grub fails at 94% install

[Chadi]

Trying to install Kubuntu 7.04 Alpha 4 Feisty Fawn (i386 CD) but at 94% it fails

can someone please explain why?

The partitions are 5GB ext3 (root) and 1GB ext3 (swap) both formatted fresh

The drive itself is 120GB NTFS (Vista Ultimate)
Attached Thumbnails

[img=http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4083/snapshot1cj6.th.png]

[mitchhobbs]

Re: grub fails at 94% install

Are you installing to a USB device or the actual HD with windows on it? From your snap shot (down at the bottom) it says you are installing to "sda" which is usally a USB device. Main hard drives are usually hda, hda1, etc....

If installing to a USB device (I've done this many times) you have to specify that grub be installed to /dev/sda. It defaults to hd0,0. you will see this option in Edgy on the last screen before you actually install. On Fiesty, it is somewhat hidden down at the bottom in a button labeled "advanced". Click there and change grub to be install to /dev/sda. I'm running Fiesty on a 60gb USB drive through my laptop for testing purposes but have Edgy installed to a 100gb USB drive. They both have shown up as "sda" while the internal drive of the laptop has been "hda".

If you are installing to main hard drive, then check that you chose the right option as to where to install the main system as the screen shot shows them as being on a 'sda" device.

Hope this helps.


BTW, to be able to install to a USB device and 'boot' from it, your BIOS on your main system has to support booting from a USB device. Many older systems don't offer this. I can describe how I do this if this is what you are trying to do.

[Chadi]

Re: grub fails at 94% install

I'm installing to my hard drive, a separate partition created properly by Vista. Its worked before, not sure why it won't work now.

[mitchhobbs]

Re: grub fails at 94% install

re-run the live cd and from terminal type:

sudo fdisk -l

that's a lower case L not a 1

If the result of this shows that all partitions are a "sda" then try reinstalling and on the last screen (actually look at the pic from your post, down at the bottom is the advanced tab) click on advanced tab and change grub to be installed on sda. Like I said it defaults to hd0. If hd0 doesn't exist then you get that error. I've gotten that same error before and had to reinstall 2-3 times. In my case I was installing to a USB device which showed up as a sda, but the default was hdo. I changed to sda and got the error message again. I then realized that the usb was listed as /dev/sda, when I changed it to that it worked. Your getting that error message because it is trying to install grub to a location that wont work for your configuration, you just have to figure out where grub should go.

[Chadi]

Re: grub fails at 94% install

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 14593 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

  Device Boot   Start     End   Blocks  Id System
/dev/sda1  *      1    13158  105683960+  7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2      13159    14462  10474380  83 Linux
/dev/sda3      14464    14593   1044225  82 Linux swap / Solaris

Disk /dev/sdb: 2063 MB, 2063597568 bytes
16 heads, 32 sectors/track, 7872 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 512 * 512 = 262144 bytes

  Device Boot   Start     End   Blocks  Id System
/dev/sdb1  *      1    7872   2015216  e W95 FAT16 (LBA)
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$

install error at 94% again

Traceback (most recent call last):
 File "/usr/bin/ubiquity", line 166, in ?
  main()
 File "/usr/bin/ubiquity", line 161, in main
  install(sys.argv[1])
 File "/usr/bin/ubiquity", line 57, in install
  ret = wizard.run()
 File "/usr/lib/ubiquity/ubiquity/frontend/gtkui.py", line 305, in run
  self.process_step()
 File "/usr/lib/ubiquity/ubiquity/frontend/gtkui.py", line 856, in process_step
  self.progress_loop()
 File "/usr/lib/ubiquity/ubiquity/frontend/gtkui.py", line 628, in progress_loop
  raise RuntimeError, ("Install failed with exit code %s\n%s" %
RuntimeError: Install failed with exit code 1
Traceback (most recent call last):
 File "/usr/share/ubiquity/install.py", line 1404, in ?
  install.run()
 File "/usr/share/ubiquity/install.py", line 385, in run
  self.configure_bootloader()
 File "/usr/share/ubiquity/install.py", line 1163, in configure_bootloader
  raise InstallStepError(
InstallStepError: GrubInstaller failed with code 1

The above was when I even selected (sda) for grub install location. What is the problem?

[mitchhobbs]

Re: grub fails at 94% install

did you try: /dev/sda and not just sda?

[Chadi]

Re: grub fails at 94% install

No, but I've installed Kubuntu Dapper and Ubuntu dapper before without a problem, without modifying the grub info. Is there a way to just reset any leftover grub info perhaps in the mbr? The mbr was modified in past linux installs.

[mitchhobbs]

Re: grub fails at 94% install

Look at this link, I think this is what you are looking for.

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...56007#msg56007

if not, go to the search link and top of page and try searching for "mbr"

[Chadi]

Re: grub fails at 94% install

No input file specified.

[Chadi]

Re: grub fails at 94% install

there was an extra . in your domain link

Anyway, I tried the method on Vista

fdisk /mbr

C:\Windows\system32>fdisk /mbr
'fdisk' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

[mitchhobbs]

Re: grub fails at 94% install

There is a program you can download for free that will restore the master mbr back to original. On my laptop i have XP and at one point had Windows Vista RC1 (I was part of the customer preview program) installed on a 20 gb partition. After a month and not liking vista i decided to remove it. i searched the internet and found a small program that would remove any changes that vista had made to my mbr when i installed it. It worked on the first try for me. i can't remember the name of it though. If interested i'll see if i can find the name of it.

I would try to install one more time with /dev/sda though.