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Cant Get Linux to see vista partition


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#1
DarkMystic122

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Ok to go into detail about my situation. This morning I decide to try and install Fedora linux on a Vista system. I go online research how to install side by side and I follow the steps in how to just run the install from the live cd well that didnt go over well it shrunk the vista partition then when it started to install it ran into an error and and then I restarted the computer and it says Winload.exe was missing. So I research the problem, I download this vista rescue cd where it has the repair utilities from a full vista install cd. I run the tools on it I cant get it to see the C drive at all. So I go back and install Fedora linux. I try to get linux to mount C drive and this is the detailed error it gives me:

Error mounting: mount exited with exit code 12: Failed to read last sector (485320687): Invalid argument
HINTS: Either the volume is a RAID/LDM but it wasn't setup yet,
or it was not setup correctly (e.g. by not using mdadm --build ...),
or a wrong device is tried to be mounted,
or the partition table is corrupt (partition is smaller than NTFS),
or the NTFS boot sector is corrupt (NTFS size is not valid).
Failed to mount '/dev/sda2': Invalid argument
The device '/dev/sda2' doesn't seem to have a valid NTFS.
Maybe the wrong device is used? Or the whole disk instead of a
partition (e.g. /dev/sda, not /dev/sda1)? Or the other way around?
===End===

At this point I have one main concern, which is to recover my work files from the vista partition before I do a factory restore to my computer. If I can fix Vista great but I would like to save the last few weeks worth of work if possible. Further information about my system is a Toshiba Satellite A215 S4767. Thank you in advance.
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#2
Kemasa

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Could you post what the partition table looks like? If you boot Linux, you can use the command "fdisk -l" as root.

Since Vista was already on the machine, I am surprised that it is saying that it is trying to mount it as /dev/sda2, which is the second partition.

Have you tried to boot Vista?

As a side note, you should always backup the system before installing a new OS or resizing an existing partition.
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#3
DarkMystic122

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Yes I have tried to boot vista, it says it cant find Winload.exe and says I should try to repair or reinstall the OS. I did the terminal command and I got this:

Disk /dev/sda: 250.1 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0xb4cf3606

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 192 1536000 27 Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary.
/dev/sda2 * 192 26708 212992000 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 26708 26772 512000 83 Linux
/dev/sda4 26772 30402 29157376 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 26772 30402 29156352 8e Linux LVM

Disk /dev/dm-0: 24.1 GB, 24125636608 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 2933 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/dm-0 doesn't contain a valid partition table

Disk /dev/dm-1: 5704 MB, 5704253440 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 693 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

Disk /dev/dm-1 doesn't contain a valid partition table
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#4
Kemasa

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Perhaps others can speak more about the filesystem, but my next step would be to boot the Vista disk and try to check the filesystem and also try to repair the boot process.

Partition 1 might be a hidden partition, which many computer companies seem to use.

The /dev/dm* devices are a bit of a concern. I am not sure if those are coming from a RAID setup or something else, such as another device.

The Knoppix Live CD has tools for doing some checking on a NTFS filesystem, but it is limited and can not do all of what might be needed.
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#5
Incoming

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If you still have Vista installed and it isn't loading because it's missing winload, my suggestion would be to boot up a live cd or live usb, then insert another usb that contains a copy of winload.exe, and get it into the filesystem for your vista partition and place it in it's appropriate location. I'm not experienced with this though, so you'd need more professional help. :D
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#6
Jordi Ruiz

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Some operations with a hard disk, such as an error when installing an additional operating system, can damage the boot sector of the disk, thus preventing it from booting.

You may try to restore your Master Boot Record. Follow these instructions to restore the MBR:

Insert a XP installation CD in the CD-ROM drive and reboot the computer.

While booting, the boot program on the CD detects any existing, bootable partitions on the hard disk, stops the boot process and only continues booting once a key has been pressed.

On the first screen of the Windows Setup program, select "R" and on the next screen, select "K" to run the Recovery Console.

Now, enter the following command

fixmbr

If, after re-starting, the hard disk is still not able to be booted, you can also re-create the boot sector in the first partition.

In order to do this, return to the Recovery Console and type in this command

fixboot c:
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#7
DarkMystic122

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Well I didn't think of the XP Installation disk FixMBR. But I tried every which way I could to use Vista install CD/DVD to repair the boot problem but Vista was complaining about drivers aren't loaded for the hard drive. So after a frustrating few days of being out of town, tinkering with the repair tools, with none of my other tools and only the internet with only a Fedora 13 (Linux) partition that worked I used PhotoRec and recovered most of the work I did within 48 hours of just leaving my computer alone and voila my work was saved and then when I got home I just did a complete factory restore and windows is back.

Edited by DarkMystic122, 23 September 2010 - 12:57 PM.

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#8
anzenketh

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For future reference to recover the BootMGR you would boot to the VISTA CD and click on startup repair.

You could also click on Command Prompt in the vista cd and type in bootrec /fixboot.
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#9
UniversityAve

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Error mounting: mount exited with exit code 12: Failed to read last sector (485320687): Invalid argument

I rectified this problem with the linux command "ntfsfix /dev/sdb1"

You'll find more details at http://ubuntuforums....846&postcount=5
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