Dual Boot On 2 Partition IBM Thinkpad T42

[Derek Broughton]

Eamonn Corbally wrote:

> As a live CD/DVD it is wonderful and very seductive. The install
> experience is a nightmare.

It could be better, but I just did an install to a new HP and it wasn't a
nightmare - though I'd have had a far easier time if I'd just given up on
the LVM partitions.

> For someone who has spent over a decade using fdisk, Partition Magic,
> Mac OS partitioning and other utilities I fail to understand why the
> partitioning procedure is so non-intuitive and frankly difficult. I
> have reserved a 10GB+ partition (call it D: although it no longer is,
> it is free space and still have no joy).

So what's the problem?  If it's only what follows, then there wasn't a
partitioning problem at all, so I guess it must have been intuitive enough. 
Otherwise, how can we help if you don't say what went wrong?

> The installer falls over twice. Once during the File/Account transfer
> which I didn't choose as an option and then at 94% when it tries and
> fails to install grub reporting a fatal error. I end up with no
> Ubuntu install and my Windows MBR is destroyed. I have nothing. It is
> long known that the XP repair console utility simply doesn't work so
> I have to reinstall Windows which in XP at least retains my documents
> and settings.

There's no "have to" - you can fix that from the live CD.

> Part of the problem I think is that the partitioning tool is
> reporting my HD as SCSI (sda) which it patently isn't, it is bog
> standard IDE.

This is normal - most drives, no matter what they are physically, are
treated as scsi now.  It simplifies things.

> Originally (I've done this 4 times now) I thought it was failing
> because it was trying to install grub on an hda space when it's own
> partitioner was calling it sda. I changed this to sda in the Advanced
> option but it still doesn't work.
> 
> I'm stuck but would still like very much an Ubuntu install. I'm very
> stubborn!
> 
> Can you offer any advice?

Boot the live CD - see what _it_ says your partition is.  If it
says "sda..." then, you're looking in the wrong place.

Then, if possible (I don't remember the grub options in the installer) don't
let it use the MBR for grub - tell it to install to the partition's
superblock.  If you get through that much then you have a choice - add the
Linux install to the XP boot loader (not too difficult, iirc), or use the
live CD to install Grub to the MBR.

btw - two partition?  Where's your swap?
-- 
derek