37 replies to this topic

[Vaxun]

Ok I set it to USB and it started to boot up.

This is what came up on the screen:

Booting USB...please wait

Last sector of the last partition of (hd0) is 1090519102

Checking last sector is accessible...

WARNING: THIS BIOS MAY HAVE PROBLEMS ACCESSING FILES ON THIS DRIVE!

/_ISO/e2b/grub//E2B.cfg is MISSING!

Edited by Vaxun, 17 June 2013 - 11:46 PM.

[Wonko the Sane]

Which device is that?

If I recall correctly that warning is about "biggish" devices (i.e. the BIOS cannot "reach" beyond a certain address)

1090519102*512= 558,345,780,224 is that a USB hard disk of 500 Gb or so?

Some BIOSes have (often limited to the USB stack) a "Limit" to 28bit LBA address (instead of 48 bit) i.e. around 134 Gb.

 

The :

/_ISO/e2b/grub//E2B.cfg is MISSING!

may be because the file actually does not exist (for whatever reason) or because of some issues with the size of the device (though it should probably have given a different error if this is the case).

Can you verify if the file is there?

 

Do you "land" to a:

 

 

grub>

 

command line prompt after the messages are displayed?

 

Wonko

[Vaxun]

The USB is 4 gb. This happened when I tried to run the USB from my desktop with the booting problems. I did not land to a "grub >" prompt after it was done. All it did was show me that "/_ISO/e2b/grub//E2B.cfg is MISSING!" sign. I couldnt enter in anything else after that.

 

I looked into the USB to locate the missing file and surprisingly it was there. I found the E2B.cfg in /_ISO/e2b/grub/E2B.CFG

 

Could there be a problem with the extra "/"? 
 

[Wonko the Sane]

The USB is 4 gb. This happened when I tried to run the USB from my desktop with the booting problems. I did not land to a "grub >" prompt after it was done. All it did was show me that "/_ISO/e2b/grub//E2B.cfg is MISSING!" sign. I couldnt enter in anything else after that.

 

I looked into the USB to locate the missing file and surprisingly it was there. I found the E2B.cfg in /_ISO/e2b/grub/E2B.CFG

 

Could there be a problem with the extra "/"? 
 

Yes, I thought it was a typo (and possibly it is still a typo in the error message).

 

Seemingly the disks are not detected with the "right order".

 

Anyway, the thingy boots and on it there is the Puppy .iso, right?

 

Try the following:

look into the stick, in root there should be a file named menu.lst, just rename it to "menu.old"

 

Try booting and you should get to the grub> prompt.

In it type:

 

 

find --set-root /mainmenu/precise-5.4.3.iso

 

[ENTER]

 

then:

 

 

root

 

[ENTER]

What do you get (like (hd0,0) or (hd1,0) or what)?

 

Wonko

[steve6375]

Hi

re. E2B error - are you sure you didn't modify any files when you made the E2B USB boot drive? e.g. did you modify the \menu.lst at all? There should not be two \\ in the error message.

Did you use a recent version of grub4dos  (may 2013?).

 

 

For Puppy, this will be difficult to get going, you will need to either extract the files from the ISO or use partnew (hd0,3)  which I would not recommend at the moment until we know what your disk numbering is!

 

P.S. You didn't extract the E2B files to the root of your internal hard disk did you? If so E2B will get very confused!

[Vaxun]

After I changed the menu.lst file name to menu.old, it loaded up and took me to the grub prompt.

I typed in "find --set-root /mainmenu/precise-5.4.3.iso" but it said ERROR 15: File not found.

I double checked to make sure the iso file was in the mainmenu folder and it was.

I tried (on a whim) "find --set-root /_ISO/MAINMENU/precise-5.4.3.iso" and it gave me (hd0,0).

When I tried "root" it gave me "(hd0,0) Filesystem type is fat, partition type 0x0C"

 

I didnt modify menu.lst before I changed it to menu.old

(btw thanks for the site/program )

Edited by Vaxun, 20 June 2013 - 11:32 AM.

[Wonko the Sane]

After I changed the menu.lst file name to menu.old, it loaded up and took me to the grub prompt.

I typed in "find --set-root /mainmenu/precise-5.4.3.iso" but it said ERROR 15: File not found.

I double checked to make sure the iso file was in the mainmenu folder and it was.

I tried (on a whim) "find --set-root /_ISO/MAINMENU/precise-5.4.3.iso" and it gave me (hd0,0).

Good , sorry for the typo (or possibly brain fart about the path.

 

When I tried "root" it gave me "(hd0,0) Filesystem type is fat, partition type 0x0C"

Very good. 

Possibly in your earlier attempt was because of the "easy2boot" partially loading and *somehow* exchanging the disks, this setting the internal 500 Gb disk as (hd0).

But anyway better always be dsafe than sorry, run:

 

 

geometry (hd0)

 

[ENTER]

and

 

 

geometry (hd1)

 

[ENTER]

the first should give as feedback data related to the stick, the second data related to your internal hard disk.

If the above is confirmed you can go ahead.

Type:

 

 

map (hd0,0)/_ISO/MAINMENU/precise-5.4.3.iso (0xff)

 

[ENTER]

Two possibilties:

no feedback at all

Error 60

If error 60, you need to make the .iso file contiguous (RMPREPUSB contains a tool, WINCONTIG that you can use for this, more info are on the RMPREPUSB site) 

 

If have not the error 60, type:

 

 

map --hook

 

[ENTER]

 

Now the tricky part, briefly to boot the PuppyLinux you need a "fake" partition entry, details of this trick are here:

http://reboot.pro/to...brided/?p=88531

Type:

parttype (hd0,3)

 

[ENTER]

This should provide as feedback:

 

 

Partition type of (hd0,3) is 0x00

 

Now type (press [ENTER] after each line):

 

 

partnew (hd0,3) 0x00 (hd0,0)/_ISO/MAINMENU/precise-5.4.3.iso
root (0xff)
chainloader
boot

You should now be booting the PuppyLinux....

 

Note, to easen the typing of the path, use [TAB] autocompletion, like:

type (hd0,0)/ and press [TAB], it will list possibilities, add _i  and press [TAB] again, etc.until you get to the whole path of (hd0,0)/_ISO/MAINMENU/precise-5.4.3.iso (this way there is no risk of a typo).

 

Wonko

[Vaxun]

Whooooo, Im in Puppy Linux! Everything below is just the responses I got when I typed in the commands. Im not sure if theyll be useful, but it doesnt hurt to have them, I guess. Where do I go from here?  Thanks so much for the help!!

 

"geometry (hd0)" resulted in "drive 0x80(LBA): C/H/S=472/255/63, Sector Count/Size=7582680/512

 

              Partition num: 0, active, Filesystem type is fat, partition type 0x0C

              Partition num: 1, Filesystem unknown, partition type 0x21

 

"geometry (hd1) gave me "drive 0x80(LBA): C/H/S=30394/255/63, Sector Count/Size=488279610/512

 

              Partition num: 0, active, Filesystem type is fat, partition type 0x16

              Partition num: 1, Filesystem type is ntfs, partition type 0x07

              Partition num: 2, active, Filesystem type is ntfs, partition type 0x07

 

I typed in "map (hd0,0)/_ISO/MAINMENU/precise-5.4.3.iso (0xff)" and it gave me no feedback, so I typed in "map --hook". Still no feedback.

I typed in "parttype (hd0,3)" and it resulted in "Partition type for (hd0,3) is 0x00" (woot woot)

 

The "partnew (hd0,3) 0x00 (hd0,0)/_ISO/MAINMENU/precise-5.4.3.iso" gave no feedback, so I typed in "root (0xff)" and it gave me "Filesystem type is iso9660, using whole disk"

Then after "chainloader" it gave me "Load segment: 0x0            System type: 0x0     Sector Count: 0x4

                                                          Load RBA: 0x1B   Boot Type: 0 = No Emulation

[Wonko the Sane]

Very good, now you should be able to click (top left) on the "mount" icon, in the "drive" tab, mount:

• the USB stick partition (will probably be sda1)
• the last partition of the hard disk (will probably be Sdb3)

If you cannot identify the partitions, try mounting all of them, one will be the USB stick partition containing the easy2boot files, the puppy .iso and the copy of BOOTMGR you made, and one will be the one on HD that contains the \boot\ directory and in it the \boot\BCD.

You now need to copy the BOOTMGR from the stick to the root of the partition that contains\boot\BCD.

When a device is mounted an icon resembling the windows 3.1 filemanager will appear next to the device, and a "file explorer" window will appear opened to the root of the drive, if for any reason this doean't happen, click on the "file cabinet" icon to open it.

 

Puppy Linux is slightly different from "standard" Windows usage, a single left click by default corresponds to what on Windows is double left click.

Left click and hold allows to drag.

Select the file with left click and holding it pressed, drag it to the target device window  you will have a few choice choose "copy" .

 

Verify that the operation went well then dismount all the partitions that were mounted and shutdown. (right click anywhere on the desktop to access the shutdown option).

 

Try rebooting (without the USB stick connected) and see if it brings back the Vista bootscreen and system.

 

Wonko

[Vaxun]

I found something in the bottom left of my screen that said sdb1, so I clicked on it and my USB popped up. Its got all the files from my USB (grldr, menu.old, _ISO, bootmgr, etc). Also, it says /mnt/sdb1 so Im assuming the USB is mounted (even though I didnt manually mount it). I think I found the HD (sda3) as well because it has 158 G free which is roughly the amount that I remember being free on my HD before the crash. I checked to make sure /boot/BCD was there and it is. The weird thing is that there was an existing bootmgr on the root of the HD (even though some of my first posts said that trying to find bootmgr evoked Error 17) I copied the bootmgr from the stick to the HD and it asked me to overwrite the old bootmgr, so I did. Was that the right thing to do? Should I do anything with the boot file I copied from the Windows 7 laptop onto the stick?

 

I unplugged the USB stick and tried rebooting the comp, but it brings me back to the 

Booting Windows Vista
Acpi
Vista Loader
Done!
Fallback 1
Find --set-root /bootmgr
Error 17: file not found
Booting: Windows NT/2000/XP
Fallback 2
Find --set-root /ntldr
Error 17: file not found
Booting Enter Command Line
Boot failed. Press any key to enter command line.

 

Any ideas?

 

Edit: I think I may have copied the bootmgr to the wrong place. When I go on grub and I type "find /" and I hit TAB, then it gives me a list of files that I had seen in one of the partitions (sda1) when I mounted them all. The thing is that this partition doesnt have the /boot/BCD in it. Its got the files autoexec.bat AUTOEXEC.UP COMMAND.COM config.sys CONFIG.UP COPYUP.BAT DELLBIO.BIN DELLDIAG.INI DELLRMK.BIN HIMEM.SYS oobedone.flg precisesave.2fs and a file called diags that contains many more files. Should I copy the bootmgr to this location so that grub can find bootmgr? Ill leave it as it is right now because Id rather not move files around just in case I end up bricking the entire thing D:

Edited by Vaxun, 22 June 2013 - 07:16 AM.

[Wonko the Sane]

The weird thing is that there was an existing bootmgr on the root of the HD (even though some of my first posts said that trying to find bootmgr evoked Error 17) I copied the bootmgr from the stick to the HD and it asked me to overwrite the old bootmgr, so I did. Was that the right thing to do? Should I do anything with the boot file I copied from the Windows 7 laptop onto the stick?

That's "strange".

(that the bootmgr file wasn' t listed before I mean)

 

 

Any ideas?

Edit: I think I may have copied the bootmgr to the wrong place. When I go on grub and I type "find /" and I hit TAB, then it gives me a list of files that I had seen in one of the partitions (sda1) when I mounted them all. The thing is that this partition doesnt have the /boot/BCD in it. Its got the files autoexec.bat AUTOEXEC.UP COMMAND.COM config.sys CONFIG.UP COPYUP.BAT DELLBIO.BIN DELLDIAG.INI DELLRMK.BIN HIMEM.SYS oobedone.flg precisesave.2fs and a file called diags that contains many more files. Should I copy the bootmgr to this location so that grub can find bootmgr? Ill leave it as it is right now because Id rather not move files around just in case I end up bricking the entire thing D:

No leave it everything "as is".

Boot again from the USB stick, and try booting from the grub4dos in it the BOOTMGR on hard disk.

When you boot from the stick, the stick itself will be hd0,0 and the hard disk partition where the bootmgr and \boot\BCD are should be hd1,2.

So, at the grub> prompt:

 

 

root (hd1,2)
chainloader /bootmgr
boot

(you may want to use [TAB] autocompletion for the chainloader command. i.e. type chainloader /bootm [TAB] and the line should autocomplete).

The first thing BOOTMGR does when called is to look, in the same partition where it is, for the \boot\BCD, so make sure that the bootmgr is there (same partition where \boot\BCD is).

 

Wonko

[Vaxun]

I'm in!!!!! I'm on my comp on vista. It's at the desktop right now!!! Whoooooooo <3 everything seems to be working fine. All my files and everything is intact from what I've seen. I shut the comp off and turned it back on and it took me straight to the desktop. Does it mean that the bootmgr I overwrote was corrupted? What exactly was the problem and how was it fixed? Also, thank you so much for helping me. Words cannot express my gratitude. You are a lifesaver.

[Wonko the Sane]

I'm in!!!!! I'm on my comp on vista. It's at the desktop right now!!! Whoooooooo <3 everything seems to be working fine. All my files and everything is intact from what I've seen. I shut the comp off and turned it back on and it took me straight to the desktop.

Good

Does it mean that the bootmgr I overwrote was corrupted?

What exactly was the problem and how was it fixed?

That is what is not - so - clear , you had a "file not found" kind of error coming from the (old) grub4dos on your internal hard disk, i.e. seemingly a "missing bootmgr".
If the bootmgr was found and it was corrupted you would have had a different kind of error, and that would be coming from the bootmgr itself (or frm the BIOS) not from grub4dos.
It is possible that there was some kind of "strange" filesystem issue , but I guess we'll never know for sure.
It is possible that for *whatever* reason the BOOTMGR file was moved in the filesystem in a position "beyond reach" of the old grub4dos you had.
It is also possible that the mere "succeeding in booting" the Vista *somehow* triggered a sort of "self-healing" procedure on the filesystem/system files.

If I were you, I would however:

• save/backup your data on external media (you never know)
• run a CHKDISK C: (first time without parameters, another time with /F and a third time with /R - these two only if the first run evidences any error) to make sure that the filesystem/disk is OK
• verify that you can boot "normally" (i.e. without the USB stick) the Vista install

Even if everything works correctly, I would check what is your current boot sequence (right now it seems like you have the - old - grub4dos installed to your MBR+hidden sectors which chainloads the BOOTMGR).
If the *whatever* installed that grub4dos did things "properly" you should have a copy of the original MBR (most probably a "special" one that allows accessing that hidden recovery partition) saved on second sector of the hard disk.
"Now" it is about the last chance you have to save a copy of it (in case it is necessary to restore it, replacing that grub4dos install) as those "special" MBR's are usually extremely difficult to find and even installing them (without a copy of the original one) may be "tricky" or downright impossible.
Even if recovering that original MBR (which would be the "best" choice IMHO) is impossible, it would be advised to either:

• re-install a "default" MS MBR code

or:

• re-install a newer version of the grub4dos MBR and grldr (that version you have - as said - is obsolete and buggy)

Also, thank you so much for helping me. Words cannot express my gratitude. You are a lifesaver.

You are very welcome, only too glad to have contributed to another happy bunny :
http://www.msfn.org/...artup/?p=828512


Wonko