"A Disk Read Error" while starting Windows after Ubuntu upgrade + Boot Repair

Question

I just upgraded to 12.10. After installing the files and rebooting I had come across following problem:

error file not found
grub rescue> _

This problem was easily solved by repairing the boot using Boot Repair tool. This answer helped me.

But after this, Windows won't start. It's giving following error:

A disk read error has occurred
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

How do I fix this?

Solution 1

I had the same problem and I fixed it by standing on the Windows 7 loader drive and press E to edit.

My insmod was set to ldm and the set root was set to /ldm/(lotofhexnumbers)/volume1.

So I edit these two lines and press Ctrl+X this will boot but will not save this is just for testing.

insmod part_msdos

set root='(hd0,msdos1)'

If it works for you, boot back in to Ubuntu sudo gedit /boot/grub/grub.cfg.

Look for menuentry the name of your boot profile, edit the lines below and save, reboot and selecting the Windows will boot normally.

insmod part_msdos

set root='(hd0,msdos1)'

Solution 2

Running the boot-repair tool does more than fix grub. It looks like it busted your windows boot config. If you run the "startup repair" program that is on your windows 7 install disk, that should fix your Windows boot, but will probably again overwrite grub.

To fix this, try following the following steps:

Boot from the live CD.

Open up a terminal and find out which partition has your Ubuntu installation:

sudo fdisk -l

Mount your partition:

sudo mount /dev/sdaX /mnt  # sdaX is the partition that has Ubuntu

Bind mount some other necessary stuff:

for i in /sys /proc /run /dev; do sudo mount --bind "$i" "/mnt$i"; done

chroot into your Ubuntu install:

sudo chroot /mnt

At this point, you're in your install, not the live CD, and running as root. Update grub:

update-grub
grub-install /dev/sda
update-grub

If everything worked without errors, then you're all set:

exit
sudo reboot

At this point, you should be able to choose which OS you want to boot into on startup.

Solution 3

1. Fix Windows via a Windows disk: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestoreUbuntu/XP/Vista/7Bootloader , until you get direct access to Windows.
2. then use Boot-Repair to recover the GRUB menu

Comments

[bcbc]

Boot-repair does more than just reinstall grub. You need to post the link it provides to show what it's doing and what state you are in afterwards.

[Eliah Kagan]

Related: How can I repair grub? (How to get Ubuntu back after installing Windows?)

[Admin]

This should help probably. It worked for me. askubuntu.com/questions/216800/…

[Ravindra S]

I tried this. It restored the windows after first step. But after using Boot-repair, it reproduced the same problem :(

[LovinBuntu]

Boot-Repair simply reinstalls GRUB, so I guess the problem is that GRUB damages the Windows bootloader. Please indicate the URL that appears after you run the Recommended Repair. This will give us clues about your problem.

[Alex L.]

Hand modifying files in /boot is ALMOST NEVER the best option and it certainly is not here.

[Amir Reza Adib]

if theres knowledge around customizing boot configuration then surely its last resort when other options doesn't work,In my experience this is what helped me many times.and i recommended to gather some info before doing that.( Clearly you loose nothing with this method which can't be returnable )

[Eliah Kagan]

Why run update-grub a second time right after grub-install? Doesn't grub-install do everything update-grub does (and more)?

[krisanalfa]

YOU SAVED MY LIFE!