Ubuntu

Cannot access Windows at startup. Line cursor blinks & PC hangs.

Asked by Garry Sady

Hello and thanks in advance for your assistance. I've just installed Ubuntu alongside a working version of XP and Ubuntu starts up fine, but if Windows is selected at the boot-up menu the line-cursor blinks but the PC (which is a 10 year old tower) just hangs. I can't think of any way of getting at Windows which has all my work and files within, so any suggestions appreciated.

Cheers, Garry.

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

If you are worried about your data why do you NOT have a backup!!!??

I suggest you boot to the windows CD and reinstate the windows boot loader, then boot to the Ubuntu CD and reinstall grub. Should help

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Garry Sady (garry-saady) said : 		#2

Hi again, thanks for your reply. If you believe it's possible to have a daughter who has just graduated with a first and triple distinction from one of the best universities in the country; who can knock an external hard drive onto the floor and then stand on it for good measure - then you'll understand why I don't have my data backed up. Darwin has a lot to answer for

So on to the techie probs ...

I'm not able to reinstate the win boot loader, as I don't have the admin p/w (I don't recall having to set one up when installing XP).

There is a thread on recovering the Windows MBR I tried following (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=622828), but when I type: sudo apt-get install ms-sys , I get "couldn't find package ms-sys"

Any further suggestions appreciated.

All the best, Garry.

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#3

You can reset the XP password with tools as windows security is complete garbage: The tool is on the ultimate boot CD and takes less than 2 minutes to crack:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssgRinscepY

Backups are essential if the data is important. Drives can fail at any time. No backup = data is disposable

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