Bug#550702: Reverting to grub-legacy solved my problem

[Simon Guest]

I hit a problem with similar symptoms.  Grub would hang, and then
enter grub-rescue mode, with no disks available, and nothing
apparently I could do.

After reinstalling grub after eachtime I booted into Windows XP, I got
fed up and reverted to grub-legacy.

This fixed the problem.  I now boot using grub-legacy which is
installed in the MBR in the usual way.  Booting into Windows XP does
not disturb the situation.

So, while Windows XP is clearly doing something nasty to a grub-2
install, grub-legacy manages to avoid being damaged.

... I'll be staying with grub-legacy for a while!

cheers,
Simon