Win XP CD not booting from GRUB

[flying_suser]

SOLVED: Win XP CD not booting from GRUB

I've a dual boot machine running XP Pro and openSuse 10.3 using GRUB as booloading. Recently I developed some problems in windows after a virus attack and windows is not working. When I try to start in safe mode 'safe mode' apperas at the four corners of the screen and the screen remains black.
Linux is working fine.

I've decided to repair windows. I've changed the BIOS option to boot from my DVD drive first. But even though from the GRUB option when I choose windows it's not booting at all. The XP CD is fine and working perfectly in another computer.

Is it a GRUB problem or anything else?

Please help

Thanks in advance

 

[eyeCpc]

Once you performed a repair install on XP new default entries were entered into the mbr for Windows replacing Grub as the boot loader. You would now have to add XP back into it as a boot option.

Are you dual booting across more then one drive? Grub may be on one while the other contains the XP boot files.

 

[flying_suser]

Hello eyecpc,

I'm so far unable to make any repair install. Does the content of boot.ini file helps to understand the problem. I an access the boot.ini from the linux partition

 

[eyeCpc]

The information in the boot.ini file itself points to the drive/partition where XP is installed on regardless of where the boot files themselves were placed by the Windows installer. If you installed XP to a second drive you would see "rdisk(1)partition(1)" if XP was installed onto the first primary on the second drive.

What is needed here would be an idea of how things were done as to where XP and 10.3 are installed to partition wise. If you can boot up to the recovery console with the XP disk you can also try the "Fixboot" and "Fixmbr" commands if you are able to log onto the Windows installation there to see that will correct the entries in the master boot record on the host/boot drive.

 

[flying_suser]

I guess I've found the problem. The combo drive has problem in reading the XP CD. Though the same drive in linux can read some data CD and DVDs, I've tried two copies of the XP CD written in different CDs but none of them can be read by the linux(The linus shows 'Blank CD'). While both of the XP CDs work fine in another windows machine.

Can anybody suggest any remedy?

 

[carnageX]

Drive could be going out. Try a different one if you can.

 

[eyeCpc]

With prices down on all types drives you should be able to grab a good ide or sata dvd burner for under $30 easy enough. The drive might simply need a len cleaner if the lazer is not going on it.

 

[EricB]

try another cd or another drive. it's possible that the drive only recognize cds and not dvds now.

but I think you might have a virus stuck in your memory. to fix that you too unhook your ram and hdd. then reset your cmos. now turn it on. it won't boot, it will beep. do it again to be sure. now put the ram add hdd back in. see if the boot cd work. don't boot to windows. it need to be deleted before it put the virus back

 

[eyeCpc]

How old is the system there? If it's seen a good 3-4yrs. with the same copy of Windows on it's probably needing a new cable along with a reformat of the partition XP is on.

 

[flying_suser]

Many many thanks for the replies.

My laptop is a Lenovo 3000 N100. Win XP Pro was installed about 2 years ago.

My BIOS boot option shows booting from 1) built in combo drive 2) hard drive and 3) network drive

If I install an external USB CD/DVD drive will it be possible by BIOS to boot from the external CD/DVD drive?

It appears that:

Data CD/DVD both are read in Linux but not XP CD
XP CD works fine in other computer running windows

So the internal combo drive NOT recognizes the XP CD only. Any reasons for such selective behaviour?

I'll try to clean the lens and see whether situations get better or not.