I have installed ubuntu in windows xp and can see it in my programs 699mb, but is not appearing on boot menu at start up. how can i log in?

Do you see the ubuntu bootup at all?

No bootup whatsoever, I only see windows xp.

I suggest you boot to liveCD / USB and reinstall grub2 then

Thanks actionparsnip, that solved my question.

Please confirm this was a direct install, not a Wubi install (installed within windows). The solution you've been provided doesn't work for Wubi installs so if you did a Wubi install please explain how this got it working.

bcbc>> I clicked on solved by mistake and went to bed. The problem is still outstanding. could you please assist.

Wubi adds an entry into the boot.ini file to allow you to boot Ubuntu from the Windows boot manager. So you should check that this entry is there. Normally you'd get an error if wubi.exe failed to insert the entry, so it's possible that it just failed to update the Timeout setting (if it's zero it will not prompt you with a choice at boot up).

Right-click My computer, Properties, click the Advance tab and then click on settings under Startup & Recovery. You should be able to confirm that Ubuntu is in the drop down list and that the timeout is > 0.

If you find the timeout is zero, set it to 30 or less (never set it to zero with Ubuntu as the default option) and then reboot to complete the installation (the actual ubuntu install only occurs on your first reboot).

If the timeout is not zero, we'll have to look at the log file to figure out what happened.

PS:
With Wubi you want to avoid updates to grub2 - packages grub-pc and grub-common. When you get prompted with the Update Manager, go through the list and uncheck these - you'll find them under "Recommended updates".

This is my boot.ini

[boot loader]
timeout=40
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

On trying to uninstall wubi, I get this:

Exception: Error executing command
>>command=attrib -R -S -H C:\boot.ini
>>retval=-1073741790
>>stderr=
>>stdout=

sorry, trying to uninstall ubuntu not wubi.

I edited the boot.ini file manually and the rest worked like magic. Thanks guys.

Thanks bcbc, that solved my question.

Great! Good to hear. Don't forget - avoid updating grub-pc and grub-common. Enjoy!

Note, once you get hooked on Ubuntu, there's an easy way to migrate to a partition install. That's generally the intention of Wubi (even though some people choose to stay on Wubi). See the Wubi Guide for more details: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WubiGuide