Linux install on Sony Vaio with Vista Business crashed "bootloader"

http://newyork.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1463994

Hi :)

I was just wondering if this question has been solved yet? If not then please could you give us the output of

sudo fdisk -l

where "-l" is a lower-case "-L"
Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

TOM,
Gosh thanks so much NO it is not solved
HERE IS WHAT I GOT FROM TERMINAL WHEN I PASTED IN YOUR COMMAND:
(Some explaination, in the Sony VAIO SZ650N/C I have a mem stick in the left side,
another on the right side for the new PC Card (express?) smaller than the old ones, and
jump drive plugged into a USB splitter and a printer and Bluetooth mouse too, if it matters.
I presume this is what the CPU or whatever sees?
Thanks in advance,
"Murph"
Sean Murphy
517-262-3404
Ann Arbor, MI "area"
<email address hidden>
__________________________________________________
Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x5b345d47

   Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 906 7270400 27 Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 * 906 19458 149024961 7 HPFS/NTFS

Disk /dev/sdb: 4075 MB, 4075290624 bytes
128 heads, 63 sectors/track, 987 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 8064 * 512 = 4128768 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x0009225f

   Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 2 337 1354752 b W95 FAT32
/dev/sdb2 338 987 2620800 5 Extended
/dev/sdb5 338 943 2443360+ 83 Linux
/dev/sdb6 944 987 177376+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/mspblk0: 4098 MB, 4098883584 bytes
128 heads, 63 sectors/track, 992 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 8064 * 512 = 4128768 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

        Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/mspblk0p1 * 1 992 3999649 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)

Disk /dev/sdd: 16.1 GB, 16125001728 bytes
68 heads, 4 sectors/track, 115787 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 272 * 512 = 139264 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

   Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdd1 30 115788 15743040 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
ubuntu@ubuntu:/$

BTW I can see all the partitions, even the Vista as it is like 158GB, and I also have jump drives,
a Sony Mem. Stick, and a Backupdard drive, all work out as I can save and open, but it seems
when the LiveCD is removed, I
"Murph"
Sean Murphy
517-262-3404
<email address hidden>
________________________________
From: Tom <email address hidden>
To: <email address hidden>
Sent: Tue, May 11, 2010 2:22:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Question #110357]: Linux install on Sony Vaio with Vista Business crashed "bootloader"

Your question #110357 on firefox-3.5 in ubuntu changed:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.5/+question/110357

Tom posted a new comment:
Hi :)

I was just wondering if this question has been solved yet? If not then
please could you give us the output of

sudo fdisk -l

where "-l" is a lower-case "-L"
Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

--
You received this question notification because you are a direct
subscriber of the question.

Hi :)

Sorry for the delays in replying. This is only voluntary for most of us and Launchpad does not have a good way of dealing with questions that are older than a couple of days. Please can you re-post the question but keep it really brief
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+addquestion
copy&paste this link into it so that they can get the details from this thread
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.5/+question/110357

I think we just need to reinstall grub2 onto sdb5, assuming you are using 10.04 or 9.10. Oddly if you installed an earlier version of Ubuntu then this question might be dealt with using a lot more finesse. Anyway, assuming 9.10 or 10.04 (no harm doing this same answer to earlier version tho), and using this guide
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2#Reinstalling%20from%20LiveCD
we are 'already' at step 4

sudo mount /dev/sdb5 /mnt

sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/ /dev/sda

Notice that there are 3 spaces in each line. Most people forget the space before and after "/dev/sdb5" & "--root-directory=/mnt/"
After that a reboot should show the problem's been fixed? Try

update-grub

Please let me know how this goes. If it doesn't work then definitely post a new question although i will try to respond a lot faster tomorrow.
Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

Tom,

Thanks so much for your reply and yes, I know you all are doing this voluntary
 which is why I make sure I thank all of you -- THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!

I am using karmic koala 9.10 LiveCD
AND
unfortunately right now I cannot even risk crashing this notebook as I am using it to
write some appellate briefs (I am a Paralegal), and the system is working, on line, and the Office program (wordprocessing) is working so I dare not risk messing ANYTHING UP until I finish the briefs (which I have triple backed-up on jump drive
and a large backup driv too) and submit them -- but when done, I will follow your instructions, which brings
me to another issue -- the commands I need more explicit instructions (experienced but no too much in Linux):
 YOU LIST:
we are 'already' at step 4
YES I SEE THIS AND UNDERSTAND, BUT THE NEXT
sudo mount /dev/sdb5 /mnt

MEANS WHAT? ENTER TERMINAL, TYPE THIS COMMAND IN EXACTLY, INCLUDING SPACES, AND HIT ENTER? YES ?
THE SAME WITH BELOW
sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/ /dev/sda
BUT WHAT ROOT DIRECTORY? THEN HIT ENTER? WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT IF IT WORKS? IF IT FAILS?
I NOTICE THE SPACE BETWEEN THE
Notice that there are 3 spaces in each line. Most people forget the space before and after
 "/dev/sdb5" & "--root-directory=/mnt/"
THEN, AS IT NOTES REBOOT, DO YOU MEAN SHUT DOWN, REMOVE LIVE CD AND BOOT?
IF YES
After that a reboot should show the problem's been fixed? Try
WHAT WOULD "FIXED" BE ? (DUAL BOOT MESSAGE OR BOOT INTO LINUX?
update-grub

I can also comment on a few of your comments -- I am also equally confident that I did try to
install a few different versions of Linux -- not only Ubuntu but a few others, so if that DOES IMPACT
what I should do we need to operate under the assumption other fragments or failed installs are there?

Finally, I could tell you exactly which versions were tried as I burnt CDs of the Distributions --
 but I am not at home, so it will have to wait till I am home to tell you exactly
if it is really important....ANYWAY, I NEED TO WAIT A FEW DAYS SO I WILL REPOST.

THANKS, AND SLAINTE!!
Murph

Hi :)

Just boot up the LiveCd of 9.10 (or 10.04) and get to a command-line
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal#Starting%20a%20Terminal
where you enter the 2 lines

sudo mount /dev/sdb5 /mnt

sudo grub-install --root-directory=/mnt/ /dev/sda

Then reboot and remove the Cd. As the machine shuts down from a LiveCd sesion it will get to a point where the Cd/dvd-drive ejects the Cd and a message appears on the screen, soemthing like "Remove Cd and press Enter to continue shutdown." At this point remove the Cd and press Enter. When the machine reboots it should boot straight into Ubuntu. Once you get into Ubuntu get to a linux command-line again to enter this command.

sudo update-grub

This should find your Windows install and the next time you boot up the machine their should be an option to boot into Windows.

The history of what you installed when and where is not important. What is important is the current state of the partitions on your machine and the "fdisk" command showed us all about that. There are no fragments or partial installs or even a hint of any other linux except for sdb5. Hopefully Ubuntu is fully installed and working on sdb5.

You will have noticed the "Places" menu on the LiveCd and this should allow you to access any data you have on your machine. So in a worst-case scenario then just boot up the LiveCd session and use OpenOffice on there to complete your work and print it or email from the LiveCd.

Some people use many other multi-user machines and just carry their LiveCd of Ubuntu and a usb-drive with their data&settings on it so that they can use any machine anywhere any time and still have their familiar Ubuntu or other linux desktop with all their documents and internet access. This is one reason it is so important to try a LiveCd session so that you can see it works.

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

Hi :)

When i said re-post i meant try using a link like this one
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+addquestion
to start a totally new thread. Other good places to post a question are
http://www.ubuntuforums.com
and a more general linux forum
http://www.linuxquestions.org

This question is not specifically about Ubuntu because most other versions of linux also use the same boot-loader or at least have a similar process at this level (Lilo is very different at the programming level but still works much the same in terms of re-writing the MBR)

Posting or even re-writing the original question in this thread means only i get to see it but posting a fresh new thread gets all the new people at the front desk as the new questions arrive. Most forums work differently and posting a comment or doing any changes in a thread "bumps" it back to the front of the queue but here at launchpad it works quite differently.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2#Reinstalling%20from%20LiveCD

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)
.

At the moment you seem to be trying to do soemthing that is very unlikely to ever work rather than follow the advice given. Advice is much easier to give than to receive and i find myself in a similar position quite often so i know many ways how this one goes. My guess is that you are trying to follow the advice and then top-it-off with an added extra to be perfect but unfortunately it is the added extra that keeps destroying your boot process.

My advice is to install the Ubuntu boot-loader and then do nothing more. The Ubuntu boot-loader automatically generates a boot list that should include Vista although Vista might be given a generic name such as "Windows System" or something like that. It is possible to edit a specific text-file to change that name but it is not really worth doing. Just install the Ubuntu boot-loader and then look down the list to see if Windows is at or near the bottom of the list. Try the option to see if it does boot into Vista. If it doesn't then we can help you edit that specific text-file but it would be very unusual to find a system that needs this editing.

Normally when you install Ubuntu (or any other distro of linux) the bootloader (Grub2 now since 10.04) installs itself into the MBR so that when you boot-up the machine the boot process gets directed to the Ubuntu boot-loader. The Vista (or any other MS bootloader) is extremely difficult to get booting into anything other than the version of Windows it got installed with. Even if you install 2 versions of Windows beside each other in a dual-boot it will still only be able to access the last one you installed, no boot menu to include the first one. So with Windows you get no choice of booting into different Operating Systems. Also the MS bootloader tends to be quite flaky and i have heard of a number of people that have used a linux bootloader on Windows-only systems either as a repair or preventative measure.

You can attempt to get the MBR to point at the Windows bootloader but the MBR can only point at 1 boot-loader at a time. Usually it is best to get the MBR to point at the Ubuntu boot-loader because the Ubuntu boot-loader can easily be edited to add in different operating systems on the machine. Usually the Ubuntu boot-loader automatically generates a menu to include all the other Operating Systems on the machine although it does usually put Ubuntu at the top of it's list - usually Windows is at the bottom of the list and given a generic name which you might want to edit.

To "fix" the MBR so that it points at the Windows boot-loader you will need to either
1. Boot into the Windows you want to boot into and do "fixmbr" from a command-line in there
2. Use the right Windows Cd, probably the "Recovery CD" that you should have received with your machine and follow the menus.
This will then mean that you cannot boot into the Ubuntu you installed on the hard-drive. MS make it difficult to follow either option so the answer would be to take it back to a shop and pay them to do it.

To "fix" the MBR so that it points at the Ubuntu boot-loader you will need to either
1. Boot into any LiveCd or LiveUsb of any linux, preferably the Ubuntu one but could be any
2. Boot into any linux session installed on the machine.
You can then edit the linux boot-loader or re-install the MBR part fairly easily.

Exactly how to edit the boot-loader or install it onto the hard-drive independantly of re-installing the entire Ubuntu depends on which version of Ubuntu you are trying to use. For Ubuntu 9.10 or later we use the Grub2 method but for any Ubuntu prior to 2009, October, we would use Grub.

Hi :)
It is best to start afresh with a fresh new question in this forum. Hardly
anyone sees any of the older questions and those who do have usually moved
on to other projects.
Regards from
Tom :)

On 1 December 2016 at 20:46, mu <email address hidden>
wrote:

> Question #110357 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/110357
>
> Description changed to:
> I have a Sony VAIO VGN-SZ650 that originally came with Vista Business
> Operating System (pre-loaded on it). It was working when I downloaded
> and tried to install Linux (several different versions, I am now running
> a LiveCD of Ubuntu).
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are subscribed to
> the question.
>

Hi again :)
Errr, Windows 10 most recent update trashed the boot-loaders of several
machines.

The usual fix for this is to boot up a LiveCd, or LIveUsb or whatever and
reinstall grub that way.
Good luck !
Regards from
Tom :)

On 3 December 2016 at 12:19, Tom Davies <email address hidden> wrote:

> Hi :)
> It is best to start afresh with a fresh new question in this forum.
> Hardly anyone sees any of the older questions and those who do have usually
> moved on to other projects.
> Regards from
> Tom :)
>
>
> On 1 December 2016 at 20:46, mu <email address hidden>
> wrote:
>
>> Question #110357 on Ubuntu changed:
>> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/110357
>>
>> Description changed to:
>> I have a Sony VAIO VGN-SZ650 that originally came with Vista Business
>> Operating System (pre-loaded on it). It was working when I downloaded
>> and tried to install Linux (several different versions, I am now running
>> a LiveCD of Ubuntu).
>>
>> --
>> You received this question notification because you are subscribed to
>> the question.
>>
>
>