Lost Grub - 2

[Shannon McMackin]

On 07/20/2009 08:07 PM, flavio seixas wrote:
> Hi Ubuntu
> users
>
> I hope that someone can help me.
>
> I have a PC
> with 2 hard disks.
>
> The main HD
> is a SATA HD with 160GB running windows XP.
> In the
> machine setup it appears as THIRD IDE MASTER, and main boot option.
>
> The second
> one is a SCSII 60GB HD.
> In the
> machine setup it appears as PRIMARY IDE SLAVE
>
> I Installed
> Ubuntu 9 on the 60GB HD, but at finish when I restart the machine, the GRUB does not appear and, in
> consequence, I am unnable to choice boot to the linux way, so, Windows runs
> automatically.
>
> During the
> Ubuntu installation proccess, the question asking “were do you want to install
> GRUB (or LILO)” did not appear.
> In
> consequence I do not know at least if the Grub (or Lilo) is installed or not. And
> if is, in which HD????
>
> It’s a strange thing!  All linux versions
> that I knew until the moment has this question has default.
>
> My question
> is: What I do to install the GRUB (OR LILO) on main HD SATA, in a way that can
> be possible to choose the boot for Linux or Windows????
>
> Someone could help-me?
>
> I am a beginner
> at Linux and please, I´d appreciate if the answer could be like “for dummies”.
>
> Here are my partitions:
>
> ubuntu at ubuntu:~$ sudo parted /dev/sda print
> Model: ATA ST340014A (scsi)
> Disk /dev/sda: 40.0GB
> Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
> Partition Table: msdos
>
> Number  Start  End    Size    Type      File system  Flags
> 1      32.3kB  30.0GB  30.0GB  primary  ntfs        boot
> 2      30.0GB  40.0GB  10.0GB  extended
> 5      30.0GB  32.0GB  1999MB  logical  linux-swap
> 6      32.0GB  40.0GB  8011MB  logical  ext3
>
>
> ubuntu at ubuntu:~$ sudo parted /dev/sdb print
> Model: ATA SAMSUNG HD161HJ (scsi)
> Disk /dev/sdb: 160GB
> Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
> Partition Table: msdos
>
> Number  Start  End    Size    Type    File system  Flags
> 1      32.3kB  62.9GB  62.9GB  primary  ntfs        boot
> 2      62.9GB  160GB  97.1GB  primary  ntfs
>
> ubuntu at ubuntu:~$
>
> thanks
>
> flavio
>
>
>
>
What I see here is 2 SATA disks, /dev/sda is a 40gb drive with what 
looks like a windows partition being NTFS and some of a linux install 
with / being /dev/sda6, /dev/sdb is a 160gb drive with 2 windows partitions.

The media you are installing from obviously sees the 40gb drive as the 
primary device.  If you have no pertinent data on that disk, I would 
wipe it out completely and install again using the entire drive.

I think you only get the prompt for GRUB if you do a manual disk layout.

I think you're saying you can still boot windows, what I would do is 
install to /dev/sda, but tell grub to install on /dev/sdb.

Make sure you google on "dual-boot with windows and linux" before you 
commit to this.  I'd hate to see you lose your windows install if that's 
the only fallback you have.  Try to find examples involving 2 drives.