[SOLVED] Mac OS X/Arch dual boot Missing Operating System GRUB problem

I am attempting to dual boot Mac OS X.5 and Arch on my "unibody" macbook pro.
I am getting the "Missing Operating System" error over and over. I have followed the Macbook install guide in the wiki and the Beginners install guide. I've also read all the threads I could find on the subject. The common fix seems to be changing the root path on the grub menu.lst... I've tried that. twice. with no luck.
I have EFI on sda1, Mac OS X on sda2 and Arch root on sda3.
My menu.lst is pretty much standard with
root (hd0,2)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda3 ro
for both Arch and the Arcch fallback.
I'm not sure what else to try. I can give more information, but I'm not sure what else to give.
Thanks in advance .
Last edited by Weird Fishes (2009-06-14 15:34:31)

I know exactly what the problem is.
If you're using rEFIt, sync your partition tables (should be the menu item called 'Partitioning Tool'). The problem is that GRUB has been installed, but doesn't know where to find the Arch partition.
After syncing, you may find that the boot process hangs at the Linux logo on a gray background. No worries — just reboot and the problem should fix itself.
N.B. You will need to do a partition table sync every time you change your hard drive's layout.

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[Solved] Windows 7 and Arch Dual boot- unable to boot into Windows7

Had to reformat computer and reinstall windows and Arch on two separate hard drives (Dual boot) .
Windows 7 was the first install on SDA: (/dev/sda1 - system reserved 100mb, /dev/sda2 - 20gb)
Arch on SDB: (/dev/sdb1- boot 94mb, /dev/sdb2- swap, /dev/sdb3 - root, /dev/sdb4 - /home)
Installed grub2 on /dev/sda. now grub bootloader loads Arch fine. Also shows Windows 7 (on /dev/sda1).
But when chosen Windows 7, it does not load and loops back again to boot loader screen.
In BIOS i have set disk drive SDB as first boot option.
If i choose SDA as first boot option in BIOS, same scenario is repeated.
I have gone through mostly all the pages related to the topic but i can not co-relate the solution
to my exact situation due to limited knowledge.
Can somebody pls help me as to how to edit grub.cfg so as to point it to load windows 7?
the entry related to windows 7 reads as follows:-
quote
### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry 'Windows 7 (loader) (on /dev/sda1)' --class windows --class os $menue$
insmod part_msdos
insmod ntfs
set root='hd0,msdos1'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,msdos1 --hint$
else
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root F010D97410D941F0
fi
chainloader +1
unquote
for Arch set root value is hd1,msdos1 and working fine.
Thanks and regards.
Last edited by commsanjay (2012-10-14 08:08:54)

This is exactly why I have chosen to use windows MBR and syslinux
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wi … oot-loader
Last edited by ackt1c (2012-10-14 02:32:55)

Partitioning Hard drive ubuntu arch dual boot

Hello I am running on Ubuntu 11.10, and I'd like to try out Arch Linux. I'm pretty much a complete beginner, and would like to know exactly how to manually configure my hard disc partitions to allow for a ubuntu/arch dual boot.
I have read the beginner's guide and have tried searching for existing documentation on how to configure the partitions. I have not been able to find anything helpful and I apologise if there are already clear instructions aimed at beginners floating around. In this case, could someone point out this documentation to me?
Thank you
Last edited by Goatfluff (2012-01-14 03:28:42)

Hi there and welcome to arch.
First off, Google offers a plethora of information as to how to go about it.
Our wiki has also quite a few hints.
Just have a browse around. There's plenty of info out there.

"Missing Operating System" when trying to boot from USB

I have a macbook air (3,2), and I'm trying to install Arch onto the partition that currently has Ubuntu. I have tried a few different ways to get the Arch core iso onto the usb key drive, but no matter what I do, I am ending up with the message "Missing Operating System" when I boot into it.
I started out using the instructions from https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/US … tion_Media for writing it on OSX, using diskutil unMount, then the dd with bs=8192, and of=/dev/disk2
When that didn't work, I tried booting into my ubuntu install, and used just a plain
sudo dd if=archlinux.iso of=/dev/sdb
Still no luck, so then I went to my old standby of unetbootin, which didn't do any better. I just tried yet again with the dd in ubuntu, and I'm still not having any luck.
Here's some of the relevant info I could find:
$ sudo dd if=Downloads/archlinux-2011.08.19-core-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdb
772096+0 records in
772096+0 records out
395313152 bytes (395 MB) copied, 1.55667 s, 254 MB/s
$ sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdb
Disk /dev/sdb: 8065 MB, 8065646080 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 7691 cylinders, total 15753215 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x3946b2c9
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 0 772095 386048 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
One interesting thing I noticed was that the dd took about 10 minutes in mac osx, and under 2 seconds in linux. That seemed like a pretty big difference between the two systems, but I'm not sure if that's related to the batch size on the write, or to the implementation of dd used in OSX.
Is there something obvious I'm missing? I know the computer is able to boot from this key drive because I was able to boot an Ubuntu livecd from it just a few days ago. Unfortunately, the MBA won't boot from my external cd/dvd drive because it's not the apple brand super-drive, and I don't want to spend the money for a super-drive, so a cd-based install isn't an option.
Really looking forward to playing with Arch, because some of my friends recommended it to me highly. I'm a former gentooer (years ago) who became fed-up with installing *everything* from source. I can't stand ubuntu doing everything for me, and debian always seemed so far behind the curve on everything, so Arch seems like the perfect OS if I can just get into the installer. :)
Thanks so much!
~Maquis

Oh, forgot to mention, I did the dd from ubuntu with both bs=4M and without a bs argument. the version without the bs argument is the one that went really fast.
Neither version would boot, so I don't think that the way I'm writing it is the problem.
I did just notice that if I just do a sudo fdisk -l without specifying the drive, I have 2 entries for my drive:
Disk /dev/sdb: 8065 MB, 8065646080 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 7691 cylinders, total 15753215 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x3946b2c9
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 * 0 772095 386048 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
Disk /dev/sdb1: 395 MB, 395313152 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 377 cylinders, total 772096 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x3946b2c9
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1p1 * 0 772095 386048 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS

HELP! How can i restore/recover files from Bootcamp with Boot Failure - Missing operating system error?

Hi,
I am having a few problems with bootcamp on my imac. When i tried to move the bootcamp partition on windows 7 into free space, it crashed and turned off. Ever since i have had the error 'Missing operating system' and it fails to boot. I have some very important files on the bootcamp partition. Is it possible to recover these files or even to restore the bootcamp partition to it's original state? I do not have a backup of my bootcamp partition. Another problem i have is that ever since i tried to expand my macintosh HD partition into free space, when i hold alt while booting up (to choose which partition to boot like i normally do), the bootcamp partition has stopped appearing. This means that i cannot even boot the windows 7 bootcamp partition anymore!
So basically here are my 2 questions:
How can i restore/recover files from Bootcamp with Boot Failure - Missing operating system error?
How can i make the Bootcamp partition appear in Startup Disk and when i hold the option key while starting up my computer to allow me to boot windows 7?
Any solutions are very much apreciated!
Thanks!
I know that bootcamp (disk0s4) hasn't been fully deleted since it appears in disk utility (i cant do anything to it though)
And here is the error i see when i try to launch bootcamp (back when i was actually able to boot up bootcamp to the error screen)

WinClone 3 is OS X and saves Windows image it makes for restore - that should work but you will have to try and you would need to make a new image unless it also works with a native Windows system restore image. It is now supported and has come a long way.
http://www.twocanoes.com/
Paragon Clone OS works and does disk-to-disk clone just like CCC you end up with two bootable drives. But does not work with your setup. It would let you clone and move your Windows install to an SSD or another disk drive though and be bootable.
During its clone process it checks for errors which is very helpful and lets you know - something CCC and others should adopt more of.
http://www.paragon-software.com/downloads/demo.html
I wish for our/my sake you had re-read and rewritten the long 'story' and broken it into a brief list of facts we needed.
OS X
Windows
Backup (though external is much safer) and you want bootable OS X clones as well as TimeMachine
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1553
There are a number of things to do like chkdsk and others as well as Windows DVD to do automatic system repairs and find out why.
AppleHFS - the abilty to mount and read HFS volumes can be notorious.
I would rearrange and redo your storage setup and how you use the 4-5 internal hard drive bays.

HT4818 after installing boot camp 4 on mountain lion " Missing operating system"

Hello
I hade a small Windows 7 partition , so after updating to mountain lion , I wanted resize win partition .
I made an image of it , then deleted win partition from utility disk , ( wrong idea )
I didn’t notice that boot camp could erase win partition , anyway I have tried several times , and always after reboot boot camp
I get the same
Missing operating system .
If I boot from dvd install win or if i boot from the boot win partition.
hd and partitions looks OK to utility disk
Any idea to fix the problem ?

I presume that you've followed the instructions for sideloading the iMac Windows drivers into your install via USB stick? (wasn't aware the EFI recognized the SD slot as storage on boot. Now i know)
I always found more success in just slipstreaming the drivers and install.xml file onto a custom Win7 DVD rather than the USB approach when trying with my Late 2009 27" iMac. The Win7 installer needs that enclosed .xml file in the driver package to tell it where to find the drivers so that they be loaded when the Win7 image extracts itself.
If you're using mountain lion, then you should be receiving the proper Win7 driver set. If you wanted to create a custom image, then you can use an ISO file, the driver package and disk utility to make something you can use. Either that or you learn what edits your install.xml file needs to point the installer properly and check it manually.
I don't know what links you have so i'll just include everything:
Installing boot camp on a Late 2009 iMac:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3173
Direct link to Late 2009 iMac-specific Windows drivers.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL995
I'd try a USB stick and the iMac-specific driver set. It should steer your insolent windows installer correctly.
Hope this helps.

[solved: PEBKAC] syslinux woes: "Missing operating system"

In light of http://mailman.archlinux.org/pipermail/ … 23211.html I decided to try syslinux, but couldn't get it to work. I think I followed the wiki (i.e. the /boot partition is marked active etc.) but still got "Missing operating system" error and had to use a liveCD.
If anyone is using syslinux for their bootloader, can you pleas post the configs or give me a hint what could have gone wrong?
Last edited by karol (2012-07-13 22:25:03)

I use syslinux (or more precisely the extlinux that boot from an ext{2,3,4} partition) successfully. Hereafter I briefly post what have to be done. If it still does not work. Repost posting exactly what you have tried.
1) create a directoty /boot/syslinux, containing syslinux.cfg and possibly modules that you will refer in this file (notably menu.c32 and chain.c32). You can put symlinks on the condition that the symlinks point to file in the same partition.
small edit: pay attention of 2) if you use symlinks. the / of the pointed file is the root of the partition where syslinux it. It does not correspond to the way you see it in the system if this partition is not mounted in /. See 2).
2) Place syslinux.cfg in this directoty. The root of the file mentionned are relative to the root of the partition containing the /boot/syslinux directory. You can also use relative paths that are relative to the directory /boot/syslinux (so if you have a /boot partition, the linux kernel will be referenced as /vmlinuz-linux, if /boot is on the same partition as / then /boot/vmlinuz-linux). I put here my config as an example: http://pastebin.com/zNunwupx
3) Make the partition containing /boot/syslinux bootable.
4) Put an mbr on the hard disk to be booted:
dd if=/usr/lib/syslinux/mbr.bin of=/dev/sda bs=440 count=1
Replace /dev/sda by your hard disk. If you use gpt partition, you may have to use /usr/lib/syslinux/gptmbr.bin
5) run
extlinux /boot/syslinux
Last edited by olive (2012-07-11 19:18:42)

Portege R100 won't boot from the HDD - missing operating system

Hello,
I have a Portege R100 that won't boot from the HD, I get the message "missing operating system".
I don't have a compatible CD or floppy driver, I just have a 1.8 inch case for the hd, it works, i also have norton ghost 2003 installed in another computer (a toshiba satellite A45).
I tried to recover the disk using norton and the ghost image in the recovery cds but it keep asking for a password.
I would like to know if there is a way to use the recovery cds with norton and the usb driver and avoid the password screen (or where can I get the password?).
Thanks!

Yes, I know that the recovery cds are password protected, that's the password I'm talking about.
I'm not trying to boot from a USB stick, I'm using ghost 2003, this way when I reboot the USB device is recognized as a second hard drive.
I have the option to use the cds to recover from the ghost enviroment but I would need the gho password.
What I would like to know is if there is a command line to force the cd to ghost the second driver instead of the first.
I'm not a great fan of norton ghost but I don't have another option, all cd drivers that I have are incompatible with Portege R100.
Thanks,

"Missing Operating System" on boot?

My Windows side was working perfectly until very recently, where it now displays a "Missing Operating System" error in the BIOS when I start it up.
I have tried to use EASEUS File Recovery to no avail and it detects the wrong files; OS X also displays the wrong files in my Windows Drive (it appears as if it was a fresh install of Windows). The Windows 7 install DVD does not recognize my OS as being there and I have no idea what to do.
Any help or suggestions? Or do I need to format my drive and lose all my years school work? (I didn't backup Windows only OS X with Time Machine)
Thanks

In fact I've already tried with Ext3 and exFAT, but it didn't work. Even only erasing without creating a new partition doesn't work.
I already have the driver for read/write on NTFS
The hatter wrote:
You moved Windows to higher number.
Okay , but I just want to remove the partition to a lower one, so He can see the OS, without having to reinstall the whole thing, is it possible ?

Get "missing operating system" message when trying to access bootcamp

Get "missing operating system" message when trying to access bootcamp in win 7
i have windows instaled about a year now.yesterday i tranfer 300 gb of music in my laptop.today i open my mac hold alt on start up to sellect opereting system,i found MacintosHD,recovery, and windows, and i select the windows to boot,but says to me (missing operating system).i boot again osx to see what hapend.osx is workin perfect.i tried to boot windows again but the same msg (missing operating system).i have not make any changes in my mac osx...!!!

Get "missing operating system" message when trying to access bootcamp in win 7
i have windows instaled about a year now.yesterday i tranfer 300 gb of music in my laptop.today i open my mac hold alt on start up to sellect opereting system,i found MacintosHD,recovery, and windows, and i select the windows to boot,but says to me (missing operating system).i boot again osx to see what hapend.osx is workin perfect.i tried to boot windows again but the same msg (missing operating system).i have not make any changes in my mac osx...!!!

Help :ge600 win7 home permium - after recovery , missing operating system

i press f3 and and choose recovery from menu
message me recovery success press ok to restarting
then
black screen and missing operating system .
plz help soon

the result of quick search again, doing the deeper search now..
http://www.cgsecurity.org
Disk /dev/disk0 - 1000 GB / 931 GiB - 1953525168 sectors (RO)
     Partition               Start        End    Size in sectors
>P EFI System                    40     409639     409600 [EFI]
D Mac HFS                   409640 784286823 783877184
D Mac HFS                   409640 1187802503 1187392864
D Mac HFS                784286824 785556359    1269536
D MS Data               1185742409 1578317384 392574976
D Mac HFS               1187802504 1565289863 377487360
D MS Data               1336457409 1747931328 411473920
D MS Data               1336491681 1747965600 411473920
D MS Data               1345430017 1756903936 411473920
D MS Data               1365586273 1758161248 392574976
D MS Data               1366505153 1759080128 392574976
D MS Data               1606725547 1606731720       6174
D MS Data               1606731720 1606737893       6174 [Boot]
D MS Data               1606731739 1606737912       6174
D MS Data               1606737912 1606744085       6174 [Boot]
D MS Data               1606737931 1606744104       6174
Structure: Ok. Use Up/Down Arrow keys to select partition.
Use Left/Right Arrow keys to CHANGE partition characteristics:
                P=Primary D=Deleted
Keys A: add partition, L: load backup, T: change type, P: list files,
     Enter: to continuelogout
FAT32, blocksize=512, 209 MB / 200 MiB

Lion install in BootCamp. Now "Missing Operating System"! Help!

Just installed Lion w BootCamp on a white MB and now when I boot to the Win7 side, I get "Missing Operating System". Any ideas how to fix this?
Thanks in advance.

This is the same problem that I find myself. Help me.
Este es el mismo problema en el que me encuentro.
Re: Lion install in BootCamp. Now "Missing Operating System"! Help!
02-ago-2011 4:49 (in response to William Cochran)
hey can you tell me how to do that?
because when I press the option/alt button on the keyboard, there's just two boot source option , because before upgrade into lion, I have windows 7 too in my mac
There are only two boot option : 1.Macintosh HD , 2.Recovery HD
I just finished downloading the Bootpicker, and got no idea how to use it to change the boot and getting back my windows 7, I have lots of critical data in there

Dm4 missing operating system

I tried to reinstall my pavilion dm4 OS (win 7 home). I backed up personal items and then (1) Restarted and held down the Esc key, (2) chose F11 for System Recovery and then chose to install the minimum system. The process reformatted the drive, which was pretty quick, and then took a long time to install the software. At some point it finally rebooted and then I got a single message at the top left of the screen - "Missing operating system". When I try System recovery again (Restart, Esc, F11) I am met with the same message - missing OS. Any help for this? Thanks!
This question was solved.
View Solution.

The first thing you will need to try is unplugging the sata connector at the hard disk and then plug it back in.
if that does not work, then boot to a Windows 7 install disk (or usb installer) to access the Startup repair option. If the issue is a corrupt BCD file the that should take care of the issue.
If you need to make a Windows 7 usb installer or install disk you can download the ISO image here. Use the Microsoft store's Windows 7 download\USB utility to make the USB installer or DVD install disk.
****Please click on Accept As Solution if a suggestion solves your problem. It helps others facing the same problem to find a solution easily****
2015 Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience Consumer

T420 running Windows 7 has "missing operating system"

While working on my laptop, the computer crashed and later gave me a "missing operating system" message. I don't have any Windows 7 discs; I saw on the forum instructions for fixing ThinkPads running Vista, but not Win 7. Does anyone have experience with how to fix this? Any tips would be much appreciated. Thanks.

what did you see when pressing the thinkvantage button during the boot cycle? if nothing, then something may have damaged the boot loader on the hdd. i believe there is a lenovo utility that can fix accessibility to the recovery partition and allow you to use the rescue & recovery tools there.
if that's a no-go, then try out zoltanthegypsy's suggestion of obtaining a win7 boot/fixit disk. or, lastly, if your t420 is still under warranty, you might try contacting lenovo about purchasing a full recovery dvd set matching the coa on the bottom of the macine. last i heard, they run about $50, but they will work to restore the machine to the factory state when first shipped.
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Missing Operating System Error

Hello, my aunt asked me to fix her computer but I fix game systems. She had it for a few years, Toshiba Satellite L305D-S5892(model # PSLC0U-02501F).When I turned it on, it said press F2 for Setup Utility and F12 for Boot Manager.After everything, it says " Missing Operating System".I tried everything on setup and boot manager, took hard drive out and put back in, took memory put and put back in , took big battery and put it back.Please Help!!!!!!!

Can you get it into the bios setup screen. If so is the hard drive listed. It sounds to me like a hard drive failure. If you replace the hard drive you will also probably have to buy a set of recovery disks unless your aunt made a set.
L875D-S7232 (Win 8.1)

[SOLVED] Mac OS X/Arch dual boot Missing Operating System GRUB problem

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