MSI-7211
    Memory
    OCZ 2 GB DDR @ 400 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    HIS AGP HD 3850 Turbo Ice-Q
    Sound Card
    MOTU Traveler firewire interface
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer x223w
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Caviar Black 1 TB Sata II, WD 400 GB Sata I, WD 120 GB Sata I
    PSU
    300W generic
    Case
    Cybertron
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keyboard 200, Dell RT7D20
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    2 MByte/sec Down, 250 KByte/sec Up
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