Dual boot install gives this Grub error 21

You need to use "map" commands if windo$ is not on hda.
Example Grub Entry With Windows On hdb:

title windows
root (hd1,0)
map (0x81) (0x80)
map (0x80) (0x81)
makeactive
chainloader +1

Please post your /etc/fstab and your /boot/grub/menu.lst files. It makes it easier for us to understand.

Bob

Ok, I will get that.

But just quickly: How would I get to edit all this
stuff from the grub loader screen and no dialup set up yet?

Also, where is the email all replies feature on here so
I get notification of replies? I didn't find it in user
any place.

Bob

i get this problem too..

i have two hard drives (win on one and mepis the other). The windows HD is set to be dockable at other computers. but i cannot load the WinXp os from that drive because Grub requires that mepis be present.

I now need to figure out how to disable Grub from Windows

hey, I'm a Ubuntu edgy user that stumbled across this thread via a google search (of GRUB error 21). I'm a brand new Linux user overall (this is my first install ever)

Here's my setup/situation;
I'm using an HP Pavilion dv8000 laptop
I have an internal HDD thats for work only (i have windows xp on it) (hd0) /dev/hda
I have an external HDD (Kaser 250gb) which i aimed to have split between Ubuntu and Windows (hd1) /dev/sda

now upon installation i had the choice where to install the GRUB (not knowing any better at the time ... id only read a few guides about linux installations and none of them covered this ... i chose hd0 .... i believe that i should have chosen hd1

is this whats causing my GRUB to Error 21? and if so how do i fix it

thanks for youre time any that can help, I've searched all over the ubuntu forums i know this is MEPIS. thanks for youre time and understanding

Drake, welcome to the group.

Please give us more information on your situation. Exactly which version of Mepis are you trying to load? And what else do you have on your computer? What is the disk layout, because I cannot recommend that you install GRUB in /dev/hda1, or 2, or x without knowing what else you are doing with the computer. Are you trying to "dual-boot" with Windows?

The normal situation, especially if you have Windows on the box too, is that you HAVE to load GRUB into the MBR of the primary disk, unless you have some other boot loader already running on your computer.

Jon

SimplyMEPIS Value CD: $17.95
Amount saved not buying Windows Vista Ultimate: $399
Experience gained learning Mepis and helping others: Priceless

sorry for the misunderstanding, im still running Ubuntu (at the time i posted this i didnt realize just how different Ubuntu and Mepis are) but just in case this info helps itd be awesome

i have a HP Pavilion dv8210ca (just for the sake of it you can treat it like a pavilion dv8000 ... basically the same thing)

i have one internal drive (for work only, so it can only run windows)

one external drive (Kaser 250gb connected via 2.0 USB)

Partitions are as follows:

1st Windows - NTFS
2nd Win/Lin Shared - Fat32
3rd Linux Swap - Linux Swap
4th Linux Root - Ext3 (i basicly just installed all linux files there)

now upon boot up i get a Error 21 during Grub 1.5

research of mine indicates Error 21 is
21 : Selected disk does not exist
This error is returned if the device part of a device- or full file name refers to a disk or BIOS device that is not present or not recognized by the BIOS in the system.

After pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete the system then restarts (obviously) and Grub runs through without any problems and i can dual boot with windows as id like.

In another forum i read that a possibility is that BIOS is just not fast enough to recognize that i have a secondary hard drive until the second (or warm) boot.

My internal drive is still my Primary device

Internal: (hd0) /dev/hda
External: (hd1) /dev/sda

Now as a bit of information, under windows i looked at some of the properties of my external drive and the partition style was Master Boot Drive (MBR)

not sure if that means anything but i thought id give a heads up with it

sorry if thats too hard to follow but thanks for the time for responding to this and if you cant help me because im running Ubuntu not Mepis thanks anyways!

I'm pretty much Grub illiterate.

But, I can remember getting MEPIS to run via an external drive on my PC a while back and ubuntu should be similar.

It seems to me that everything was getting confused by the bios settings at one point (boot order). So, you may want to try playing around with the boot order (external USB drive as first drive, internal drive as second choice; or vice-versa).

If you don't install GRUB with the BIOS boot order setup right, you'll run into issues if memory serves.

Jim C.

hey,

thanks for the fast response time but unfortunately that didnt do anything for, as i couldnt even boot at that point because it said Invalid Partition

thanks anyways tho

This looks like what you need in that situation.
http://enterprise.linux.com/print.pl?sid=05/02/16/1919205

jim

www.constitution.org
www.pynthan.com

Installed Mepis 6.0 successfully, but unlike previous installations, which detected the Windows XP partition and offered it as one of the options for the grub menu, it is missing. Have tried to edit /boot/grub/menu.lst to add an entry for /dev/hda1, which is the partition for Win XP, after trying several variations of parameters for it, it still does not boot Win XP, which is still there but inaccessible. Any suggestions for finding what the entry for Win XP in menu.lst should be?

Tried

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

which seemed to start to load Win XP, but then I got an "autochk" error, said it was missing, skipping, but then system went back to grub menu.

Try booting with your win install cd and selecting r for recovery console and issue the fixmbr and fixboot commands to straighten out your master boot record & make sure win boots . Then with the MEPIS live cd reinstall grub boot loader and i think you will be on your way.

jim