installed ubuntu on external drive and can't boot windows.

Asked by flintlock

i intstalled ubuntu from a disc i got with a linux magazine. but i installed it on an external hard drive. now i can only boot ubuntu. if i change the boot order or unplug the external drive, instead of booting windows xp i get a "missing operating system" message. i've also been unable to gain access to the main hard drive on my laptop through ubuntu; at least not without formatting it, which i am highly opposed to.

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Mickeypop (mickey-datasoftllc) said :
#1

You need to do a couple of steps but it is fixable.

1.) you need to copy the boot sector image to a file on a DOS readable media.
    For a floppy and a mount point of /mnt/floppy ;

       your external drive; if USB is probably /dev/sda you may need to varify the /dev
       you are booting from.

      mount -t msdos /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
      dd if=/dev/sda of=/mnt/floppy/linuz.bin bs=512 count=1

2.) boot from the XP CD and from the choices go into "Repair Console"
    onch at the dos prompt, enter;
       fdisk /mbr

    this will put back the XP boot sector and allow you to boot to XP again.

3.) From in Wildoze explorer, copy the linux.bin you saved onto the floppy to
      the c:\ directory.

4.) click on the c:\boot.ini file and with the RIGHT button on the mouse choose "Properties" and remove the checks in the Readonly and hidden attributes check boxes and click OK
.
4.) Edit the c:\boot.ini file and add this line;

          c:\linux.bin = "Ubuntu"

thats pretty much it.... Next time you boot you will be setup for multi boot and get to choose.

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nikodimos (nikodimos2003) said :
#2

Hi there
After trying out Ubuntu live from cd I am ready to install it on external HD. I havent purchased the HD yet, I am waiting to clarify things first. My question is: what type of HD should I buy? USB? or internal one? second question is can I install Ubuntu on the HD with other Linux distro? So I can have two OS on one hard drive :) I am new to Linux and I love it so far. please help me. Thanking you in advance

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williamts99 (williamts99) said :
#3

Nikodimos,

Would you please consider opening your own support request as it gets very confusing having more then one problem per support request. You can easily follow the link below and start your own personal support request.
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+addticket

Best Regards,

Williamts99

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