Page 1 of installed ubuntu, lost xp....

I`ve installed ubuntu on my laptop, and thought I`d done everything correctly so I could boot from either ubuntu or xp. apparently not. on start up it`s ubuntu only. anyone know how/if I can rectify this? not got an xp disc as it was on the laptops HD.
Cheers

did you just have you hard drive partitioned with 1 partition, or did it have several

normally you may need 3 partitions,

1) XP
2) Ubuntu
3) Ubuntu Swap partiton

When you go into Ubunut, can you navigate and find your windows directory etc?

try going to a directory like

/mnt/sda1 in Ubuntu

and see what`s there

Al

I think I may have just 1 partition. sorry to be lame, I`m no expert which is why I`d intended to leave xp on, so when i screwed up I could just go back to xp.

I have an mnt folder but there`s nothing in it. have I overwritten xp?

I hate to say this, but it doesn`t look good.

try looking in your
/dev
folder, that may be where you sda1, sda2 etc may be, I may have guided you wrongly with /mnt

if you had done it right, when you switch on your PC you should get a menue, asking if you want Windows Xp or Ubuntu, usually however this will go to Ubuntu by default, after quite a short time, so if you switch your PC on, watch for anything that comes up!

However, it is possible you don`t automatically mount your NTFS partition where XP would be, which is why my tip earlier may not have helped.

with any luck Viewtiful Mark, another advocate of Linux will be along sooner or later (there`s a few others here as well who may come along to the rescue), he is more familiar with Ubuntu than me, so may think of other things to help you.

when you installed it, did y ou use it as a live CD, and then install Ubuntu while using it? Normally the process there is quite clear that you will trash your hard drive.

If you booted from the CD and installed ubuntu, maybe it isn`t so obvious?

Al

This item was edited on Monday, 27th August 2007, 19:21

Phewfff..I wouldn`t know what to do here, since I`ve never made this mistake. I always but always recommend that before you install a Linux, try out the Live CD, then look into all your partitioning options very carefully before committing to the install. I did much reading up on it and talking to pals before attempting my first dual-boot.

Of course, none of this sanctimonious crap is of any use to you. I would recommend a trip to the Ubuntu forums
for guidance, and in the meantime I`ll email a mate of mine who is savvy with such problems. I`ll let you know when/if he gets back to me.

A lot of people wrongly blame the Linux when problems like these occur, when the truth is many just don`t look into how partitioning works and what you have to do if you intend to dual boot properly. I`m not being a git, just typing this as a warning to anyone considering this procedure.

Then again, I don`t see what really could have gone wrong. How did you partition you HD?

I booted from the cd then installed. I thought I just followed the instructions which ought to have given me the option to boot with either ubuntu or XP, but either I went badly wrong, or something else did. It was late at night when I did it, and alcohol had been comsumed.

I can`t find an sda file anywhere. I have a sinking feeling.

I`ve had a look around the ubuntu forums but not yet found a solution, but thanks for that tip.

I thought this was you! Is this any help, or does it sound like what you did? I`ve emailed my mate, but I have to say it doesn`t look too good for your XP. Try (really try!) to look on the bright side. At least you gave it a shot, and you`ll have learnt something positive about your PC by the end of it. On another note, have you actually had a play around with the Linux, and what do you think? I`m presuming you tried out the Live aspect of the disc before installing so you can connect to the net okay. What do you reckon, why not stick with it for a bit and have a play around?

Did you say you don`t even have an XP install disc to re-install your Windows? Jeez that`s rotten luck. What will you do?

Checked the link - it`s not me but may as well be as it all sounds uncomfortably familiar...

I have had a play around with linux and I do like it. It`s only the fact that I seem to have lost all my XP files that I don`t like so much.

I am indeed without an XP install disc. The only copy provided was in a partition on the laptop`s hd, which seems to be gone.....

Its crappy when that happens, but look on the bright side - atleast now you won`t have to delete your windows partition at a latter date when you find ubuntu does all you need ;)

My mate`s not got back to me. I suspect he`s gone away for a break with his missus; he`s off work at the moment for two weeks. So, I thought it best to at least come on and let you know.

What`s the situation at the mo then? Have you got a Windows disc, or are you going to continue with Ubuntu? I sincerely hope you haven`t lost a lot of personal data with this hiccup. Let us know.