Can't install windows on new (old) laptop

[Acyclo]

Ubuntu installation media (CD/DVD/USB stick) have two modes, the first a try-it-out-without-installing mode, where it runs from the media and a full install mode. Just restart from the USB stick and select install from the menu.

 

[swee'pea99]

Ubuntu installation media (CD/DVD/USB stick) have two modes, the first a try-it-out-without-installing mode, where it runs from the media and a full install mode. Just restart from the USB stick and select install from the menu.

Hi


Thanks but that's what I did. And it did install. I know that because when I installed it it came up with three options - the two you mention and one other that I can't remember now, then when I wasn't sure it had installed and I went to reinstall it, it had four options, one of which was 'delete existing installation of ubuntu and re-install'. So I know it's on there. And I've reset the bios to boot up from HD as its first option. But it won't. Says its a non-system disc or disc error. Which has got me reet baffled.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

errr.... doesn't sound good.

I'd try the painfully slow method of trying almost all the boot options in the BIOS in case the logical one you've selected isn't in fact the HDD.

I take it that Ubuntu didn't complain that the install didn't work or anything? It might be that the HDD has a fault in the boot sector.

 

[2Loose]

For some reason I am guessing that one of the following has happened;

1, The Grub\LiLo bootloader has failed to install properly. Ubuntu is installed but is not being 'run' when the machine is started. I think you should be able to boot from your USB stick and 'start' the Ubuntu that you already installed - if so, then Grub\Lilo can normally be reinstalled from within Ubuntu.

2, The Laptop thinks that it should be booting from the wrong disk partition. Sometimes happens when Grub\Lilo are installed incorrectly - the laptop tries to boot directly from the Ubuntu partition when it should use the Grub one, which in turn 'fires' the Ubuntu one.

Either way, I have found this is normally to do with Grub...

 

[SavageHoutkop]

For some reason I am guessing that one of the following has happened;

1, The Grub\LiLo bootloader has failed to install properly. Ubuntu is installed but is not being 'run' when the machine is started. I think you should be able to boot from your USB stick and 'start' the Ubuntu that you already installed - if so, then Grub\Lilo can normally be reinstalled from within Ubuntu.

2, The Laptop thinks that it should be booting from the wrong disk partition. Sometimes happens when Grub\Lilo are installed incorrectly - the laptop tries to boot directly from the Ubuntu partition when it should use the Grub one, which in turn 'fires' the Ubuntu one.

Either way, I have found this is normally to do with Grub...

^ Yes, but this is the same error as was presented before Ubuntu was installed, which makes me think it might not be Ubuntu but rather something further up the hardware chain

 

[swee'pea99]

Might it be possible to install Windows XP from within ubuntu, simply by putting in the installation cd and double-clicking on it? (while running ubuntu off the memory stick.) Or will that cause some horrible sectarian battle to break out deep in the gizzards of the beast, with the ubuntu gatekeepers hurling abuse and worse at the would-be Interlopers-of-Gates? I really am not that bothered about having linux, per se - indeed, WinXP would probably make life easier for my daughter - I was mainly using the memory stick ubunut boot up simply to get past the total unresponsiveness of the machine.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

[quote name='swee'pea99' timestamp='1318868109' post='1884892']
Might it be possible to install Windows XP from within ubuntu
[/quote]

No, I don't think so....

Could you get your paws on an original Windows XP install disk, maybe? Perhaps the recovery CD isn't correct for that computer (OK, clutching at straws).
It might also be worth checking whether, if you make a Ubuntu CD (rather than USB) whether the computer will boot off that; as that will prove whether or not it's your CD or your CD drive that the computer is fed up with....

 

[MossCommuter]

are there any jumpers on this hard drive? If so try booting without any jumpers at all, if that fails try with it jumpered as "master". Could be that the BIOS wants it that way and would explain why Ubi can see it when the BIOS cannot.

 

[Acyclo]

Another thought, I just noticed the drive is IBM.




I think IBM had some form of advanced security features for their laptop drives. I can't remember the details but the drive may be 'locked' in some way. See if you can find another drive to try.

 

[swee'pea99]

Thanks again. I don't think there are any jumpers - it's a 2.5" disc, and I can see nothing you can do other than plug it in. The idea of seeing whether I can get it to boot off a ubuntu CD is an interesting one. I shall have to try that (don't have any time today, but...) I have a horrible feeling I'll get the same 'Non system disc' error with a ubuntu CD...but even that would be revealing. Anyway, thanks again. For now, I really do have to get on with some work!

 

[swee'pea99]

Another thought, I just noticed the drive is IBM.




I think IBM had some form of advanced security features for their laptop drives. I can't remember the details but the drive may be 'locked' in some way. See if you can find another drive to try.

Now there's an interesting thought...

:hmm smiley:

 

[wakou]

Just a thought, even if you get the HDD working, 10 Gb is far too small to install MSWin XP.
Is the machine powerful enough to run XP?

Still we have the issue of getting it to boot from HDD or from CD at all. Hmmmm
Assuming you have another machine, and a pack of cheapo CD's you could burn bootables of gparted and clonezilla.
Also with a wee utility called unetbootin you can make USB bootables of these easy as pie.

Try booting to your live Ubuntu key and running the util called GParted. Look at the HDD, you only have one so it does not matter if you make a mistake in this instance.
To do this open a terminal, (from bottom left of the screen if you search apps and put in terminal and start the programme offered)
Type in sudo gparted. You should get a picture a bit like this, but less cluttered than mine:



Post the result here and we'll have a look ..

 

[swee'pea99]

Thanks. I will try. Perhaps this evening. Um, I'm pretty sure XP will run on 10gb. I admit it doesn't leave a lot of free space, but my daughter only really wants the beast to watch Top Gear and inappropriate comedians, and do the occasional bit of blogging. She doesn't really store stuff.

 

[wakou]

If she really only needs it for that then Puppy linux on a USB key will do her fine, no need for a HDD at all, if it has enough RAM.

 

[wakou]

ps Are you 100% sure that the BIOS is trying to boot from the HDD? Try a reset to factory settings in BIOS, if you bought it w/o a HDD, it is possible that the previous owner used a USB HDD only and had set the BIOS accordingly, ie disabled boot from internal HDD?