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A while ago I put Ubuntu on my Windows computer. It was awesome, for a while. One day I restart my computer and it boots with an error message.

error: No such device ###############################
grub-rescue>

I couldn't boot to Windows or Ubuntu anymore... When I finally acquired a Live boot CD. I reinstalled grub2 and tried to boot again, but of course it's not configured to boot to anything (still need to figure out how to do that). What is strange is that when I run sudo fdisk -l from the Live CD terminal I get:

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *           1       25201   202424312    7  HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2           25201       30402    41771008    7  HPFS/NTFS

This certainly looks like my hardrive. I have around 200GB dedicated to Windows and 50 to Ubuntu, but why is Ubuntu NTFS? When I try exploring my Ubuntu partition I can't find much (Windows files are fine though). I'll happily give you more information if you ask.

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Sounds to me like windows some how wiped your partition. Did you by any chance attempt a windows recovery or something? – RolandiXor♦ Dec 10 '10 at 3:33
1  
Omg, so apparently I'm using something called Wubi? I think it is supposed to be on NTFS. But, now I need to figure out how to boot into either Windows or Ubuntu. All I'm getting now is a grub prompt with no menu. – Tozar Dec 10 '10 at 3:37
If you're using Wubi you SHOULD be shown the Windows Boot Manager first where you can choose from Windows or Ubuntu - choosing Ubuntu loads Grub. Does this sound familiar? – Marco Ceppi♦ Dec 10 '10 at 3:58
Yeah, I used to always get the Windows Boot Manager before Grub2, but not so much anymore. I found an article here ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1639198 that has very helpful instructions on how to fix this problem. Unfortunately, I didn't know Wubi was on the computer, and I reinstalled Grub2 (BAD IDEA)! I'm working on getting my hands on a boot disc or flashdrive for Windows 7 at the moment. At this point my MBR is totally out of whack (Invalid PT DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER). – Tozar Dec 10 '10 at 5:31
I would love to vote up both of those answers, but I don't have enough reputation. :) – Tozar Dec 10 '10 at 23:09

2 Answers

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As Takkat said, you will need to fix your MBR using windows tools from Windows installation CD. After your windows boot successfully you can use EasyBCD from here to add Ubuntu entry into widnows boot menu. This way you will get your Ubuntu back. There is a nice tutorial on how to add Wubi Ubuntu entry back to your Windows boot menu at http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/20340/how-to-restore-the-wubi-ubuntu-bootloader/

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+1 for the Wubi repair link :) – Takkat Dec 10 '10 at 16:35
Accepted this answer because it has the most to do with Linux, I also already kinda knew what needed to be done on Windows. However, both are relevant. – Tozar Dec 10 '10 at 23:10
up vote 2 down vote

After erroneous Grub2 installation to the MBR of your harddisk you will have to run Windows tools from the installation CD as described in detail in KB927392. To completely rewrite your Master Boot Record you will have to boot the Windows recovery environment. There you will be able to run the tool

bootrex.exe /FixMbr

to write a new boot record. Option /FixBoot will write a new partition record.

You will then hopefully be able to boot Windows again. For further installations having Ubuntu and Windows on the same machine I recommend a dual boot setup, installing Windows first.

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