windows is gone

I’m in over my head. I was running windows 7 and I created another partition to install suse 11.2 on. I can’t boot to windows for some reason. I can’t figure out where windows went.

I don’t know if any of this stuff here will help with diagnostics, but I saw someone else posted this stuff in a different thread.

fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000080

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 10443 83883366 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 * 10444 14593 33334875 f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
/dev/sda5 10444 10705 2104483+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 10706 12288 12715416 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 12289 14593 18514881 83 Linux

(/dev/sda1 should be my windows partition)

menu.lst

Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Wed May 19 12:07:05 EDT 2010

THIS FILE WILL BE PARTIALLY OVERWRITTEN by perl-Bootloader

Configure custom boot parameters for updated kernels in /etc/sysconfig/bootloader

default 0
timeout 8
##YaST - generic_mbr
gfxmenu (hd0,5)/boot/message
##YaST - activate

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST9120823ASG_5NJ0LRC4-part6 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST9120823ASG_5NJ0LRC4-part5 splash=silent quiet showopts vga=0x361
initrd /boot/initrd

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: floppy###
title Floppy
rootnoverify (fd0)
chainloader +1

###Don’t change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe – openSUSE
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST9120823ASG_5NJ0LRC4-part6 showopts apm=off noresume nosmp maxcpus=0 edd=off powersaved=off nohz=off highres=off processor.max_cstate=1 x11failsafe vga=0x361
initrd /boot/initrd

Sorry for the double post. I just missed the edit window.
More info -

cat /etc/fstab

/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST9120823ASG_5NJ0LRC4-part5 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST9120823ASG_5NJ0LRC4-part6 / ext4 acl,user_xattr 1 1
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST9120823ASG_5NJ0LRC4-part7 /home ext4 acl,user_xattr 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST9120823ASG_5NJ0LRC4-part1 /windows/C ntfs-3g users,gid=users,fmask=133,dmask=022,locale=en_US.UTF-8 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs noauto 0 0
debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs noauto 0 0
usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs noauto 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts mode=0620,gid=5 0 0

It looks like when Suse was installed, it missed your Windows installation and didn’t add it to the grub menu.

You will have to edit the menu.lst file has root and add the following

title Windows 7
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1

You should then be able to choose Windows 7 as an option when you reboot.

It’s too late for you now, but my advice to anybody else who wants to dual boot is to have a disk for Windows and a disk (or more) for Linux. That way if your install messes up you can still boot the existing system by changing the BIOS boot priority.

This is correct
To help with the edit use:

kdesu kwrite /boot/grub/menu.lst

or in gnome

gnomesu gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst


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rjwilmsi wrote:
>
> It’s too late for you now,

Please, don’t post if you’re not 100% sure of what are you saying, I
suggest to remove the post I respond to avoid confusion on newbies


VampirD

Microsoft Windows is like air conditioning
Stops working when you open a window.
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You say you have Windows 7 installed. Sure?

The standard setup for Windows 7 is to have two primary partitions: a small one of about 100MB called System Reserved (the system partition) that contains all the boot definitions and boot loader and a large one containing all the system files, program files and user data (the boot partition). Note that Windows has reversed the natural definitions. It is system as in (system list) and boot as in (boot into eventually).

You seem to be missing the first.

If it were there, that is where the chainloader in Grub would point to. The system partition then boots the boot partition.

Do you recall deleting any small partitions when you installed Suse?

I’ve installed win7 quite a few times. Haven’t got the small partition once. I wonder why?

Well it is possible if you are reasonably clever. Something along the lines here maybe?

How to Prevent Windows 7 from Creating a Hidden /Recovery /System Reserved Partition during Installation

But I wouldn’t think that was a common occurrence. There have been a few posts about Windows 7 installations, which have or had the dual partition set up I outlined above - even when a further two partitions are used for various tools and recovery options included by the OEM.

Thus I think the two partitions would have been a likely set up for the OP. Hence, the reason why I asked the question.

You are saying, swerdna, that your single partition came about as an automatic process. I would like to know how (nicely).:slight_smile:

WIN 7 does not create a boot partition if you install from a Full DVD. It’s the pre-installs and OEM rubbish that does that.

Even more interesting. When I installed the RC version the first time on x86 from a DVD it created 2 partitions on a clean disk. The second time from a DVD on x64 only one partition was created but that was because there was an existing XP partition and the Windows 7 installer stuck the BCD stuff in that. But in reality two partitions for 7.

So maybe they changed it for the retail version?

I hope the OP didn’t get the impression I was accusing him of willfully borking a partition.

Well there’s always more humble pie.:x:X:X

Don’t take this the wrong way VampirD, but I don’t think you fully understood what rjwilmsi was trying to say there.

He didn’t mean that “there is nothing you can do now”, but rather “it is too late for you to do what I am about to recommend…”.

English is a funny language :sarcastic:.

When I installed the RC version it created 2 partitions on a clean disk.

Not for me. Just the one. And I installed it over a dozen times in different situations.

@plodder

You are saying, swerdna, that your single partition came about as an automatic process. I would like to know how (nicely)

And also thinking about what caf4926 said.

I don’t know. I only really pay attention if I have to reinstall and then I habitually choose my own partition setup. I don’t really do straight transfer of OEMs from assembly shops to clients, so I haven’t looked at OEM stuff except to wipe it.

I’m sure you’re right, and I’m getting one next week to reconfig as a medical practice server, so I’ll take a good look before I wipe it and report back here what I see. Maybe the Oz ppl config things differently to you ppl down there below the equator.

@plodder

I looked into the partitions on that new win7 machine as delivered OEM from the wholesaler and there’s a 100 mb sda1 in NTFS with the bootloader files on it, so you are correct. Sorry I doubted.

The Daily Suse

Plodder Vindicated!

A visibly shaken spokesman admitted today that plodder’s controversial theory, that there is no correlation between the number of partitions created with a Windows 7 installation and the way bathwater gurgles down the plughole, is apparently correct.

‘Frankly we are dumbfounded.’ he said ‘This means that computing will now be a lot less interesting but much more predictable.’

In other news, a well known Redmond company is still trying to explain what exactly its extremely complicated operating system is supposed to achieve…

rotfl!rotfl!
Plodder licks his finger and scribes an imaginary vertical line on an invisible wall.