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I followed the instructions in this thread to create a new swap partition post-installation. My /var/tmp/fstab file currently has the following in it:

/host/ubuntu/disks/swap.disk    none    swap    sw      0       0    
UUID=4ef64da8-c637-43de-a389-8a059eb6c069 none   swap    sw      0       0

GParted gives this error message: 

Warning:
NTFS signature is missing.
Failed to mount 'dev/sda1': Invalid argument
The device '/dev/sda1' doesn't have a valid NTFS.
Maybe you selected the wrong device? Or the whole disk instead of a partition? Or the
other way around? 

statvfs (): No such file or directory
Unable to read the contents of this file system!
Because of this some partitions may be unavailable.

Please help!

Other GParted stats:
File system: ntfs
Size: 199.00 MiB
Flags: boot

Path: /dev/sda1
Status: Mounted on
Label:
UUID: 4ef64da8-c637-43de-a389-8a059eb6c069

UPDATE: I posted a follow-up question that includes the Boot-Repair pastebin readout.

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QuietThud
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  • Unfortunately, computer has restarted and I am now getting a "Missing Operating System" message. All I am able to access are HP recovery tools for Windows (it's a dual-boot). Help would be appreciated! – QuietThud Nov 14 '12 at 07:07
  • Are you sure /dev/sda1 is the swap partition? Usually, that would be a Windows 7 boot partition, and I'd not recommend messing with it. Can you add the output of sudo fdisk -l to the question, as well as sudo blkid. – mikewhatever Nov 14 '12 at 07:07
  • @mikewhatever It does indeed seem to have been the Windows boot partition--what can I do now? – QuietThud Nov 14 '12 at 07:08
  • Not sure really, I am no W7 expert. In the worst case scenario, do you have any means of reinstalling W7? – mikewhatever Nov 14 '12 at 07:12
  • Any reason you have your fstab in /var/tmp? – Takkat Nov 14 '12 at 07:14
  • @mikewhatever I had HP tools "perform diagnostics" and as far as they can tell, everything is technically working fine. How would I go about fixing the partition without an OS? Is there a command line that I'm overlooking? – QuietThud Nov 14 '12 at 07:18
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    In case you have accidentally formatted your Windows partition see http://askubuntu.com/questions/49497/ntfs-recovery-software-for-ubuntu and more for recovery (I recommend Testdisk). – Takkat Nov 14 '12 at 07:19
  • Yea, I'll have to search for some way to recover W7's boot partition. Did you run mkswap on it? We might benefit from an overview of the current partition state and layout, so if you have a live CD/USB to boot from, run sudo fdisk -l #small L and post the output. – mikewhatever Nov 14 '12 at 07:27
  • @mikewhatever I did run mkswap. As soon as I figure out how to create a live USB, I will post the out. Annoyingly, I'm left with a small tablet for now. If you were to look into W7 boot partition recovery, that would be really awesome of you. – QuietThud Nov 14 '12 at 08:07
  • @Takkat I'm less concerned about recovering files than about recovering working partition settings--will this tool help? Will it give me a terminal? I greatly appreciate everyone's help, as I am fairly inexperienced. – QuietThud Nov 14 '12 at 08:12
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    Found this. Post #15 details the steps and the tools needed. – mikewhatever Nov 14 '12 at 10:33
  • @mikewhatever Not sure if this makes a difference, but I installed Linux using Wubi, not a CD/USB. – QuietThud Nov 14 '12 at 22:47
  • Yep, I know. There is no difference, as far as recovering the boot partition is concerned. – mikewhatever Nov 15 '12 at 04:43
  • @mikewhatever So as to cap this comments block, any way I can contact you if I have a further question? It's okay if you'd rather not post your contact info. You've been cool, thanks! = ) – QuietThud Nov 15 '12 at 05:23
  • You can post a comment here, and I'll see a notification, or get in touch through the Ubuntu Forums. I don't mind posting the email (don't use scocial media, sorry), but as I spend more time here or on the forum then checking mail, I'll get your message sooner. ...and speaking of the forum, I think it's a much better place to troublshoot stuff, post outputs, etc, not to mention some real experts. I've conacted one about this problem, and he suggested posting a forum thread. – mikewhatever Nov 15 '12 at 06:46
  • @mikewhatever I don't have a way to boot Win7, and so wasn't able to follow the linked instructions. I opened a new question that includes my Boot-Repair Pastebin readout--it would be great if you could take a look at it when you have the time. Thanks again! – QuietThud Nov 22 '12 at 18:40

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