GRUB error

[todaz]

hello

i am new in linux enviroment.
situation:

i have 3 hdd:
1st - 250gb windows7 (was bootable)
2nd - 500gb for data
3th - for linux

i installed latest kubuntu version (from this site) on hdd3. when comp starts i can see grub loader with some options (linux, safemode linux, memstest, ect,.. and windows on \dev\hda\bla-bla-bla.....)
if i disconnect 3th hdd i got just got something like: "grub rescue no such device <1234-fcukyou-............> " and no winos boot.

sry for my english ant ty for any help

[jlittle]

if i disconnect 3th hdd i got just got something like: "grub rescue no such device <1234-fcukyou-............> " and no winos boot.

Grub has to boot from somewhere, and on a simple Kubuntu/Windows dual boot it installs itself to /boot/grub on the linux drive. You disconnected it, and disconnected grub with it.

I suggest sending a message to the grub 2 mailing list at help-grub@gnu.org, they are responsive there.

[todaz]

[QUOTE=jlittle;289019]Grub has to boot from somewhere, and on a simple Kubuntu/Windows dual boot it installs itself to /boot/grub on the linux drive. You disconnected it, and disconnected grub with it.

hello,
i understand that.
i do not understand what grub does on my second hdd, when kubuntu was installed on 3th hdd?
and broke my windows boot.
ty a lot for response(s)

[dibl]

Grub is one thing, and Kubuntu is another thing. Installing Kubuntu on hdd #3 does not automatically install grub on hdd #3, especially on some computers where another hdd has the "boot" flag set on it.

Probably you installed grub to the mbr of the the first hdd (Windows). When you boot, grub looks for the devices that it expects, based on the configuration that was set when you installed it. With hdd #3 removed, it finds a problem and can't offer the menu as expected.

This guide has all the information you need to fix it.

[todaz]

hello all

dibl, your guide does not have needed info, but ty anw for care

there is solution (for my situation alteast):
disconnect kubuntu hdd
boot from win install/repair cd/dvd
select language
select os
select "command prompt"
type:
bootrec /fixmbr <enter>
bootrec /fixboot <enter>
exit <enter>
restart

i hope will be helpful for someone.

[bra|10n]

So what happens now if you re-connect HDD3 with kubuntu on it?

[todaz]

nothing.
windows boots as always,
kubuntu - dead - just blinkin kursor.

btw - how to mark [solved]?

[jlittle]

there is solution (for my situation alteast):
...
bootrec /fixmbr
...

As you discovered, that makes your system boot straight into windows. Google finds many examples of this, which is not a solution if you want to be able to run Kubuntu.

I imagine you were expecting to boot windows if booting from the first disk, and to boot Kubuntu if you boot from the removable drive. (That's not how a standard kubuntu install works.) If that is what you want, the guide that dibl referred to has a section headed "Installing Kubuntu--GRUB 2 placement" which explains how to choose where to install grub.

That section is followed by a caution:

If you install GRUB to a MBR (sda, sdb, sdc, etc.), it will overwrite any other bootloader already installed to that MBR, and the GRUB 2 from the OS you are currently installing will then control the boot menu you see when you boot up your PC. That is OK, just so you know.

That's what happened to your windows boot.

[dibl]

hello all

dibl, your guide does not have needed info, but ty anw for care

there is solution (for my situation alteast):
disconnect kubuntu hdd
boot from win install/repair cd/dvd
select language
select os
select "command prompt"
type:
bootrec /fixmbr <enter>
bootrec /fixboot <enter>
exit <enter>
restart

i hope will be helpful for someone.

Ummm -- yes, that is the procedure to restore the Windows default bootloader into the mbr of the Windows OS hard drive. I thought maybe (considering which forum this is) that you were interested in repairing the grub installation. Section 4 of Qqmike's guide provides that instruction. However, as you have learned, grub is not designed to handle vanishing devices, and still provide a boot menu. For that situation, what you needed to do is disconnect the OTHER hard drives, and only connect the removable drive, and install Kubuntu + grub on THAT drive, and then use your BIOS boot sequence/priority to boot the removable drive when you wanted to boot Linux.

Oh well, I guess the situation is "rectified", if not "solved".