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View Full Version : [ubuntu] After installing Ubuntu to USB, Netbook won't boot without USB drive



dougiemo
August 9th, 2010, 04:04 PM
I recently purchased a Eee 1005PE. I used a Ubuntu live USB and installed Ubuntu 10.04 onto a different USB drive. My plan was that I would run Win 7 when I didn't put in the USB, but when I put in the USB, I could dual boot and run Ubuntu. Ubuntu works great and I love it. The problem is that the install put the grub in such a place that when I don't have the Ubuntu USB drive in, I can't boot to windows but get the grub recovery screen.

I have searched these threads and have attempted to move the grub. The only problem is when I open a terminal and type "sudo grub" I get the response "command not found." Here is what i get when I search for "grub"

/etc/default/grub
/var/lib/ucf/cache/:etc:default:grub
/usr/lib/grub
/usr/lib/linux-boot-probes/mounted/40grub
/usr/lib/grub-legacy/update-grub
/usr/share/recovery-mode/options/grub
/usr/share/grub
/usr/share/grub/default/grub
/usr/sbin/update-grub
/boot/grub

What do I need to do to move the grub and fix Windows' MBR? I am new to Linux except for the days I have spent trying to fix this problem. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

clrg
August 9th, 2010, 04:06 PM
I guess GRUB is on the USB drive now. To fix windows' MBR, boot from your windows installation DVD, start a recovery shell and run fixmbr. That should restore the MS bootloader.

elliotn
August 9th, 2010, 04:10 PM
Then install grub on the win7 drive, that way u will use win7 even if u have removed the usb

dougiemo
August 9th, 2010, 04:16 PM
I installed Windows revcovery onto a USB and it works on my other laptop (Eee netbooks don't come with the Windows DVD), however, when I attempt to run it on my Netbook, I still get the grub rescue menu.

I do have my boot booster disabled and have set the netbook to boot first to the USB.

confused57
August 9th, 2010, 05:59 PM
You should be able to repair your installations using the live usb:
http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/bootinfoscript/index.php?title=Boot_Problems:Computer_does_not_bo ot_without_external_drive

dougiemo
August 9th, 2010, 07:06 PM
Re: After installing Ubuntu to USB, Netbook won't boot without USB drive
You should be able to repair your installations using the live usb:
http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawik...external_drive (http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/bootinfoscript/index.php?title=Boot_Problems:Computer_does_not_bo ot_without_external_drive)
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Documentation (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UserDocumentation)


Thanks for the info and the link. It all went smoothly. Win 7 now boots up again whether or not the Ubuntu usb drive is in. Now I just need to figure out how to set it up so I will get the option to dual boot when the ubuntu usb drive is in, but still pull up windows when the ubuntu drive is not in

confused57
August 9th, 2010, 07:52 PM
Also see section #13 here for reinstalling grub2 to the mbr of your USB drive:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1195275

The key is to first run this in a terminal:

sudo fdisk -l
This will determine which is your Ubuntu USB drive where you will want to install grub2's mbr(e.g. /dev/sdb or possibly /dev/sdc), just make sure not to put a number(partition) after the drive designation(e.g. /dev/sdb1 or sdc1).

Once you get Ubuntu booting from your USB drive, you'd need to run:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure grub-pc
then select where grub is to be installed when update-grub is run(after a kernel update).

dougiemo
August 9th, 2010, 07:54 PM
I have been having a hard time booting fom the USB, but it all works now. I just need to hit "esc" when it is booting to get into the grub on the USB drive. Thanks for the posts.

clrg
August 9th, 2010, 08:07 PM
Please mark the thread as solved.