GRUB Error 5

     Can't find a list of error messages for grub, but I would say you could just fix grub. It seems like the easiest way to start, at least.
      Seems like you've had a problem with this before? Or is it the same occurrance?

I had an issue previously where I installed a fresh Windows XP on top of a previous one after setting up a dual boot with Ubuntu 8.10. This caused XP to override the GRUB boot loader, and I had to reinstall GRUB using an answer I found here. However, that issue wasn't a matter of an error, Windows was just being a jerk and didn't like playing second fiddle to another OS. This is a new issue though. When I was fixing GRUB when the previous problem cropped up, the Partition Editor recognized all the partitions on both Hard Drives and I was able to mount the Linux partition and re-install GRUB which solved the problem. But again this is now an Error 5, which from what little I can understand has something to do with "Partition table invalid or corrupt." I just can't find any information on whether this is fixable and if so how to do it.

Disk /dev/sda: 60.0 GB, 60022480896 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 7297 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x82027fe9

   Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 7297 58613121 7 HPFS/NTFS
Warning: ignoring extra data in partition table 5
Warning: ignoring extra data in partition table 5
Warning: ignoring extra data in partition table 5
Warning: invalid flag 0x5aa4 of partition table 5 will be corrected by w(rite)

Disk /dev/sdb: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xbab5bab5

   Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 11558 92839603+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sdb2 10284 19457 73682154 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sdb5 ? 201987 277061 603033482+ 5d Unknown

     It sounds like your suspicions are correct - probably a bad partition table. I'm not very familiar with them, and don't know any way to repair one. Is it a live boot CD that you can get into Linux from? I'm wondering if you got Linux running on it at all, whether it would offer help or other tools you could work with.

I was able to boot up using the Live CD, which is where I used the Partition Editor, noting that the sdb disk was "unallocated" and also where I used the terminal to produce the previous output with an fdisk -l

Since that previous post I have used my windows xp cd to run fixmbr from the recovery console and restore the windows boot loader. Of course, the computer will now only boot into windows but at least I have all that data and a working os, I just can't access any of the linux partitions. I have looked into some questionably useful windows apps which purport to allow read/write access to an ext3 formatted partition. None of them worked even when Ubuntu was working fine and this partition problem probably won't make that any easier. I fear the data lost.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DataRecovery

Note that if this has happened to your linux partitions then it might well soon happen to your ntfs ones too so it's worth getting a new large hard-drive to copy all your data onto.

Then i would be tempted to take the old drives to a local company specialising in data recovery. Tech support companies often advertise that they support Windows but don't mention linux for a few good reasons - notably because linux is less likely to go wrong in a way the user can't fix themselves. However, with data-recovery scenarios it's usually much better to take it to a local company because they tend to have the experience and the tools to do easily what might take most of us months. It can be expensive, so get a quote first and also see if they give a discount for dealing with a linux system (probably not but it might be worth asking even just for the sake of humour).

If you are determined to do this yourself then GPart NOT GPartEd might be helpful.

Good luck and take care!
Regards from
Tom :)