Member Avatar for normanallen

This may sound like the install from hell, but I'm still trying. I wanted to try out Linux after a *very* long association with windows, but to say I'm having problems would be an understatment. Let me go through the whole sorry tale, and my question is at the end. I have chosen Ubuntu 9.04 as it was recommended to me. I used wubi to create a dual boot system, but when I tried to increase the resolution from 800 x 600 the system fell over (selecting nvidia glx package). So I tried to do an install by downloading the distro and burning a CD. I tried booting from the CD. It decided to put the two partitions on my external 750GB hard drive (presumably because there was more space on it than my other partitions) at the end, and wouldn't boot from there. (error 18: selected cylinder exceeds maximim supported by BIOS). Finally, tried wubi again for the dual boot and chose the USB drive to put the ubuntu directory on. Now when I boot and chose Ubuntu I get the message "GRUB4DOS. Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported." and so on, ending in a GRUB prompt. Why won't it boot properly?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Xlphos

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Generated

A short diagnosis and practical fixes that follow from the posts by and .

What probably happened: mixing Wubi (Windows-file-based install) and a full install to an external USB exposed two different failure modes. Wubi expects its Ubuntu files to live on a stable Windows volume; moving those files to a removable disk or removing that disk at boot will leave the Windows boot entry pointing at nothing and drop you to a grub-like prompt. A full install to the external 750GB then hit a BIOS/disk-addressing limit so the installer put critical parts past the area the BIOS/bootloader can reliably read at boot.

Immediate options to recover

  • If you want to keep Wubi: boot into Windows, uninstall Wubi (Add/Remove Programs), unplug the USB, then reinstall Wubi to the internal drive only. Wubi on removable media is fragile.
  • If you prefer a normal dual-boot: unplug all external drives, boot the Ubuntu Live CD, use the installer to shrink Windows and create proper linux partitions on the internal disk, and let the installer write GRUB to the internal MBR.
  • To repair a broken bootloader without reinstalling: boot a Live CD ("Try Ubuntu") and reinstall GRUB to the correct disk. Example sequence (replace sdaX and sda with the correct device names):
sudo fdisk -l
sudo mount /dev/sdaX /mnt
for i in /dev /dev/pts /proc /sys; do sudo mount --bind $i /mnt$i; done
sudo chroot /mnt
grub-install /dev/sda
update-grub
exit
sudo umount /mnt/{dev/pts,dev,proc,sys}
sudo umount /mnt

Notes and cautions

  • Confirm the correct device names with fdisk -l before running grub-install. Installing to the wrong disk can make things worse.
  • If the BIOS refuses to boot because parts of /boot are beyond the BIOS limit, create a small ext2/ext3 /boot partition near the start of the disk (100–200 MB) when reinstalling.
  • Always back up important Windows data before repartitioning.
  • was right to recommend removing USB drives and installing on the internal disk for a reliable dual-boot.
Member Avatar for Xlphos

If you want to try ubuntu I would remove the usb hard drive and install it on the hard drive.

Use the live cd to shrink the windows partition, then create two new partitions one swap and one for linux. The GRUB should be reinstalled and then you should be able to use both OSes.

I don't think it likes too boot from USB in your case, play it safe and put it on your internal hard drive.

I believe Ubuntu has an uninstall option now.

If you need advice on partition sizes let us know how much space you are using and how big your hard drive(s) is.

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