Problem Dual-booting: Windows 7 beta & openSUSE

English Install/Boot/Login
#1

Hey there, Its my first post in the forum and I’m a newbie to openSUSE and Linux.

I’ve first installed openSUSE about a month ago on my desktop PC, and used a dual-boot (XP and SUSE). Everything was fine and both of them work well.
Some time later I got a new HP pavilion dv4 and had Windows 7 (Beta) installed on it.
When first installing windows I’ve left a partition dedicated for the soon-to-come installation of Linux.

Today I’ve installed openSUSE (64bit) in the partition left for it and now I have a problem running Windows 7.
When booting the system I get a choice between:
1)openSUSE
2)windows 1
3)windows 2
(I have no idea why it shows windows twice)
When I choose on of the options (2 or 3) I get a message:
"rootnoverify (hd0,1) [Or (hd0,3) if I choose the other]
**chainloader +1

BOOTMGR in missing
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to Restart**"

I’ve noticed the sticky on the forum about dual-booting with windows vista and used VI editor to change menu.lst as suggested, but no luck - The problem stays.

For now, I have many problems working my way around Linux, especially on my laptop (wireless , soundcard and surly many other things I didn’t try yet, are not working), But for the moment I only want to fix my boot so that windows will work.
Can anyone give me a newbie guide to fixing this problem?

Thanks!

#2

Hi MistaDj, welcome to the Forums

Can you please post the results you get when you open a console and execute these commands:

  • sudo /sbin/fdisk -l [that’s the letter l not the number 1]
  • sudo cat /boot/grub/menu.lst
#3

hey swerdna, thx for the fast reply.

the results were:
Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xc30a9079

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 2551 4462 15358140 f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
/dev/sda2 26 2550 20275200 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 4463 30402 208356352 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda5 2551 2787 1903671 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 2788 3530 5968116 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 3531 4462 7486258+ 83 Linux

Partition table entries are not in disk order

and

Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Thu Apr 2 23:15:47 IDT 2009

default 1
timeout 8
gfxmenu (hd0,5)/boot/message
##YaST - activate

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title Debug – openSUSE 11.1 - 2.6.27.19-3.2
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.19-3.2-debug root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-FUJITSU_MHZ2250BH_G2_K617T8C3GU7D-part6 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-FUJITSU_MHZ2250BH_G2_K617T8C3GU7D-part5 splash=silent showopts vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.27.19-3.2-debug

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE 11.1 - 2.6.27.19-3.2
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.19-3.2-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-FUJITSU_MHZ2250BH_G2_K617T8C3GU7D-part6 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-FUJITSU_MHZ2250BH_G2_K617T8C3GU7D-part5 splash=silent showopts vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.27.19-3.2-default

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe – openSUSE 11.1 - 2.6.27.19-3.2
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.27.19-3.2-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-FUJITSU_MHZ2250BH_G2_K617T8C3GU7D-part6 showopts ide=nodma apm=off noresume edd=off powersaved=off nohz=off highres=off processor.max_cstate=1 x11failsafe vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.27.19-3.2-default

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: windows 1###
title windows 1
rootnoverify (hd0,1)
chainloader +1

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: windows 2###
title windows 2
rootnoverify (hd0,3)
chainloader +1

Note- this is how the file looks after I restored it to the way it was before trying what the forum says about multibooting with Vista.

#4

Originally there was windows 7 first up on the hard disk. It was a “primary” partition. Normally that primary partition is left alone and the openSUSE installer creates an “extended” partition to hold the Linux partitions, three of them: the swap, root and home partitions. These three are called “logical” partitions.

Somehow, the openSUSE installer has changed the nature of the windows partition from “primary” to “logical” and has put it in the container with the Linux logical partitions.

Here’s what’s wrong: windows 7 is no longer on a primary partition. But windows 7 needs to be on a primary partition or it won’t boot.

Here’s a few questions:

  • Were there any manipulations you performed with the partition tool during the installation or did you simply accept all the defaults and suggestions from the installer?
  • Did the installer shrink the vista partition to make space for the Linux installation, or did you organise the space for Linux (and how)?
  • Does the windows installation contain important data?
  • Would it be a disaster to reinstall windows?
#5

Oh, so I guess I’m the one to blame. I did manipulate what was originally offered because by default it asked to shrink windows partition and I didn’t want that. When I first installed windows I divided my hard drive to 3 partitions, one for windows, one for Linux and one for storage. I wanted Linux installed on the partition created specially for it and not to share space with windows. Another thing I did and might have caused the problem is: Linux wanted to leave me a 200mb windows partition and name it C as well as the other 2 partitions I already had (which for some reason changed letters to D and E). I deleted this partition because I thought it was taken from the 15gb allocated for Linux (and I didn’t want it either).

The computer is quite new so I don’t have many important things on it yet. But of course I would rather keep my current installation of windows if possible.

What should I do?

#6

Given all you said I think you should save any windows data you wish to keep (on another medium/usb_drive/dvd). Use the windows installer to delete all partitions from the drive, create the two NTFS partitions you mentioned (and no Linux partitions) and install windows again.

Then let the openSUSE installer have it’s way, but allow it to only create swap, root and home (in an extended partition if it so desires). You can use the Linux partitioner to alter the sizes but not the basic Linux plan.

Make no partitions for windows in Linux’s partitioner. But to allow it to mount existing partitions is OK. It guesses the C, D etc stuff. You can edit that to the correct letters if you don’t like the guesses, either during the installation or after. The letters don’t matter at all except aesthetically.

#7

I’ll try that and let you know if it went well.
Thanks alot :slight_smile:

#8

Afterthought: never allow a Linux partitioner to alter a vista partition.

#9

Ok, I’ve made a fresh start, like you advised, I’ve deleted all the partitions and this time created the two partitions for windows and left 16 gb of unpartitioned space.
Something I forgot about and saw again this time when I installed windows 7 was that windows automaticly creates a 200mb partition for system files which you don’t see later while using windows (thats the reason I forgot about it). Last time when installing openSUSE I deleted this partition and thats why windows couldn’t load (Smart move…).
This time I let openSUSE have its why with automatic settings and didn’t need to change anything. It installed its self on the unpartitioned space just like I wanted and it works well aside windows.
All that left now is configuring it to work with my Broadcom 4322AG (wireless), and to find a way to make the speakers work (for now only the headphones work) which is quite tricky for a newbie like me, but its a subject for a different post.

Thanks alot for the support, swerdna, you helped me alot :slight_smile:

Good-day!

#10

It’s great that you’re up and multi-booting nicely.