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dual boot Ubuntu and XP...

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9 replies

by boxfiddler

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Ubuntu on primary hard drive now.
I'd like to install XP to the secondary hard drive but knowing Windows penchant for being a pig I'm wondering if it will care about being installed to the secondary master.
As Ubuntu is on the primary master, will grub loader automatically offer me the option to boot from one or the other? Will Windows over-ride anything and make it a royal pima to do a dual-boot?

Virtual Box experiment interesting, but on this box too slow. Can't give it enough ram.

Thanks so much.

edit: pima=pain in my arse

9 replies

by avann2006

Im currently dual-booting XP and Ubuntu, but I've got Ubuntu on a Secondary Slave drive and Windows on my Master. As for booting, Ubuntu will give you the option to boot Windows or Ubuntu before it boots itself up. If you want to go into Windows by default when you boot up, you'll need to go into Ubuntu and alter the grub code by changing the default OS value to "0" (Google this for the exact directions on what your doing as I cant remember them right now).

Good Luck

by boxfiddler Hot topic

I don't want a default boot. Want the choice. I am only using Windows these days for work and when traveling.

by tig2

But this is a question that JD or W2K/PondScum can likely answer better than I- they both have Ubuntu experience and mine is way limited. I have seen XP work happily on a secondary though so by theory, it should work.

Just remember to ski down the slopes of the learning curve. You'll be fine...

Merry Christmas!

by boxfiddler Hot topic

I love learning, so will keep skiing. Just have to take a break now and then!

I am hoping that all sorts of handy dandy tidbits of info re: potential problems will come this way from the Linux folks. Everyone has been great about that!

Merry Christmas to you too! :)

by naughtymonkey

with Ubuntu, XP, and Vista. I installed XP and the Ubuntu because I had a lot of problems the other way. It took a while to get all the boots working but now i have it go into grub then into vista which also offers xp. Vista was the main problem getting it to let something else control it.

by boxfiddler Hot topic

Do you have mutltiple hard dusks? Do you mean that you installed XP, then Ubuntu, then Vista?
What sorts of issues did you experience?

Thanks.

by naughtymonkey

I have one hard disk with 5 partitions. Vista, XP, Data, /, and swap.
Teh original install order was:
1. Ubuntu
2. XP
3. Vista

After XP was installed the first try, it would not find Ubuntu. The second time worked fine (I got a larger hard drive so I decided to redo it). After I installed Vista though, it would not recognize it again. I tried a few 3rd party bcm tools as well as MS but it didn't like it. I decided that MS boot loaders were not going to be intelligent enough to reliably do what I wanted so I decided to use Grub or a 3rd party loader. I then started over.

The order of installs this time were:
1. XP
2. Vista
3. Ubuntu

It booted to Grub and then I selected Windows and it would go to the Vista boot menu where I could select Vista or XP.

My problems really cam about when I had to repair the XP install. At that point the XP boot menu could not see Vista or Ubuntu. The new Ubuntu was out so I upgraded to it and gave me back my Grub menu but still would only give me XP from the Windows selection.

After a Vista repair I could then boot XP and Vista, but no Ubuntu. I had to do a reinstall of Ubuntu again to get it to boot to Grub first. Now everything is fine.

I f I have any more problems I will use a 3rd party loader, but I believe Grub will work fine.

by boxfiddler Hot topic

I am trying to determine in advance what issues I may come across in order to avoid panic! lol

I am hoping not to have to redo Ubuntu, but suspecting that I may due to Windows piggishness. You have reinforced my suspicions. I think before I exit the initial XP installation I'll fiddle with msconfig and see if that helps.

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