[Solved] Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

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Elessar
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[Solved] Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by Elessar »

ReactOS version 0.4.9

As my computer recently got wiped, I re-installed Windows 7 on it, and decided to try out ReactOS on some real hardware. I tried setting up NeoGrub (which currently implements GRUB4DOS 0.4.5c) through EasyBCD to get ReactOS to boot. Unfortunately, it's not working, so here's what is happening.

I installed ReactOS, and added it to the GRUB menu. First of all, I want to affirm that the "makeactive" is necessary, just as the wiki page states:
makeactive command here is necessary since without it, FreeLDR can't find file freeldr.ini and requests reinstallation of freeloader.
Here is my GRUB entry without "makeactive":

Code: Select all

root (hd0,4)
chainloader +1
kernel /freeldr.sys
And here is what it gives me:

Code: Select all

 Filesystem type is fat, partition type 0x0C
   [Multiboot-kludge, loadaddr=0x200000, text-and-data=0x54899, bss=0x0, entry=0x201820]

Error opening freeldr.ini or file not found.
You need to re-install FreeLoader
Press any key
Error initializing .ini file.
Press any key
So obviously, "makeactive" is necessary. Here is my current entry in the GRUB menu, as per the wiki page:

Code: Select all

root (hd0,4)
chainloader +1
makeactive
kernel /freeldr.sys
When I try to boot, I get the following message:

Code: Select all

 Filesystem type is fat, partition type 0x0C
makeactive

Error 12: Invalid device requested
So you see that it is failing either on or just after the "makeactive" command. As I mentioned above, I need to use the command, but I don't know how to fix the error.

Could someone with some GRUB expertise help me out?
Do I need to edit one of the FreeLoader files in some way?
Or perhaps help me find an easier way to dual-boot Windows 7 & ReactOS (without using Linux)?
Last edited by Elessar on Sun Aug 12, 2018 3:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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mrmajik45
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by mrmajik45 »

https://sourceforge.net/projects/grub4dos/ A bit more of a windows friendly grub.
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Julcar
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by Julcar »

Elessar wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:54 am

Code: Select all

root (hd0,4)
chainloader +1
makeactive
kernel /freeldr.sys
When I try to boot, I get the following message:

Code: Select all

 Filesystem type is fat, partition type 0x0C
makeactive

Error 12: Invalid device requested
makeactive must be placed before chainloader +1
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Elessar
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by Elessar »

Julcar wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:00 am
Elessar wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:54 am

Code: Select all

root (hd0,4)
chainloader +1
makeactive
kernel /freeldr.sys
When I try to boot, I get the following message:

Code: Select all

 Filesystem type is fat, partition type 0x0C
makeactive

Error 12: Invalid device requested
makeactive must be placed before chainloader +1
I gave that a try, but I ended up with the same error message.

mrmajik45 wrote: Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:55 am https://sourceforge.net/projects/grub4dos/ A bit more of a windows friendly grub.
I may give that a try if I can't get this to work. However, as I mentioned, NeoGrub is an implementation of Grub4Dos, so I would expect to run into the same problem.

Searching for Error 12 occurring with Grub4Dos, I found that some people received this error when their partition table had problems. Here is how my drive is viewed by Windows 7:

[ external image ]

Is there something wrong with my partitioning?
How can I check for problems in my partition table?
Julcar
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by Julcar »

I am not sure if ReactOS can boot from logical partitions, but here looks some weird the fact you are targeting your grub4dos to hd0,4 (fourth partition on disk) but, you fourth partition is extended, and the next partition available (where reactos resides) is a logical, and logical partitions always starts from the fifth, so you could try (hd0,5) instead.
middings
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by middings »

Elessar, does this describe the NeoGrub program that you mentioned?
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Elessar
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by Elessar »

middings wrote: Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:54 am Elessar, does this describe the NeoGrub program that you mentioned?
Yes, I'm using NeoGrub through EasyBCD. I went through the wiki you linked to, but I couldn't find the answer to my problem.
Julcar wrote: Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:39 am I am not sure if ReactOS can boot from logical partitions, but here looks some weird the fact you are targeting your grub4dos to hd0,4 (fourth partition on disk) but, you fourth partition is extended, and the next partition available (where reactos resides) is a logical, and logical partitions always starts from the fifth, so you could try (hd0,5) instead.
Aha! So now we come to the problem, and thereby the solution!

I removed the extended partition, and created a primary partition to install ReactOS on. NeoGrub booted into ReactOS on the new partition on the first attempt! Unfortunately, I got a blue screen during setup, but that's a problem for another thread/JIRA.

Thank you all very much!
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mrmajik45
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by mrmajik45 »

What bsod did you get? 0x????????
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Elessar
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by Elessar »

When booting into ReactOS for the first time, it started installing drivers, then gave me:

Code: Select all

*** STOP: 0x0000001E (0xC0000005,0xF6C21C8A,0xF6D7497C,0x00000000)

***  HDAudBus.sys - Address F6C21C8A base at F6C1F000, DateStamp 5b47789f
Trying again in Safe Mode gave the same BSOD, with slightly different hex code in brackets.

Here is the full BSOD:

[ external image ]

EDIT: I believe this is the same bug as CORE-14153
Last edited by Elessar on Fri Aug 10, 2018 3:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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mrmajik45
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by mrmajik45 »

I'm at school imgur is blocked for me i'll check it later. Or when you make the jira put the image on your report because i can load it using jira.
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Julcar
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by Julcar »

Hdausbus is a recurrent problem, just boot from windows and delete that file, Reactos should boot now
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mrmajik45
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by mrmajik45 »

Julcar, you broke him. He doesn't know how to manage ReactOS files. :P
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middings
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from NeoGrub

Post by middings »

Making a help request properly is not difficult.
in "How to Ask Questions the Smart Way", Eric S. Raymond wrote:
Be precise and informative about your problem
  • Describe the symptoms of your problem or bug carefully and clearly.
  • Describe the environment in which it occurs (machine, OS, application, whatever). Provide your vendor's distribution and release level (e.g.: [ReactOS 0.4.9 Live CD, ReactOS build 12345abcd], etc.)
  • Describe the research you did to try and understand the problem before you asked the question.
  • Describe the diagnostic steps you took to try and pin down the problem yourself before you asked the question.
  • Describe any possibly relevant recent changes in your computer or software configuration.
  • If at all possible, provide a way to reproduce the problem in a controlled environment.
Do the best you can to anticipate the questions a hacker will ask, and answer them in advance in your request for help.

Giving hackers the ability to reproduce the problem in a controlled environment is especially important if you are reporting something you think is a bug in code. When you do this, your odds of getting a useful answer and the speed with which you are likely to get that answer both improve tremendously.

Simon Tatham has written an excellent essay entitled How to Report Bugs Effectively by Simon Tatham. I strongly recommend that you read it.
When making a help request, if one has substituted program Y for program X then one should describe where one obtained program Y and where its documentation can be found. This is part of "Describe the environment...", "provide a way to reproduce the problem", and "anticipate the questions a hacker will ask, and answer them in advance".
Last edited by middings on Fri Aug 10, 2018 9:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Zombiedeth
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by Zombiedeth »

Julcar wrote: Fri Aug 10, 2018 3:25 pm Hdausbus is a recurrent problem, just boot from windows and delete that file, Reactos should boot now
I feel like this driver shouldn't be part of the default install maybe in an experimental folder where people can install it manually if they want to test it.
middings
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Re: Problems booting ReactOS from Grub

Post by middings »

Zombiedeth, I like your suggestion of removing Hdausbus from ReactOS's default install configuration but leaving it available for manual installation later. Consider making your suggestion in a comment to CORE-14153, " 'Installing devices...' is interrupted by a bluescreen with HDAudBus.sys and STOP errors".
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