Member Avatar for Dennis7

I have been using a dual boot system for several months with no problems...Windows XP PRO on drive 0, and Ubutu on drive 1. Use GRUB to choose which OS. One day, about 2 weeks ago, for no apparent reason, I can't get into Windows. When I choose Windows from GRUB, I get the "Starting Up" message, and nothing happens. Can get into Ubuntu fine, everything works fine. Can access files on the Windows drive from Ubuntu, and the Windows disk get a "PASS" on the diagnostics check. Bearing in mind that I am not a techie, what can I try to resolve this. I tried running the repair console from the Windows CD, no luck, it does the file overwrites, then says to reboot, but can't access Windows. Any help appreciated..lwould really like to not have to reformat the drive...most stuff is backed up, but hate to reinstall all the programs. Thanks in advance.

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Brief expert summary and a focused checklist that builds on @ingnis, and without repeating their posts.

The fact that the Windows partition is readable from Ubuntu and the disk passed diagnostics strongly points away from raw hardware failure. That makes the problem most likely to be at the Windows-stage boothand-off (missing/corrupt boot files, wrong partition marked active, damaged Windows boot sector/MBR) or a GRUB chainload mismatch — not the filesystem itself.

Non‑destructive checks to run from Ubuntu first (do these before any writes):

  • Identify the Windows partition and mount it read‑only; confirm these files exist at the partition root: NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM and boot.ini (XP uses those).
  • Schedule a quick NTFS fix from Linux (this only flags the volume for Windows chkdsk and fixes minor metadata).
  • Back up the current MBR before any changes.

Example commands (replace sdXN / sdX with the correct devices from fdisk -l):

sudo fdisk -l
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/win
sudo mount -t ntfs-3g -o ro /dev/sdXN /mnt/win
ls -la /mnt/win | egrep 'NTLDR|NTDETECT|boot.ini|Windows'
sudo ntfsfix /dev/sdXN
sudo dd if=/dev/sdX of=~/mbr-backup.bin bs=512 count=1    # backup MBR (careful)

If files are missing or repairs do not help, use the Windows XP Recovery Console (boot from the XP CD, press R) to repair Windows boot components:

fixboot
fixmbr
chkdsk /r
bootcfg /rebuild

If NTLDR or NTDETECT.COM are missing, copy them from the CD’s i386 folder via the Recovery Console.

If GRUB chainloading is still suspected (as others have suggested), verify the GRUB entry points to the correct partition and only then consider reinstalling GRUB — but only after backing up the MBR above. From Ubuntu you can reinstall/update GRUB and regenerate its menu:

sudo grub-install /dev/sdX
sudo update-grub

If those repairs fail, tools such as TestDisk (to check/repair partition boot flags and boot sectors) or a current antivirus rescue ISO are useful next steps. Always back up user data before any destructive operation; an in‑place repair install of XP is the final non‑data‑loss option if boot repairs fail.

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Member Avatar for ingrammusic

Edit the grub file:

/boot/grub/grub.conf

Member Avatar for ybkumar77

I think for reason unknown, the grub loader might have got corrupted. try fixing it first.

Member Avatar for Dan08

Sometimes, (it happened to me once) upgrades overwrite the grub file (it normally asks you as well, if you want to overwrite it or not). Can you paste your grub file here, so we can see if the problem actually is coming from the grub or not, at least makes it easier. Anyway, if you've checked the grub and you're sure that everything is as it should be, then my second guess is, that you've been infected and you're windows can not open for some weird reason (virus, i guess). And good luck, Dan08.

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