Installer doesn't recognize Windows 7 NTFS partition properly

[cob]

Details are in this thread, with a screenshot of the installer at the partitioning step: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1243160

The 100MB boot partition is recognized as a Windows Vista partition, but the primary NTFS partition that Windows 7 is installed in is only recognized as /dev/sda2. Even though there was 117GB of free space available on the drive, if I chose "Use the largest contiguous free space", it would only try to use 2.5GB for Ubuntu's ext3 partition. If I used the slider, it would allow me to use more than the available free space (perhaps by resizing the NTFS partition? I did not try it), but it made me worry that the NTFS partition would not be respected and possibly corrupted.

[arky (arky)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. This bug did not have a package associated with it, which is important for ensuring that it gets looked at by the proper developers. You can learn more about finding the right package at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage. I have classified this bug as a bug in ubiquity.

When reporting bugs in the future please use apport, either via the appropriate application's "Help -> Report a Problem" menu or using 'ubuntu-bug' and the name of the package affected. You can learn more about this functionality at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReportingBugs.

[Adam McDaniel (adamrmcd)]

I've heard reports of this too.

While I haven't had a chance to verify it myself, a user on IRC reported that this used to work with Windows 7 build 7100, but now fails with build 7600.

He was testing originally on jaunty on a netbook LiveUSB. An in-line upgrade to karmic's ubiquity (1.99.28), ntfs, and partman utilities failed to resolve the problem.

Once I can get a chance to recreate this problem, I can post more info.

[cob (cobbjbc)]

Adam,

Any luck? I haven't tried to recreate the problem myself since it first occurred.

[trespasserw (trespasserw)]

I believe that's because W7's installer produces incorrect partition table. Here is parted session on such disk:

===
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo parted /dev/sda
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.159-1e0e
Using /dev/sda
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
Warning: /dev/sda contains GPT signatures, indicating that it has a GPT table. However, it does not have a valid fake msdos
partition table, as it should. Perhaps it was corrupted -- possibly by a program that doesn't understand GPT partition tables.
Or perhaps you deleted the GPT table, and are now using an msdos partition table. Is this a GPT partition table?
Yes/No? yes
Model: ATA WDC WD3000GLFS-0 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 300GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt

Number Start End Size File system Name Flags

(parted)
===

From what I can guess from the warning above parted tries to get partitions from that fake MBR table. What I can't understand is why not to read GPT table (as soon as parted seems to be able to recognize its presense)?

[Vojtěch Trefný (vojtech.trefny)]

I can confirm this with Karmic and final Windows 7.

Second problem is, that this bug affects also migration assistant. MA is unable to find users' profiles, because searching in that boot partition.

[beetlebolt (beetlebolt)]

There's quite a lot of written about the error here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1414179&page=3

[geoaxis (geoaxis)]

Affects me too (I added my self to affected but the number stays at 2)

[geoaxis (geoaxis)]

(never mind it says it affects me and two others ..so 3 in total, i bet its more )

[Hein van Rensburg (hvralpha)]

I can confirm that Grub only installs on hdo and provides not other options in the Lucid RC installer. I detects the Win7 drive , then changes the mbr so that win7 does not work and resets the computer if chosen. Choosing a linux kernel in grub works but win7 not.

This is really a problem for dual boot computers as it makes Lucid useless to install.

[Hendrik Schrieber (hennekn)]

I am seeing this problem when trying to install Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS on a Lenovo ThinkCenter. I have been installing two similar PCs before that did not have this problem.

This installer just says the whole disk is empty but there is already Windows 7 on it and Ubuntu does show the partitions in Nautlius after canceling the installer.

The only difference between the 2 working PCs and the one that is not working is:
For the first 2 Windows 7 was installed on the whole disk so I had to resize existing partitions. That worked and I could install Ubuntu on the so-created free space.

For the other PC I recently installed Windows 7 so I chose partition size a bit smaller to leave some free space on the disk for Ubuntu that does not contain a partition. Maybe this free space does cause the problem?

[dino99 (9d9)]

hi Hendrick,

that report is too old, and apport is not used; so the ubiquity version is not known. Please open a fresh one using ubuntu-bug.
Closing that one as it is useless due to the lack of details and the now used ubiquity is way different that the one used in 2009.