Help with OS selector - Ubuntu install

I have a PC running windows XP with that OS loaded on disk 1 and a second disk that has data on it. I created a new partition from free space using disk director and installed ubuntu on the 2nd drive. The auto install put grub on the 1st drive and overwrote mbr. Due to what I think are LBA issues with large drives - I get a grub error 17 and could not boot into either OS. I used the windows CD to fixmbr so I could boot back into windows.

I think what I need to to is re-install grub onto the linux partition on the second disk. Then reinstall OS selector. Does that sound right? From research, I have some steps that I think will let me boot from the live ubuntu cd, mount the partition, then install grub.

Anyone else go through this and find a good step by step on how to do this right?

 

I have installed Ubuntu (various versions) lots of times. To avoid this exact problem (the MBR getting overwritten), I've used the alternate install cd. The regular (live) cd always installs GRUB to the MBR by default. It may ask if it detects Windows, but if you're not careful that's where it will end up.

GRUB needs to be installed to the partition that Ubuntu is installed on. Once that is done, you just use the OS detection wizard to detect it. (You may not even have to do that. Most times it is detected automatically.)

To reinstall GRUB to the Ubuntu partition:
--Boot from a live Linux cd (Ubuntu, Knoppix, etc.)
--Mount the Ubuntu parition and make it Writable, if necessary
--Open a root terminal (in Ubuntu you'll have to sudo grub)
--At the prompt type: grub (press ENTER)
--You should get the "grub>" prompt
--Type in find /boot/grub/stage2 (press ENTER)
--This will return the location of your GRUB files. Something like (hd1,0)
--Type root (hd1,0) (press ENTER) Use the value returned previously
--Type setup (hd1,0) (press ENTER)
--GRUB should install. Hopefully there won't be any fatal errors
-- Type quit (press ENTER) to exit GRUB

I think I have the info correct, but I'm still pretty new at this Linux stuff. Also, depending on how your drives are detected, you may need to edit the menu.lst file to point to the correct partition. For example: On one of my computers I have a RAID setup. Ubuntu sees the drives separately, but GRUB sees the ARRAY. As a result, when I have to reinstall GRUB, I have to manually edit menu.lst to point one partition back -- (hd2,1) instead of (hd3,1).

 

Good Input. I'll give it a try tonight and see what happens - worst case, I'll re-install with the alternate version. I'll let you know

 

[rant]I've never understood why the k/ubuntu developers insisted on putting this simple option on the advanced cd, rather than the normal cd. Just a simple radio button or check box, eg in an advanced settings away from the new users (like in suse, mandriva, etc) to enable this would do.
Even Linspire (bleh), which in its first incarnations also forced the mbr takeover, finally gave its users this possibility of bootsector install.[/rant]

 

OK - learned a couple of things here - the issue is that my bios is too old and grub needs to be installed at the front of the drive. I did the reading and reinstalled grub to the linux partition but no success due to the above. I could blow away my ntfs partition and re-do but I think that I will install a ide controller (gets around the size limitations) and put a 3rd hard drive in (I already have this) dedicated to linux.

Appreciate the input

 

I didn't know there were any BIOS limitations on GRUB. If the boot manager (OSS in this case) is installed to the MBR and it chainloads to GRUB in the Linux partition on the second drive, why won't it work?

Are you getting any specific error messages?

 

Yes - I get grub error 17. After I put grub into the linux partition, the OS selector can see it and I can choose to boot to windows xp or ubuntu - upon booting into ubuntu I get the error 17.

This is the thread I started at Ubuntu forums on the error 17.