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I am new to ubuntu.

I was using windows 8.1 and wanted to install ubntu 14.04lts.To do this i had 4partitions C,D(Dbase),E(Study),F(Media),I and a free space of 26GB.By using universalusb installer,i made a bootable USB and restarted the system which booted into ubuntu installation media.I disable fast boot by power options.

I clicked on install ubuntu,and clicked "Something else" to install. I had this 26 gb free space.I used 2048Mb for swap area and rest for "/"(not gave any memory for '/boot') and completed installation.Then i removeed the usb and restarted.It took me into ubuntu without any options to choose.There was also a black screen before booting into ubuntu.I thougth that installtion was not sucessful and reinstalled ubuntu by usb and clicking on "reinstall ubuntu".Till now i did not check my partitions.After reinstallation,a boot menu appeared with Ubuntu,Advancedoptons, no windows.

I checked the files and there are no hard disk partitions.

I tried boot repair and it gave me this url: http://paste.ubuntu.com/11798860/

I tried using windows "bootsec /fixmbr" and no use. Is there any way to get my windows back?

When run this sudo fdisk -l:

WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sda'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.
Disk /dev/sda: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000
   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1               1   976773167   488386583+  ee  GPT
Partition 1 does not start on physical sector boundary.

And when I run testdesk tools deepersearch with intel/pc partition I got this:

https://i.stack.imgur.com/qIbBD.jpg

I can see my parttions : System reserved,Dbase,study and media. Now what could i do?Please help me recover my partitions?

Pilot6
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vijay naidu
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    Hello. Dual boot into Windows 8.1 is a non-easy task so don't be scared if Windows won't boot at this very moment. Your information is safe, just make sure you don't wipe your HDD. For dual boot Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu, Windows should be shut down, physically. Remember that Windows now has the "fast boot" option enabled by default (read this http://askubuntu.com/a/452080/9598), after fixing the fast boot issue please refer to this answer and inform if this is helpful for you: http://askubuntu.com/a/88432/9598 Good luck! – Geppettvs D'Constanzo Jun 30 '15 at 13:45
  • Hi.I have done that.While loading it is showing /dev/efi cannot be loaded and booting ubuntu.Please give suggestions – vijay naidu Jun 30 '15 at 14:37
  • @vijaynaidu you basically installed Ubuntu along side windows, right? You may need to simply run 'sudo update-grub' for the Windows OS to appear on the grub boot loader. Give this a shot, then reboot and see if it gives you the option to boot from windows. – Joe Jun 30 '15 at 15:09
  • I cannot find any hard disk partitions.I reinstalled ubuntu again from usb by clicking 'reinstall ubuntu'.is all the data gone?I have seen this post about a bug in ubuntu installation http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2014/08/ubuntu-installer-bug-wipes-partitions – vijay naidu Jun 30 '15 at 15:44
  • Hello vijay naidu. Please use the edit button (http://askubuntu.com/posts/642743/edit) to improve your question with the details on your attempts. It's a bit difficult to read and understand what you have done so far. Include as many details as you can in the original question (when editing) in order to get the best support from the users over here. Thank you! – Geppettvs D'Constanzo Jun 30 '15 at 17:38

2 Answers2

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You erased Windows. Did you do full backup of Windows? If you had also used the Something Else install option on reinstall you would not have had this problem. But auto reinstall erases system.

If you have any data you want to try to recover stop using system. You will not be able to recover all data nor workable system. You can try testdisk or photorec, but many say Windows tools work better.

Reinstall says overwrite Ubuntu but it also erases existing Windows or any other partitions. Sept 2014 Fix being released for one drive installs, but multiple drive installs must use Something Else. And fix is not in current versions. this bug was fixed in the package ubiquity - 2.18.8.3 jan 2015

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+bug/1265192

oldfred
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  • I recovered important files using 'testdisk copy files' and decided to clean my harddrive and installed windows 8.1. I really want to use ubuntu.Now,Could you tell me the Safest,Easy way to install ubuntu? I have now two partitions : C(96gb),F(150gb) and unallocated space of 220 gb,My configuration is i3 processor,4gb ram,1(intel )+1(amd)gb graphics,Please suggest ways to install ubuntu. – vijay naidu Jul 04 '15 at 11:03
  • Your system is UEFI. But you can install in CSM/BIOS, but UEFI generally better, but bit more complicated. https://help.ubuntu.co/community/UEFI AND: http://askubuntu.com/questions/221835/installing-ubuntu-on-a-pre-installed-uefi-supported-windows-8-system Usually better to install Windows first. And how you boot install media UEFI or BIOS is how it installs. And you must have both systems in same boot mode, both UEFI or both BIOS. – oldfred Jul 04 '15 at 14:57
  • I installed windows 8.1 now.Can i install ubuntu 15.04 now?Please mention steps if any – vijay naidu Jul 05 '15 at 10:20
  • Use Windows own disk manager to shrink Windows and reboot so it can run chkdks. Make sure Windows fast start up (hibernation) is off. Then either partition in advance with gparted or create partitions using Something Else install option. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI and: http://askubuntu.com/questions/221835/installing-ubuntu-on-a-pre-installed-uefi-supported-windows-8-system and: http://www.rodsbooks.com/linux-uefi/ – oldfred Jul 05 '15 at 16:06
  • I did what you told.Using disk mgmt I shrunk the windows partition and disabled fast,secure boot and installed ubuntu.When i had no grub i booted into live session and used boot repair.It installed grub.But was not able to get boot menu.http://www.tweaking4all.com/os-tips-and-tricks/uefi-dual-boot-windows81-ubuntu/ gave me an idea and i changed boot using 'bcdedit /set "{bootmgr}" path \EFI\ubunt\grubx64.efi' in admin cmd prompt. It worked . Thank You. – vijay naidu Jul 07 '15 at 05:13
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Assuming the Boot Repair output you posted is still accurate (you note in a comment that you re-installed Ubuntu, but it's not clear if that was before or after you ran Boot Repair), it seems that the GRUB setup scripts are not detecting Windows. There are several things you can try to fix this:

  • You should disable the Windows Fast Startup feature. This feature turns a Windows "shutdown" operation into a "suspend-to-disk" operation. The trouble is that the disk is then left in an inconsistent state, which can cause other OSes to fail to read shared partitions, or may mis-read them. This includes the partition where boot loaders are stored. Note that this feature is entirely separate from firmware options that may have similar names.
  • In Ubuntu, open a Terminal and type sudo update-grub. This will cause it to regenerate the GRUB configuration file. You may need to do this after you disable Fast Startup.
  • To temporarily boot Windows, you might use the firmware's own boot manager to bypass GRUB. Typically you get to this tool by hitting Esc or a function key early in the boot process. You may have used this tool to get your Ubuntu boot medium to boot.
  • Another way of temporarily booting Windows is to try disabling Secure Boot and use a CD-R or USB flash drive version of my rEFInd boot manager. If it works, it should detect both Windows and Ubuntu and let you boot either one.
  • If disabling Fast Startup and re-running update-grub doesn't help, the Boot Repair tool might help. Unfortunately, that's a bit of a gamble; it might do a better job than the standard tools or it might not. Also, it writes its new configuration over the old one, and in some rare circumstances, it will actually make matters worse.
  • If rEFInd can boot Windows, you can install it to your hard disk by installing the Debian package or PPA. You'll then use rEFInd rather than GRUB to select your boot OS. Note that you need not disable Secure Boot to use rEFInd in this way, unlike the USB and CD-R versions.

You can try these options in any order you like, although at some point, you really must disable Fast Startup in Windows, since it's a trouble-maker.

Rod Smith
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  • I have done what you have told but unable to boot into windows.But,recovered some important files using test disk.I cleaned my hard disk and installed windows 8.1.Is there any way to get some other files.Please suggest some safe,easy ways to install ubuntu.Thanks :) – vijay naidu Jul 04 '15 at 11:12