Hi Evan,

I was trying to install Kubuntu 7.10 using the Alternate CD.  The 
instructions on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage told me to 
attribute the bug to the debian-installer.  My apologies if this 
attribution is inappropriate.  I am no expert but my first guess would 
not be grub but the package that invokes grub during the debian install 
which is probably the partitioner (whatever its package name is).

For my first two attempts at installation, Windows booted fine 
beforehand but would not boot afterwards.  During the installation, 
something (I think grub) issued a message along the lines that it would 
boot Windows on volume 1.

Here is the last line from boot.ini from a 'clean disk' installation of 
W2K that I can tell from the file properties has not been modified since 
W2K was installed:

    multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 
Professional" /fastdetect

Here is the same line from the boot.ini from the laptop I had problems 
with (after correction):

    multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 
Professional (on Volume 1)" /fastdetect

I changed (1) to (2) throughout boot.ini to get it to work.  Note the 
"(on Volume 1)"  which is not something Windows put there and is 
consistent with the message issued by during the Alternate CD install 
process.

When I say Windows would not boot I got the message:

    Windows could not start because the following file is missing or
    corrupt:
    <Windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe.
    Please re-install a copy of the above file

I used a rescue disk to boot Windows.  Since I was not sure at that time 
that boot.ini was the problem nor how to correct it, I changed boot.ini 
so that it gave me the choice of trying to boot Windows from each of the 
four primary partitions.  One choice booted Windows but the others gave 
me the ntoskrnl.exe message.

With this boot.ini in place I made my second attempt to install Kubuntu 
from the Alternate CD believing I would be able to boot Windows by trial 
and error if necessary.  At the end of the installation I again could 
not boot Windows and (after using the rescue disk again) I found that 
boot.ini had reverted to the single (wrong) choice of Volume 1.

Only when my third attempt at installation succeeded and I could still 
boot Windows and I had not seen the 'grub will boot Windows on volume 1' 
message did I realise I had enough information for someone to be able to 
reproduce the problem.  Here is that information in all the gory details:

Originally the laptop had:
    volume 1   hidden rescue partition
    volume 2   Windows ME

After installation of Windows 2K, the laptop had:
    volume 1   hidden rescue partition
    volume 2   Windows 2K
    volume 3   Extended partition

Before Kubuntu installation attempt #1 I deleted the hidden rescue 
partition and during installation created two more primary partitions in 
the free space:
    volume 1  /home
    volume 2 Windows 2K
    volume 3 Extended partition
    volume 4 swap

During Kubuntu installation attempt #2 I deleted and recreated (possibly 
in a different order) the Linux partitions swap, /home (and / in the 
extended partition).

During Kubuntu installation attempt #3 I simply reformatted the Linux 
partitions.  No partitions were destroyed or created.

My guess is that if the install does not rewrite the primary partition 
table then it sees no reason to update boot.ini.  If it does rewrite the 
partition table it decides it ought to update boot.ini (even though this 
should not be necessary since it didn't 'renumber' the primary 
partitions).  It does not tell grub which volume to use - it always 
tells grub to use volume 1.  This will be correct on a disk that has 
only ever had a C: drive on it, which happens to be case for the vast 
majority of disks.

If I can be of any further help, just let me know.


Evan Dandrea wrote:
> The installer does not write to the boot.ini file.  Are you sure your
> boot.ini changed between when you started then installer and it
> finished?
>
> ** Changed in: debian-installer (Ubuntu)
>        Status: New => Incomplete
>
>   

-- 
Paul Bryan Roberts
<email address hidden>
+44 023 8028 2208