Wubi

I can't boot ubuntu, even from the CD rom, but I can boot into Windows XP. What's going on here?

Asked by Steven D. Shown

I had Ubuntu 10.10 installed inside Windows XP as a WUBI install, and it's been running with no problems. But now, it just died, the computer just shut off for no apparent reason. No warning, nothing. When I try to reboot into Ubuntu, the computer just shuts off. But when I boot into Windows, it boots and runs just fine. So I uninstalled the Ubuntu install, and attempted to re-install from the live CD, but Ubuntu won't even run from the live CD. I get the same problem, only it goes to the initial purple screen, then the computer shuts off. I can of course turn it back on and boot Windows XP with no problem. What is going on with my computer?

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Steven D. Shown
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bcbc (bcbc) said : 		#1

Have you installed any new hardware lately?

Honestly I have no idea... if it was working before then it might indicate a hardware fault, but if windows is still working...? Maybe ubuntu is less fault tolerant?

If you have no new hardware, I'd check stuff like ram, hard drive, batteries on wireless keyboard/mouse...

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marcus aurelius (adbiz) said : 		#2

1) check your computer for virii
2) check your computer for bad sectors

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delance (olivier-delance) said : 		#3

Did it happen after installation by update-manager of a new kernel (you should had a new boot menu, with two new lines) ?
About LiveCD, it looks really strange, as it uses always same version of kernel. Did you change something in BIOS or hardware ? When you get purple screen, could you press <ESC> key and report last messages.

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Steven D. Shown (stevenshown90) said : 		#4

Thanks, but I discovered what the problem was being caused by. First, I spotted some bad capacitors on my motherboard, and secondly when I ran a scan of my hard drive it came back saying I have 4 bad sectors. After leaving the computer off for about an hour and a half, it booted back up and has been running with no problems what so ever. I discovered that the vent openings in the cabinet were severely clogged, so I believe that excessive heat build up could have contributed to this malfunction. I do not believe that the bad sectors had anything to do with it, since I couldn't even run off the live CD, thereby not even using the hard drive. It did happen after the updates were installed, but I did not have a new boot menu with two new lines until after the first updates were installed over a month ago. It's had the two new lines this whole time, but has never caused any problem. So for the time being it looks as though the problem is solved. I have a very strong feeling that the bad capacitors on the motherboard caused this problem.