Help! Can't get back into WinXP-- Error 13: Invalid...
 

Ken McLennan wrote:
> G'day there Again,
>
> I just looked up Grub error messages on Google and found:
>
> 13 : Invalid or unsupported executable format
> This error is returned if the kernel image being loaded is not
> recognized as Multiboot or one of the supported native formats
> (Linux zImage or bzImage, FreeBSD, or NetBSD).
> In this instance your kernel image is for WinXP but following the
> above logic it seems Grub can't read it. Therefore I'm now more
> convinced that it's because your kernel can't read the windows partition
> format.
>
> Does anybody else agree or can positively write off this approach?
>

Write off

When you use the chainloader command, Grub doesn't try to load any
kernels, but just tries to boot off the partition (the same as dos mbr
would do.)

I would like to ask, how many hard drives are in this system, and what
is the partition layout?


Also, can the OP post the entire menu.lst? (would be a hoot if the
error is in the next 'title' line and grub was trying to include
directives from the next entry)

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Help! Can't get back into WinXP-- Error 13: Invalid...
 

On 09/13/2008 07:09 AM, John Hamilton wrote:
> After following the exact instructions from
> http://www.easy-ubuntu-linux.com/grub-menu-default.html,
>
> I edited the menu with:
>
> title Windows XP
> rootnoverify (hd0,0)
> makeactive
> chainloader +1
>
> and when I restart, Ubuntu defaults to that title, but when I press enter,
> I get Error 13: INVALID or UNSUPPORTED EXECUTABLE FORMAT.
>
> Please!, can someone help me get back into WinXP? Thank you!!!

Sure. Providing that you've done _nothing else_ since following those
instructions do this:

1. Startup Ubuntu as usual
2. Open a terminal (Applications|Accessories|Terminal)
3. Enter:

sudo cp /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/menu.lst.bad
sudo mv /boot/grub/menu.lst~ /boot/grub/menu.lst

Then exit the terminal and reboot. You should have your previous grub
menu and be able to dual boot to WinXP as you did previously.

Alternately, you can use gedit to open the gedit backup file:

gksudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst~

[Note that is /boot/grub/menu.lst~ not /boot/grub/menu.lst]

That will open up the backup file that gedit created when you edited
/boot/grub/menu.lst from the instructions in that url. Have a look at
the file & settings to make sure that is what you had previously, then
save that file as menu.lst (not menu.lst~) and reboot.

In the future, it is always wise to *first* make a backup of any system
file you edit (in this case you were lucky because gedit always makes a
backup file, denoted by the '~' following the filename. Hence: menu.lst~).



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Help! Can't get back into WinXP-- Error 13: Invalid...
 

G'day there Brian,




Ken - if it's a grub error - the kernel hasn't even started yet.


*** Of course!!




You're up the wrong tree.


*** Nothing unusual about that. It's quite familiar territory :)




See how even error 13 says it has a problem *loading* an unsupported kernel?

The problem is in that grub stanza - perhaps with the info about how
his machine is set up we can determine it.


*** Well, at least I asked a useful question. Just didn't think it
through far enough.



See ya

Ken








Brian





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