PharmD Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 Okay guys this is my first post here but I have heard great things about the forum from a couple friends. Basically I have Ubuntu and Windows XP both on a partition on my laptop hard drive. I never use Ubuntu (until now) but when I went to start my computer normally and choose the Windows XP partition it says Error 13: Unsupported executable (or something of this nature but the error number is correct) and will not start windows, forcing me to start Ubuntu. Does anyone have any idea why it would do this and what the problem could be? I have so much valuable information on there I can't lose the files!Thank you in advance,Dustin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dencandy Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 PharmD, Windows Help and Support (here) lists 200 entries related to Error 13. Can you get to that page and browse through the various entries to see if they help you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 Also from other posts in the past you should be able to get to all your valuable information through Ubuntu, the experts in Linux will be able to help you when they come on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 Someone appears to have solved a similar problem HERE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan2273 Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 If you have a Windows disk, (not a recovery disk) run it (make sure it is set in the BIOS to boot from CD first), access the recovery console, then run these two commands,FIXBOOT, then press enter,FIXMBR then press enter again, then reboot and you should then be able to access Windows, however you will not be able to access Ubuntu.If you do not wish to keep Ubuntu then format the partitions from Disk Management to NTFS, if you want to use Ubuntu as well re-install it, it is easier than trying to alter the GRUB boot loader, and less chance of messing it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PharmD Posted May 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 If you have a Windows disk, (not a recovery disk) run it (make sure it is set in the BIOS to boot from CD first), access the recovery console, then run these two commands,FIXBOOT, then press enter,FIXMBR then press enter again, then reboot and you should then be able to access Windows, however you will not be able to access Ubuntu.If you do not wish to keep Ubuntu then format the partitions from Disk Management to NTFS, if you want to use Ubuntu as well re-install it, it is easier than trying to alter the GRUB boot loader, and less chance of messing it up.Okay over the last day a lot of stranger things have happened. Suddenly I was no longer able to even access Ubuntu. It said Unable to load operating system. It wouldn't do anything after that. What I did was use my Windows CD to reformat the Ubuntu partition to Windows XP, leaving the C:/ entact so that I could maybe salvage some files. However, when I click on my c:/ now it is empty :(. Is there anything at all I can do to possibly salvage this information? I am sort of freaking out about the loss of important information.Thanks a lot for your help by the way it is greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catgate Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 You might just try loading Knoppix from a live disc.after ensuring your bios is set to load from CD. This might give you the opportunity to see if there is anything left on your HD/ Then you would know the truth, even if it is painful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PharmD Posted May 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 You might just try loading Knoppix from a live disc.after ensuring your bios is set to load from CD. This might give you the opportunity to see if there is anything left on your HD/ Then you would know the truth, even if it is painful.Sorry I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to some of these programs. What exactly is Knoppix and how would this help me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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