Help with dual boot, multi boot Windows 8 and Ubuntu

Question

I am using a netbook preloaded with Windows 7 Starter. This worked fine.

Then, In installed Ubuntu 10.4 and for a while, I could use BOTH Ubuntu and Windows as GRUB was automatically loaded with Ubuntu installation. I could choose which system OS to use upon load up.

Then, one day, Windows disappeared and I could not recover Windows, so I have been using Ubuntu 10.0.4 on this system for about 2 years.

Subsequently, Ubuntu 10.0.4 froze too many times, so I partitioned and installed Ubuntu 12.0.1.

Once again, GRUB 2 was automatically installed, and I could choose between UBUNTU 10 and 12 each boot up. This was fine but I never recovered my WINDOWS documents from the disappeared Windows 7 OS.

So recently, I installed WINDOWS 8 on a separate partition (about 20 GB), and set up a storage FAT 32 partition (for storage of files, both Ubuntu and Windows) so I don't have to reboot using the same files from different systems.

Windows loaded fine, and detected this partition. Windows as C: and the Partition as D:

However, both my UBUNTUs went missing.

Then, I set up UBUNTU STUDIO 12.0.1 on my USB stick and using the terminal, I managed to run BOOT-REPAIR. UBUNTU STUDIO shows my UBUNTU 10.4.0 drive as existent but UBUNTU 12 is not detected, with all the files missing.

In place of the UBUNTU 12 drive, it now only shows UNALLOCATED SPACE. QUESTION: How can I reactivate both UBUNTU 12, the old WINDOWS 7, windows 8, on a multi-boot strategy so that I can choose from different OS each time I reboot, with GRUB LOADER showing and letting me choose??

Upon reboot, my netbook shows NO OS FOUND, and the only way I can even work the computer is to use the USB LIVE UBUNTU STUDIO 12.

But I can't get the netbook to multi-boot on its own any of the system and all my files are frozen!!

Can someone help me? I have been surfing the web for days and spent 3 days and nights figuring this out and my neck is sprained and hurts. How can I access my files?

If this is not possible, I just want my UBUNTU back and not WINDOWS 8 cos the problem seems to have started when I installed WINDOWS 8, and I don't have files on that System OS, so I can afford to delete that.

Ideally, I would like to be able to multi boot all three systems from GRUB LOADER, but that doesn't seem to work. Each time I reinstall GRUB, it only shows the previous sessions of UBUNTU 10.0.1. All the rest are not detectable.

Please help.

This is what my fdisk -l shows

ubuntu-studio@ubuntu-studio:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 320.1 GB, 320072933376 bytes 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders, total 625142448 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0x00072a92

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sda1 * 2048 156934143 78466048 83 Linux /dev/sda2 156934144 283422719 63244288 b W95 FAT32 /dev/sda3 283422720 325584895 21081088 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT /dev/sda4 325586942 625141759 149777409 5 Extended /dev/sda5 619190272 625141759 2975744 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/sdb: 4007 MB, 4007657472 bytes 61 heads, 21 sectors/track, 6110 cylinders, total 7827456 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk identifier: 0x0009e302

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sdb1 * 63 7827455 3913696+ b W95 FAT32

Answer 1

This was fine but I never recovered my WINDOWS documents from the disappeared Windows 7 OS.

Things just don't happen by themselves - you should have been able to access all the documents on your windows partition from within ubuntu.

Sounds like you've made a right hash of your system! When you install ubuntu it should detect the windows and other ubuntu installations and give you the option to install the new operating system side by side. The new boot loader should also feature the previous OSs - I can't say the same for windows though.

My advice - wipe the whole machine. You have backups of your documents don't you?

Install windows (if you must). DO NOT allocate the entire drive to windows. Leave enough for ubuntu.

THEN install ubuntu - it should detect the windows installation. It should work.

Answer 2

TRY THESE.....

Boot on your Ubuntu-Secure disk

Choose "Try Ubuntu"

Connect internet

Open a terminal and type the following command (this will update Boot-Repair):

"sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair boot-sav"

Run Boot-Repair, click "Recommended Repair". Write on a paper the new URL that will appear.

Reboot the pc, you should get a GRUB menu with access to both Ubuntu and Windows.

If any problem, indicate the new URL.

Answer 3

1). Use ubuntu live cd . 2). Mount all the disk partitions. 3). Update the grub "update-grub2". It will list all the os in your system.