Omar's Blog

I’ve had so much grief with WUBI and the dreaded sh:grub prompt and grub-pc in the last few months. After many workarounds for getting fixing Wubi after each kernel update. I decided it was taking up too much of my time, so I erased Windows from my work laptop, and installed Ubuntu natively. However, there are so many people still using Wubi, and there is no official Wubi fix for the problem on their forums yet, so I decided to write up this post with a new fix which seems to work rather well (it works wonderfully on my home computer that had Vista and Wubi installed).

Thanks to Richard Carter for pinging back to my original blog post with what seems to be THE right way to fix this problem.

It seems the newer kernels (2.6.31-19 and up) and Grub2 had a strange incompatibility when trying to boot from NTFS. In this write-up, they mention that the cause of the problem is:

To be able to boot Wubi, Grub2 has to access the ntfs partition which is hosting Wubi. There is a bug in Grub 2, which prevents Grub2 to read any files on an ntfs partition beyond the first 4GB. If any of the boot files is outside of the 4GB limit, booting will fail. Depending on which boot file is outside the limit, the symptoms can be quite different. Since any kernel or Grub update relocates some of the boot files, you might be hit by this bug at any time.

So, how do we fix this? It’s actually very easy. All you need to do is download a new Wubildr file which corrects the problem from here. (You can safely do this from within Windows if you cannot boot into Linux). Then just copy that file to your Windows c:\ drive, overwriting the faulty wubildr file that was there.

After that, just reboot and your machine should boot into Linux normally. It worked like a charm for me, and it even kept on working well after upgrading kernels from 2.6.31-19 to 2.6.31-20.

After all the the trouble I’ve had with WUBI these last few months. I decided, over the weekend, that I’d suffered enough. I gave up on WUBI and on Windows all together. I downloaded the latest ISO file from Ubuntu.com, I burnt it onto a CD, and booted-up from it. I told the installation to format everything and just run native Ubuntu from an ext4 file-system.

You know what? I couldn’t be happier! The whole computer feels more responsive, I think it may also have something to do with the fact that I installed 64bit Ubuntu rather than the 32bit version I was using before.. (Although I know a whole bunch of people that’ll probably argue that THAT has nothing to do with it).

Oh, and what about those far and between times that I need to use Windows for something at the office? Well.. I installed WindowsXP in a VirtualBox Virtual Machine that I run whenever I need to use Windows for something. It’s not fantastic, but I can do my Windows stuff quickly, then turn off the virtual machine, and get back to work in my Ubuntu environment.

I’m very glad I took the plunge to 100% Ubuntu all the time. I’m happier for it! No more Windows-related hassles. I even get back home from work in a happier mood, because there are so little technology related annoyances throughout the day.

If you’re having trouble with WUBI and kernel updates, and my previous posts about how to fix it aren’t working anymore… I recommend this: Get rid of Windows and just install Ubuntu as your primary OS.. then run Windows in a VirtualBox.. you’ll be happier for it! And as an added bonus, you’ll be using the ext4 file-system, which is a thing of beauty!

You all know the trouble I’ve had with Wubi, grub, and kernel updates. Well, this morning I got bit again. This time, the Update Manager was telling me there was a new version of the kernel out here: 2.6.31-19 and that I should upgrade.

Well aware that this would probably mean having to fix grub again (like I’ve done a few times before, and even wrote a blog post about), I went ahead and let Update Manager do it’s thing. I continued to work throughout the process. When it was all done, it asked me to reboot. I wasn’t finished working so I told it I’d reboot later. I left for lunch, and turned off my machine.

Sure enough, when I came back from lunch, the system failed to boot and I was greeted by the now too familiar  grub screen. The boot process had crashed again, and my fix did not work. It seems the new kernel panics every time it tries to boot from the virtual filesystem.

Sadly the only way I’ve been able to fix this is to boot my older kernel (in my case it was 2.6.31-17) using the technique that that I posted a while back. You can click here to read how to do it. After you’ve logged back into your system, you’ll need to go to System> Administration> Synaptic Package Manage. Once there, search for “linux-image” (without the quotes). You will get a list of packages. Scroll down until you find the offending package.. in my case it was:

linux-image-2.6.31-19-generic

Click on the green box, and select “Mark for Complete Removal”. Then click on the big green check-mark with the legend Apply. Synaptic will then remove the kernel, and should update your grub automatically. Once that is done… cross your fingers and reboot your computer. It should run again well, after that. Alas, it won’t be using the latest and greatest (this could be debated) kernel, but at least you’ll be only one version down, and your computer will boot again in Wubi.

If it doesn’t boot up automatically, and you get greeted by the grub command line. Just use my previous post on fixing grub-pc, and it will clear up the problem and work again flawlessly.

I really hope somebody at Canonical will take note of this and make sure their next kernel update doesn’t kill wubi… because to be honest it’s getting a bit of a pain in the rear to have to fix this every time there’s a new kernel update.

I’m seriously starting to think about ditching wubi all together and just partitioning my hard drive again (even if it will piss off IT department). Then again, I should probably just ditch Windows altogether and move the laptop completely to Ubuntu… I mean it’s all I really use nowadays. Time will tell.

I really hope this fixes the problem for you as well as it has fixed it for me.

This week, one of the updates that were recommended by the Ubuntu Update Manager was the newest grub-pc. As soon as I saw it on the list of updates to install I got that sinking feeling…”This is going to wreck my Wubi installation again, isn’t it?”

Sure enough, it wrecked it.

Good news is, the fix I posted a few weeks ago still works. So if you find that your Wubi installation is not working after updating, make sure you read my post on how to fix it. It still works, and you’ll be back to booting Ubuntu normally in no time.

Why I use Wubi

I love Ubuntu. It’s the operating system I use the most. But even with all my love for the platform, there are still a couple of applications and things that I must do on my computer (mostly legacy Business Intelligence software) that require Microsoft Windows. Because of those applications, my computers have some sort of Windows installed on them. In my case it’s Windows Vista.

Vista is rather picky when it comes to installing service packs. If it finds that the MBR is missing or has been changed or that the partition table has been modified, it fails to install the updates. This is where Wubi comes into the story.

I love Wubi. It lets you install Ubuntu onto your computers without having to partition your Windows hard drive. Your Ubuntu installation lives in a virtual filesystem that lives on a file inside your windows filesystem (NTFS), and to boot into it, Wubi adds itself to Window’s bootloader menu.

The Trouble Begins:

A few weeks ago, Ubuntu updated the grub-pc package to version 2.0, and if you use the Update Manager regularly, chances are it will be automatically downloaded and installed on your computer. Here’s the trouble: It WILL break your Wubi installation! Luckily there’s a fix for it, although it took me a while to find it on the Ubuntu forums. Here I’ve tried to summarize it for you:

The fix:

When you boot and select Ubuntu from the menu, instead of booting Ubuntu (if you are having the problem) you will be confronted by a text prompt like this one:

sh:grub>

To boot back into your existing installation of Ubuntu you will need to type the following commands:

sh:grub> linux /boot/vmlinuz-(Your version of the kernel) root=/dev/(Your Windows partition) loop=/ubuntu/disks/root.disk ro

sh:grub> initrd /boot/initrd.img-(Your version of the kernel)

sh:grub> boot

Quick-tip: The new version of grub features auto-complete (very much like bash does). So, if you are not sure which version of the kernel you have, just use the TAB key when you get to the (Your version of the kernel) part of the command, and it should auto-complete with the files it finds in that directory.

When you get to the part about (Your Windows partition), this will usually be “sda1″ or “sda2″. However your mileage may vary depending on how many drives and partitions your computer has, and where you decided to install Ubuntu when you installed it the 1st time. To find out how many partitions you have, use:

sh:grub> ls -l

This will list all the partitions it can find in this format: hd(0,1), hd(0,2), etc. The first number is the physical disk. The second number stands for the partition number. Hence:

• hd(0,1) = /dev/sda1
• hd(0,2) = /dev/sda2
• hd(1,1) = /dev/sdb1
• hd(2,1) = /dev/sdc1
• and so on…

If you can’t boot into your Ubuntu installation with /dev/sda1, try the other partitions that you found with the ls -l command. One of them HAS to be it! Try “root=/dev/sda1″ first, if it doesn’t work, try again but iterate your way up… “root=/dev/sda2″, etc.

After you type in the ” boot” command, Ubuntu should start to load and you should be greeted by your desktop, in full working order. BUT, we’re not done yet: we still have to fix grub so that you don’t have to type in those commands every time you want to boot into your system.

Open your Synaptic Package Manager, found on the Gnome-Panel menu under: System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager. In the “Quick search” field, type in grub-pc. You should now be confronted with a list of packages. Focus on grub-pc, which should have an Ubuntu logo and a green square next to it. Right click on it, and select “Mark for Reinstallation”. Then click on the big green checkmark (Apply). After it has finished reinstalling that package, your troubles should be over, and your Wubi installation should be back to normal. Try a reboot, just to make sure it has all worked properly!

Hope this helps.

It’s been a while since my wife and I had some quality time alone with each other. The last time we had a few days alone was a little more than a year ago, when we took for a long weekend in Panama. This time, as a way to celebrate our 10th anniversary, we took off for the beach (Decameron Resort, in El Salvador).

First things first.. the resort is awesome. I’d never been down here before, because it’s pretty tough to justify going to a resort when we have a beach house at our disposal, but our 10th anniversary gives us a pretty great excuse to splurge a bit. And my oh my, is it worth it. Great atmosphere, full of people having fun (quite full as a matter of fact), and the service has been excellent as well.There is some sort of banker’s conference going on in the resort, so it’s probably more crowded than usual today, yet the service has been excellent even with the added visitors… and watching the bankers have a good time at the resort just adds to the charm of the place.

The weather has been a bit crazy, though, raining for good parts of the day, and clearing up enough to let the sun peek dramatically through the clouds for some fantastic photo opportunities (I’m kicking myself for not bringing my good camera). But rainy weather is also perfect for us to unwind in… napping, charging our batteries for a hopefully better day tomorrow.

As I type this, I’m on a small bar by the pool, drinking a rum & coke with great 3G reception on the netbook. I’m watching a fun water polo match in the pool to my right, and watching sunset on the beach to my left. My wife is still asleep in our room, when she wakes, we’ll get ready for our dinner (reservations at 6:30), then plan which activities to go to.. she has already told me I had to take her dancing tonight.. always a fun time!

I’m having a great time so far, and whatever we don’t get to do tonight, we’ll be able to do tomorrow night… life is good! If the weather is any good tomorrow, we may even give the Kayak’s and the SPA a try.

It’s been the perfect anniversary gift (for me anyway, I may have to give her more of these “gifts” in the future).

Signing out from Paradise,

Omar

10 years ago today I was getting a few of the last minute details ready for my wedding ceremony and my honeymoon. It seems like it was yesterday. So much has happened; many great times, some bad times, and lots and lots of laughs!

It seems like yesterday that I married my wife, it seems like yesterday that we used to live alone in our apartment with your cat.

We traveled a lot back then, Cancún, Orlando, New Orleans for Mardi Gras, Las Vegas for COMDEX, our Mediterranean cruise, Florida (somewhere in the Redneck Riviera for Monique and Jean’s wedding), Antigua Guatemala with friends. Sometimes the trips would be long and planned ahead, most of the time it was just a drive to the beach for lunch.

Then we started doing grown-up things: Buying our first car together, a Red Toyota Yaris, that we called “The PokeBall” because it was red, and very small; fighting over the plans of what is now our house; building our house; deciding we wanted to have a family.

The first five years of our marriage were devoted to having fun together, exploring ourselves, and buying things for each other. Somewhere between all those trips and parties we decided to build a house and start nesting… which actually came in very handy because we finished our house just in the right time to settle in and have our first child.

The second five years of our marriage have been all about family life. We’ve had three wonderful kids so far… they are our pride and joy. They keep us feeling young and old at the same time. They fill us with so much love and happiness, it immediately erases all the memories of the worrying when they get sick, the night-time feedings, the lost sleep, the expenses.. oh, yes… and the diaper changing.. eewww.

Even just hanging out, saying nothing, just vegging out in front of the TV, nodding off next to each other, trying to stay awake even though the kids have tired us out all day long, is the most enjoyable part of the day because we have each other near.

10 years of my life with my woman. I am a very lucky and happy guy.

• RT @paigerpenland: Let's try that link again: El Salvador is Lonely Planet's top travel destination for 2010! http://is.gd/4MBLt #
• The plan is to get out of bed and into the shower… But having trouble sticking to the plan. #
• Holy Moley… Echofon Pro is so much better than the regular echofon. Definitely worth the $5 #
• @hmaida Good luck Hector! Much success! in reply to hmaida #
• Working at Matrketbeat today… Got my game face on.. spooky ain't it? http://dailybooth.com/u/yfxq #
• Charamusca: Cultura Chupística: Cosas en el Gabinete de un Baño Salvadoreño.: Dedicado con cariño a .. http://bit.ly/49uqZp #
• @onlyangel SIIIIII Thank you, sería Excelente! Hay forma de incluir el stream para los shows en vivo? in reply to onlyangel #
• Temblorcito de dos partes… algo simpático.. si no te dió pálida la 1era vez, la segundo de seguro que sí te aturró en nance! #
• RT @samuelbran: Salvadoreño publica tutorial de GIMP en Abduzeedo.com http://bit.ly/2wsaM2 Felicidades!!! @squidjam #
• ComicGeekos: Su momento vergon-zoso Geeko?: http://bit.ly/4G6tbM #

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• @ferlopez Wow… Excelente.. gracias! in reply to ferlopez #
• RT @ferlopez: buenas noticias @omaregan http://bit.ly/aK8yU #
• Trabajando desde casa el día de hoy. #
• @sansivar hoy me tocó igual a mi. Cuesta un poco concentrarse en el trabajo aqui en casa in reply to sansivar #
• @marc_elo Hola, saludos! No problema, quedamos para el próximo lunes! in reply to Marc_elo #
• Working from home today. http://dailybooth.com/u/y686 #
• Multi-monitores en Ubuntu Rockea!! #
• time to have lunch with my wife and son. This is the best part of working at home today! #
• Ubuntu multi-monitor support rocks! http://dailybooth.com/u/y70d #
• Otro problema de trabajar desde casa… un power-nap tiende a convertirse en un MEGANAP… crap debo reponer horas. #
• Me super gusta los programas que agarran toda tu musica y te crea playlists en base a last.fm. Te permiten re-descubrir tu propia musica #
• En una clace acerca de llaves GPG a través del IRC en el canal de #ubuntu-centroamerica #
• Hoy a las 8:00pm, Hora de El Salvador.. un nuevo episodio de Comic Geekos! #
• GDF = Guádefó = WTF MEGALOL! #
• @oscarmartell Se puede poner un par de dias en una caja con arroz seco Y con un foco que lo mantenga un poco caliente… in reply to oscarmartell #
• @oscarmartell Si eso no funciona, le agregas un poco de canela y leche y haces arroz con leche! in reply to oscarmartell #
• Mi esposita me trajo un cafecito de Starbucks (de los de botellita). perfecta manera de teraminar una jornada d etrabajo en casa… #
• Setting up the studio for a new Comic Geekos Episode. Listen to us and chat with us at http://live.svmedios.com #
• Ya estamos transmitiendo la grabación de Comic Geekos. Nos pueden escuchar y chatear en http://live.svmedios.com #
• Recording Comic Geekos! http://dailybooth.com/u/yc63 #
• ya está disponible el episodio 238 de Comic Geekos, para escucharlo y/o descargarlo, lo pueden hacer aqui: http://tr.im/E5ck #
• Nuevo avatar.. recordando mi fiesta de disfraces de este año. #
• A ver si con este nuevo avatar le levanto un poco los animos a @hectordj #
• @yami178 Si, pero del bueno! in reply to yami178 #
• @yami178 It's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. (no recuerdo quien dijo esto.. pero es verdad). in reply to yami178 #
• @yami178 Imaginese la fabulosa oportunidad que se está perdiendo de encontrar el siguiente enamoramiento. La vida es finita. in reply to yami178 #
• La vida es una serie se emociones y momentos.. lastimosamente la vida es finita y cada día estamos mas cerca a nuestro propio final. #
• Hay q aprovechar la vida al máximo antes de q nos demos cuenta que ya estamos muy "viejos" para hacer algunas cosas que pudimos haber hecho. #
• @mariopleitez exactamente in reply to mariopleitez #
• @Queith suena divertidamente a "siganme los buenos…" in reply to Queith #
• @Queith suena divertidamente similar a "siganme los buenos…" in reply to Queith #
• ComicGeekos: CG238 – MIEDO!: http://bit.ly/43Wld4 #

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