The Ubuntu disaster! How can I repair my OSX boot/darwin?

[Detosx]

My partition table looks like this (for want of being able to move and resize the HFS+ partition without risk)

 

Partition 1: Windows Vista

Partition 2: Ubuntu (formally I installed as an extended partition because there were too many primary partitions - read that OS X is not comfortable with that, so deleted all Primary storeage partitions and installed Ubuntu on Primary partition.

Partition 3: OS X

 

Grub was able to see the OS X partition but not boot from it. Ubuntu could see the OS X partition and I could access it to a point but no the OS X desktop where my files are - told me I don't have the privillages to do that.

 

I tried the fdisk -u /dev/rdisk0s3 and fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0 and flagged the OS X partition as active but... no joy. I get the HFS+ partition error message. I formatted the Ubuntu partition but then the Grub boot manager remained in damaged for. I used the Super Grub disk to try and get rid of it. The net effect was that using Disk Utility from my OS X DVD showed the OS X partition as now being a Linux partition! Frustrated I made a Linux primary partition and swap, reinstalled Ubuntu to it. The OS X partition was again readable, but no permission to access my files (initially you are asked for admin password (ubuntu) to access the OS X partition but no permission to access the OS X desktop where my files are stored.

 

Any suggestions are hugely welcome - I hope to avoid using a data reclaiming program and a reinstall of OS X. It took an age to get things to work perfectly!

[Lactobacillus P]

My partition table looks like this (for want of being able to move and resize the HFS+ partition without risk)

 

Partition 1: Windows Vista

Partition 2: Ubuntu (formally I installed as an extended partition because there were too many primary partitions - read that OS X is not comfortable with that, so deleted all Primary storeage partitions and installed Ubuntu on Primary partition.

Partition 3: OS X

 

Grub was able to see the OS X partition but not boot from it. Ubuntu could see the OS X partition and I could access it to a point but no the OS X desktop where my files are - told me I don't have the privillages to do that.

 

I tried the fdisk -u /dev/rdisk0s3 and fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0 and flagged the OS X partition as active but... no joy. I get the HFS+ partition error message. I formatted the Ubuntu partition but then the Grub boot manager remained in damaged for. I used the Super Grub disk to try and get rid of it. The net effect was that using Disk Utility from my OS X DVD showed the OS X partition as now being a Linux partition! Frustrated I made a Linux primary partition and swap, reinstalled Ubuntu to it. The OS X partition was again readable, but no permission to access my files (initially you are asked for admin password (ubuntu) to access the OS X partition but no permission to access the OS X desktop where my files are stored.

 

Any suggestions are hugely welcome - I hope to avoid using a data reclaiming program and a reinstall of OS X. It took an age to get things to work perfectly!

 

OSX and it's bootloader don't like to have Linux in front of it is my experience.

Remove Ubuntu and your OSX should boot again.

[lord_muad_dib]

OSX and it's bootloader don't like to have Linux in front of it is my experience.

Remove Ubuntu and your OSX should boot again.

lol

 

anyways, the osx partition is primary and before any extended?

 

root (hd0,2)

chainloader +1

makeactive

[Detosx]

Thank you both for replying!

 

I did remove Ubuntu by formating its partition but that didn't remove Ubuntu's Linux Grub boot loader fully. I tried a program called Super Grub to remove it but that didn't help and from Disk Utility via the OS X install DVD the OS X partition was now identified as being a Linux partition! I deleted the Extended partition on which I had installed Ubuntu, which was sandwitched between a Vista partition and the OS X partition, and replaced it with a FAT32 primary partition and then formatted that partition with the OS X DVD and installed OS X to it - I thought I would be able to access the old OS X partition that way but Disk Utility identified the old OS X partition as being a Linux partition! Arrrgh. Frustrated I did what I had read elsewhere (i.e don't put an extended partition before OS X). I deleted a couple of my storeage partitions, which were primary partitions (of which you are allowed to have a maximum of four primary partitions per hard drive), and then installed Ubuntu again onto Primary partitions (usr / linux swap).

 

 

 

NTFS WINDOWS VISTA.....|Linux USR /...| Linux Swap.... | OS X

Primary partition...............|..Primary......|...Primary........ | Primary

 

 

 

I was mighty relieved to see that my OS X partition (named 10.4.8) was visible and accessible from within Ubuntu again, but not accessible to the point I can retrieve files from the folders on the OS X's desktop (insufficient privilages).

 

I will try:-

root (hd0,2) ---- though I believe it should be root (hd0,3) in my case; disk utility identifies it as disk0s3

chainloader +1

makeactive

 

but it sounds like something I have tried already. I never seem to get past the HFS+ partition error message.

 

I did have some success with chocolate, however

 

insert chocolate

allow to melt

world will seem better

 

But I still miss my OS X partition!

[Detosx]

Hi lord_muad_dib!

 

Hmm, not sure how to implement your advice in Terminal. I did find that Disk Utility still identifies my old OS X partition as Linux, where before it had correctly identified it as hfs+ and by the name 10.4.8; Ubuntu still identifies it as 10.4.8 and the drive is accessible but I don't have privillages so can't drag and drop from OS X's desktop folders where I keep my files.

[Mr Linux Guy]

To get the darwin bootloader to show up at the PC boot: (off you HD)

 

what you should do is boot off the installation DVD in either single user mode or into the terminal, and type in

fdisk -u /dev/rdiskx

, where x is you drive number (0 being your first drive, and 1 being your seconds drive...) you will most likely use rdisk0. That is what i used after after the JaS 10.4.6 DVd to fix that problem. It might ask you if you are sure to overwrite the MBR, just say yes. However, this comes without guarantees: backup your data first. You should now theoretically have the Darwin Bootlader on boot. Make sure to use the install DVD, as when you use the Osx86 install on the HD, it might have trouble accessing the MBR.

 

Remember: BACK UP FIRST! you are going to be playing with the MBR! I will not guarantee that this will work, but it should (and I'm a little paranoid).

[Detosx]

To get the darwin bootloader to show up at the PC boot: (off you HD)

 

what you should do is boot off the installation DVD in either single user mode or into the terminal, and type in

fdisk -u /dev/rdiskx

, where x is you drive number (0 being your first drive, and 1 being your seconds drive...) you will most likely use rdisk0. That is what i used after after the JaS 10.4.6 DVd to fix that problem. It might ask you if you are sure to overwrite the MBR, just say yes. However, this comes without guarantees: backup your data first. You should now theoretically have the Darwin Bootlader on boot. Make sure to use the install DVD, as when you use the Osx86 install on the HD, it might have trouble accessing the MBR.

 

Remember: BACK UP FIRST! you are going to be playing with the MBR! I will not guarantee that this will work, but it should (and I'm a little paranoid).

Thanks Mr Linux Guy but that is one of the first things I tried. No joy, I'm afraid, I still got the HFS+ partition error message on boot up.

 

If I have to give up on it, does anyone know how I can get privileged access to my OS X files through either Linux or Vista? If I have to I will drag and drop them onto another partition or burn them to DVD and reinstall.

[Detosx]

I installed BCD boot manager on Vista. Everything set up nicely but then on boot I noticed a chain load error message. I went to the BCD forums and used search. There I found out that my OS X partition should have the parameter designation 0xAF, where in fact it is 0x83. I read cases studies where several other people had Linux installs do just that but everyone puzzled quite how.

 

Anyone know a program that will help me convert 0x83 to 0xAF? Acronis Director Suite doesn't appear to have that option. Perhaps gparted. Certainly someone on the forum was able to do it but they unhelpfully didn't say how!

[grnthumbd]

hey everyone, just browsing around looking for a way to fix my mac (still no luck). I came across this discussion through google. Anyway, I don't have a solution to your mac since i am not really familiar with them. I can however tell you how you can view your files with your ubuntu.

what you want to do is go into the terminal and type this exactly (without $)

 

$sudo passwd root

 

it should ask for your login password then will ask you to input your new root password. it will ask to confirm it.

 

now go to system > administration > go to security tab > check where it says " allow local system admin login.

close.

logoff.

 

at user name prompt use "root" as your user name

enter

then password you chose

 

now you can view those files and back them up.

[okey666]

Don't allow the root login from the login window (post before), that creates security issues and is annoying to use. Just type

gksudo nautilus

into the terminal, that will let you access the files on the partition.

[geiman]

why you are having problems accessing your files on your OS X partition from Ubuntu is probably because of file permissions if I had to guess. I had this same problem accessing files from an old OS X partition from a newer OS X install. For me, I simply navigated to the directories I was having problems with in a terminal, and chowned them with the proper permissions. ie.. "sudo chown -R matt someDir" & "sudo chmod -R 755 someDir" You should then have access to your files, provided this was your original problem.

 

As for booting, you should be able to boot OS X from grub, I used to do it all the time. I now just use Chameleon RC2 since it's so beautifully done, but grub 'should' work with the proper settings. Its been a while since I have done it so I can't paste for you what my menu.lst looked like.